Barfoots did their first pick of asparagus on the traditional start date of the 23rd (St Georges day) but due to the cold nights don't expect to be into the main crop until early May when the weather begins to deliver great growing conditions for the main season crop."Early covered crops have seen perfect growing conditions in April which has delivered a lot of volume and great eating quality; however while the bulk of the main season crop has benefited from the high day time temperatures here on the south coast (20c most days) the night time temperatures have remained low and this has held the soil temperature back," explains James Meers, Business Unit Director at Barfoots Ltd.
Barfoots supply both green and purple asparagus in all formats – fine, tips and bunched and will also see the return of their branded Grown with Love" Crown Jewel Asparagus after an impressive 2014 launch.
The company grows on over 1,400 acres in 4 different growing regions with over 300 acres in covered production.
According to Meers, "There has been a strong supply of early British asparagus this year with the good growing conditions however the market has remained buyout with a lot of interest from the food service sector to get British asparagus onto menus even earlier this year. We recently had Peach Pubs chain down on the farm picking asparagus for their signature tasting dish – a great celebration of British Asparagus!"
Once the season kicks in fully in early May demand for asparagus increases by around 50% as consumers seek out British asparagus. It is a crop that represents the beginning of bright evenings and warmer weather.
"Demand for British asparagus continues to outstrip supply considerably and we expect this trend to continue as it takes several years for new crowns to come into full production. Asparagus demand has steadily increased year on year for the last 5 years and we expect that to continue," concludes Meers.
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Susan Zwinkels