Freezing temperatures and a third week of snow in parts of the UK have brought disruption to the production of winter vegetables.
Scotland has been worst hit, with no thaw in many areas since snow started to fall in the third week of December. This week the lowest temperatures recorded were -17°C.
Bob Carruth of the National Farmers’ Union Scotland said: “There are very few parts of Scotland now that are unaffected. Growers have taken measures to protect their crops in the ground, particularly carrots and parsnips, but there is a suspension of the harvest. Along the Moray Coast, where a lot of the production is based, there has been considerable snowfall.”
Carruth added that travel disruption is also an issue. “The movement of fuel is becoming an issue now, not just for farm work, but also for heating,” he said. “We have been saying to our members to help out their neighbours if they can.”
In Northern Ireland, conditions have been difficult too. Michael Miller of Total Produce in Belfast said: “Things have been hard since the week before Christmas, but are getting worse this week. Temperatures have fallen as low as -8°C. Growers just can’t get their leeks, turnips, parsnips and carrots out of the ground. Carrots have doubled in price.”
In Lincolnshire, Brussels sprout grower Roger Welberry said conditions have been as bad as he can remember. As freshinfo went to press, he said: “We are just snatching a few hours of harvesting here and there. If we are lucky, we can get into the fields for two or three hours between about 10am and 2pm, but then it starts to freeze again. The bad weather just before Christmas couldn’t have come at a worse time for us, as that is our peak. But now us growers are pulling out all the stops and demand is just not there. I think it is because there is just so much choice in the supermarkets with imports of different lines, and that is what people are eating instead.”
Meanwhile, Phil Effingham of Marshalls and president of the Brassica Growers’ Association believes demand is holding up. He said: “Demand generally is high, and we have managed to harvest since the weekend. What has come to a halt is cauliflower, as it needs 6°C to grow, but our orders generally are well up.”
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