The turf industry of today is unrecognisable from the one operating at the turn of the century.
Turf harvesting is highly automated. Modern machinery operates with precision. Irrigation is informed by real-time weather data, while soil testing and variable-rate spreading allow fertiliser to match crop requirements.
For 25 years, turf growers have invested and innovated. But 2026 has exposed an uncomfortable reality: there are some challenges that greater efficiency alone cannot solve.
25 years of increasing efficiency
At Harrowden, Raindancer technology controls the timing and application of water, while Sencrop weather stations and soil-moisture probes support irrigation. Soil testing and variable-rate spreading determine efficient fertiliser use.
But modern turf production cannot simply respond to more challenging conditions by applying more. Growers have a responsibility to farm efficiently and responsibly.
That means the challenge facing the industry is no longer how to produce more with less. It is how to remain productive when natural resources become less predictable.
When efficiency meets its limits
Turf farms can irrigate large growing areas. Water and equipment can be moved between fields.
But in extreme heat the frequency with which crops require water can increase dramatically. A system capable of working across a farm on a ten-day cycle may face conditions in which turf requires water every few days.
Building the infrastructure to meet that level of demand requires investment for conditions that may only occur for part of the year. Even with additional capacity, growers cannot apply water that simply isn’t available.
On farms which use ditch networks to move water, falling water levels can make it more difficult to get water to fields. So hot temperatures can increase water demand as evaporation increases and water resources come under greater pressure.
Efficiency alone cannot create more resources.
2026 – an exceptional year, or a sign of what’s ahead?
The dry conditions experienced this summer placed significant pressure on turf production, but longer-term climate data suggests growers must think beyond one difficult summer.
Analysis provided by MapleSky’s Environmental Data Scientist Dr Tim Farewell shows the duration of the theoretical thermal growing season in Eastern England has increased by approximately seven days per decade.
Average growing seasons have increased from 222 days in the 1980s to approximately 244 days during the 2020s.
On paper, that sounds positive. The reality is more complicated.
Over the same period, average summer temperatures have increased, spring and summer rainfall have fallen and the number of days experiencing significant summer soil-moisture deficits has risen considerably. Winters, meanwhile, have become wetter.
So that creates a contradiction. Temperature is only one part of successful turf production. Soil conditions, water availability, machinery, labour and suitable access to the land all need to align.
Dr Farewell said: “The UK climate is changing to one with an earlier start, and later end, of the theoretical grass growing season. But this does not necessarily mean easier growing conditions. With springs and summers both becoming much hotter and drier, this increases both soil moisture deficits and water demand. At the same time, wetter winters create a distinct challenge. It is the increasing extremes of those conditions that growers will need to adapt to.”
Our own farm teams are already seeing those patterns.
Late-spring sowings can struggle to establish before high temperatures arrive, while drought followed by excessive autumn rainfall can compress the “sowing window”.
And when a crop fails to establish or is damaged, the consequence isn’t just a delay. It can mean more work before that area is ready to produce turf again.
Warmer conditions also affect how turf is harvested. We typically move to night-time harvesting between June and September, allowing turf to be loaded and delivered the same day to reduce the risk of turf heating.
The economics of growing turf have changed too.
Many of the underlying costs associated with agricultural production have risen over the past 25 years.
Data from ONS and Defra shows that between 2000 and 2025, wider agricultural input costs increased by 131%, while red diesel rose by more than 200%, wages by around 230% and compound fertiliser by more than 300%.
Over approximately the same period, historic purchasing data from within the business shows that the ex-field price for turf increased by approximately 86%.
The comparison does not mean every turf grower has experienced identical cost or pricing movements. Prices vary according to supplier, customer and commercial model, while individual input costs fluctuate from year to year.
What it does illustrate is the wider economic environment.
For years, investment has enabled turf businesses to respond to changing costs and market conditions. But what happens when the variable that changes is the growing environment itself?
The next challenge is resilience.
Technology in all areas has a key role to play.
But after decades of focusing on efficiency, experience suggests the next phase of innovation cannot be delivered by productivity alone.
Efficiency is about doing more with the resources available. Resilience is about remaining productive when the availability and reliability of those resources changes.
That means a focus on adapting to less predictable growing conditions – from the way water is managed and crops are established to the technology, data and expertise used to make decisions.
Stuart Ridd-Jones, Director at Harrowden, said: “Turf production has changed enormously over the last 25 years. It is more sophisticated, precise and efficient than it has ever been.
“We can invest in better machinery, use data to make smarter decisions and apply water and fertiliser with greater precision.
“What we can’t do is manufacture water that isn’t available.
“The challenge now is building resilience into the way we grow for the conditions we’re increasingly likely to face.”
The summer of 2026 may be remembered for having an exceptionally challenging growing season. But it may also drive a different question.
After 25 years of transforming how turf is grown, how does the sector adapt when the environment itself is transforming too?
