England is now going into the fourth heatwave of the year; this situation is unprecedented. It is causing major issues for the brassica crops, according to Nigel Clare from Peloton Produce.
"We are seeing yields down by 15-20%, in some cases as much as 30%. The hot weather is also causing demand to drop by around 15-20%. It was a very difficult June, and July and August are not looking much better so far. The entire brassica season is a write-off; growers have lost so much money in June and July, they will struggle to make it back."
Most of England is in drought conditions, and water is limited, but growers can still irrigate. "The problem is that water will keep the plants alive; however, with high temperatures, the irrigated water just keeps plants alive and they do not follow their normal trajectory of growth, so in these conditions, irrigation is not the answer, and do not forget this comes at an astronomical cost to the grower."
"Normally, for cauliflower we would harvest 3-4 times per crop, this season we are doing 8-10 runs, on broccoli it's very much a similar position, we would in a normal crop do 2-3, this year it's 6-7 runs. These additional costs are not economically viable and are not built into our budget figures, hence with reduced yield, higher harvesting costs and a higher sorting cost due to a higher % of poorer quality, that needs to be eradicated from our finished sold goods, its fair to say this is worst year we have ever seen with brassicas for a very long time!!."
'Last year was also a tough year for many growers due to excessive rain, but Lincolnshire was more fortunate, so from a brassica growers' position, what do we do and where do we grow, ensures that the abnormal weather patterns do not continue to disrupt our plans for growing a good wholesome crop," explains Nigel.
"Looking at the crops which will be harvested in September and October, we are a bit more optimistic. They received a percentage of rain a week or two ago and are doing well due to this. We are hoping that these crops that are showing better quality of late will continue to flourish …but who knows."
For more information:
Nigel Clare
Peloton Produce
Tel: +44 1945 780222
[email protected]
www.pelotonproduce.co.uk
