Drought could cause beer and chip prices to rise Britain's biggest brewer Molson Coors - makers of Carling and Grolsch lagers, Doom Bar ale and Worthingtons bitter - has warned that the dry weather was threatening the supply of high quality malted barley. A survey by Farmers Weekly and Molson Coors found that 32 per cent of barley farmers saw their yields fall in last year's dry spring and the situation is expected to be worse this year. The brewing industry uses 1.7 million tonnes of barley every year. Jerry Dyson, raw materials manager at Molson Coors, said: "Weather conditions always play a major role in both the availability and the quality of malting barley and this was brought into sharp focus most recently with the winter malting barley crop of 2011. The very dry spring meant that the winter barley crop had a high nitrogen level, which significantly reduced its value for brewing. The British Beer and Pub Association has said that the reduced yield could lead to price rises for drinkers. Separate analysis conducted for the Potato Association has also concluded that their industry faced some "major risks" in the coming months unless there was heavy and persistent rain, with similar warnings from experts about other crops, such as carrots. Fresh vegetables like peas, which are a water intensive crop, could also suffer reduced crops when they are harvested in June without more rainfall. Meanwhile, the Royal Horticultural Society said it had been taking calls from concerned gardeners about the impact of the hosepipe ban and is now to open up its advisory service, which is normally reserved for its members, to the general public for the first time. It said it wanted to be able to offer drought advice to gardeners as part of National Gardening Week, which begins on the 16th April. Colin Crosbie, curator of the RHS Garden Wisley, in Surrey, said: "We have known for some time the ban was coming and with National Gardening Week, there is an opportunity to give gardeners on how to manage gardens with less water." In Brighton, the local authority gave allotment holders 400 former council wheelie bins to fill with water ahead of the hosepipe ban to ensure they could keep their vegetables watered. Trudi Carter, a representative for Tenantry Down allotments in Brighton, said: "People were madly filling everything they could with water. I filled up my two water butts and a communal one. It's the peak growing season in April, there are plants that need a lot of water to start them off, such as potatoes. Meanwhile, animal health experts have warned that the dry weather could see midges infected with the Schmallenberg virus becoming active earlier than previously predicted. The Institute of Animal Health said this could give the disease a head start and spread further in 2012. The number of cattle affected by the virus has now started to grow with 25 cattle farms and 214 sheep farms confirmed with the disease.