The UK pea harvest is about to commence, and at Fen Peas the fields are being walked and samples taken to access the maturity.
Fen Peas has 82 growers, who grow peas on 5000 acres of land in the Lincolnshire area, and produce around 10,000 tonnes each year.
"We grow AA grade peas which are harvested and then frozen within 150 minutes to encapsulate freshness and nutrients as the minute a peapod is opened the peas start to deteriorate," explains Stephen Francis. "All of our peas are frozen by Greenyard Frozen Foods through whom we supply frozen peas to the UK retail trade. The Greenyard processing facility is 5 miles away from our farm, and just 30 miles from the furthest away grower."
The weather has been challenging across the UK with the planting of many crops delayed due to waterlogged fields.
"The challenge with peas is from the crops which have been planted in the fields previously, they normally follow wheat or other vegetables and the surfaces can be rutted or compacted. The spring has been challenging, it has been wet and cold, we really need some sunshine as everything is looking off-colour. As for yields we won't really know until we get into the crop."
10-12 years ago, demand for peas was slipping, but according to Stephen it is back to normal and stabilised.
"The UK is 90% self-sufficient in pea production and the largest grower in NE Europe, it is difficult to increase production here as there is a lack of new land. Peas need a 7-8 year rotation gap and grow best on the eastern sea-board where the soil is right and the there are high light levels. Also, if we were to increase production the cost of buying new land and a new harvester would be huge and there would also have to be new processing lines installed.
"We are actually in a good position, the cost-of-living crisis has meant that people have less to spend, but still want to eat a healthy diet and peas are very versatile, not expensive and have no waste."
For more information:
Stephen Francis
Fen Peas
Tel: +44 7831 615 375
[email protected]
www.fenpeas.com