A shortage of straw in 2026, driven by unpredictable and extreme weather, is causing significant challenges for the agricultural and equestrian bedding industry. Poor harvests resulting from alternating wet and dry spells have restricted supply and driven up costs. Straw prices have remained elevated, with some reports citing prices 20 per cent higher than the previous year, fuelled by low stocks.

The early months of this year saw high rainfall, resulting in 40 per cent lower yield, and experts expect that tight supplies and high prices will continue throughout this year, with further impacts expected from continued volatility in weather patterns.

One specific consequence of this is a shortage of livestock and equestrian bedding. Increased reliance on straw for bedding, combined with reduced supply, is pushing producers to consider alternatives like sawdust or paper-based bedding. But this is emphatically not the case for flourishing Yorkshire equestrian bedding firm UNIBED, based in South Milford, near Selby.

Jessica Vickers, commercial and operations director of UNIBED, explained: “Luckily for us, our concern isn't quantity. It is quality. We predict what we need each year and source and secure our straw prior to harvest from trusted farms across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. When you're manufacturing a product for horses, we need to be providing total reassurance about quality where welfare is concerned.”

Jessica continued: “The better the quality of the straw, the greater it then passes through our chopping and dust extraction. At the same time, we are also checking at every stage for the moisture content, because mould and spores thrive in damp environments, which can then present themselves as a respiratory risk to horses.

“We have worked so hard these last few years to source and grow a fantastic network of local farmers on whom we can really rely. We trust them to provide us with the quantity (and the quality), and they trust us to move the straw from the fields in a prompt and efficient manner.

“This is why we're backing Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm Fest, taking place in Warwickshire this month, as it celebrates the farming community, the very people we could not be without. We are representing all the equestrian sector as we say huge thanks to the farmers across the country.

Jessica added: “These are testing times for British farmers, and we are acutely aware of the struggles the sector is facing. We are blessed to have excellent relationships with the farmers who supply our straw, and despite poor harvests and the fact that we need more straw as we expand, we haven’t been impacted by the tightening of supplies.

“In these challenging times, it is vital that we reinforce and underline our commitment to farmers so they know they have a source of income on which to rely, while equestrians have the reassurance that we will have plenty of good, quality stock readily available.”