It is usual for the winter vegetable stars - cabbage, carrots, parsnips, leeks, cauliflowers and, more recently, niche products such as curly kale - to come into their own as the nights get darker and cooler in the UK. But this season, industry insiders are set for a mighty uplift in demand.
Buying British or local has never made more sense to both vegetable suppliers and consumers, at a time when the euro is at an all-time high against sterling and the UK winter vegetable sector is keen to make the most of this.
Calls have been made to bring back the British Sunday dinner in the hope thatpeople all over the country will rediscover the wealth of winter vegetables that are available throughout the season, every week.
The British climate is also becoming more suited to the cultivation of these winter vegetables, with the season becoming milder and drier. Mervyn Casey of the Leek Growers’ Association (LGA) and Willow Farm in New York, Lincolnshire, says that sales of winter vegetables are on the up, aided by the 5 A DAY campaign and the healthy eating drive. At the same time, the weather seems to be in the sector’s favour. “Leeks always peak in demand and quality at this time of year,” says Casey. “An early frost can turn it around though and damage the crop, but we don’t get early frosts anymore - not like in the early 1990s. We can now harvest in the field throughout the season because of the mild weather and the UK is becoming the perfect place to grow leeks because of the change in climate.”
Back to their roots
The main winter parsnip season in the UK is from October to March, but its real uplift in sales comes during the Christmas period, when figures increase fourfold. The root crop is also benefiting from the resurgence in popularity of the buy British or local trend.
“We are seeing a bias of interest from customers on a local level, as well as nationally; we have attributed this to consumers being more conscious about food miles and under present economic conditions. They understand the positive financial effect of buying local and the impact it has on the price to the end consumer,” says Roy Bartlett, co-owner of parsnip producer R&RW Bartlett.
Unfortunately, this period can be the most challenging as harvesting can be reliant on the weather. R&RW Bartlett facilitates this by growing on differing Staffordshire light soil types and by varying topography, as well as covering the crop with a layer of straw to allow harvest during frosty periods.
The grower supplies major multiple retailers, wholesale markets, discounters and processors, as well as individual companies that specialise in niche markets. This way, the company is able to sell 100 per cent of the crop, “which increases the efficiencies of the business and allows us to help our customers during what is a difficult trading environment”, according to Bartlett.
“This year, the crop has reached its full potential as we have grown on specific Staffordshire light land and had adequate rainfall and sunlight during the growing season - this is much in line with last year’s yields,” he continues. “Due to the nature of the crop, it is the harvesting and handling that can have a marked effect on saleable yield, as opposed to overall yield.
“The quality of the crop is excellent this year, which is partly down to weather conditions during the growing season but also attributable to our dedicated and experienced farm manager, who selects the growing sites and manages the crop, taking all the variable factors into account. These affect the timing and harvesting of the crop to supply our diverse customer base, enabling us to satisfy their demands at all times.”
This year has seen excellent planting conditions for parsnips in the Midlands and while traditionally the season finishes in April, with careful management of the crop, including covering the crop in straw to maintain cool conditions with minimal sunlight, R&RW Bartlett has been able to extend supply to the end of May and beyond, while retaining the characteristics and quality of the parsnip.
Winter peak
The UK leek crop comes into its own in November, when it traditionally hits maximum sales. Movement usually builds steadily from the start of the season in July and continues to remain strong from November and throughout the winter.
“Sales are certainly picking up now because of the especially cold weather,” says Casey. “We have had a couple of fairly good seasons. Demand has been on the up, and we would like to think that has got something to do with the LGA’s PR campaign and people thinking about what they are spending their money on.”
Some 80 per cent of the leek seed used in this country is supplied by international seed company Nunhems and up until this year, the Shelton leek variety has dominated the market, as well as early varieties Calton and Megaton. But now Belton - an early, versatile variety that produces in September - is taking over and Casey predicts that in two years it will account for more than 50 per cent of the UK crop. “Belton has a strong green colour and it is the type of leek that consumers want to see,” he says. “The main concern at the moment is developing late varieties that we can harvest into April and May. The varieties used now struggle with bolting resistance, but I think it is only a matter of time before we have a good late variety. Sales are really good into May, so the industry could do with it.”
But as a consequence of the recession, leek growers are making less money. “Most vegetable growers have made their feelings known on the cost of production, fertiliser and labour, but it is a marketplace at the end of the day - you have to accept that or get out,” says Casey. “Even if we all got to air the problems, it wouldn’t make a difference. If restaurants or supermarkets are offered a low price, they are not going to refuse it for a higher one. But the supply and demand balance is much better than it used to be. Leeks are very expensive to grow and as a result, there are far fewer speculative growers than there used to be and we are now self-sufficient in season.”
Comfort food
The UK winter carrot season starts around November with supplies from more northern parts of the country, such as Lancashire followed by Scotland. Growing conditions this summer have made for a good winter carrot season, producing high-quality, colourful product.
And while the last two years’ contrary weather has seen lower-than-average yields from UK carrot growers, this year’s tonnage is back on a par with previous years and imported product on the market is considerably less.
“Peak sales come in the autumn, when the product is at its best,” says Martin Evans, chairman of the British Carrot Growers’ Association’s (BCGA).. “It is a winter warmer, so it is weather dependent for demand and we have to protect the carrots with straw in the fields when it gets colder.
“The UK has been near enough self-sufficient in relation to the volume of carrots it can produce and the amount we have consumed for the last 10-12 years. There has been a huge resurgence in the popularity of carrots with the recession and people going back to basics, but we have a long-term message about how healthy and versatile carrots are throughout the year and we are seeing that message being taken up in response to our PR campaign.”
Evans maintains that growers have not exceeded their programmes this year and that, hopefully, there should be enough product to satisfy demand and keep the retail price up. As carrots come into vogue, retailers are realising that a much higher price can be obtained for the product, especially when it comes to speciality lines such as cream carrots and rainbow carrots, as well as carrots still with their tops.
But returns will have to improve, reveals Evans. “It is an excellent crop and takes up to 18 months to grow, so it is also expensive,” he says.
With the aid of the PR campaign, the BCGA is continuing to engage with consumers to create awareness. “It is a difficult game because you are trying to predict consumer demand in 18 months’ time,” says Evans. “Winter vegetables are an expensive and risky game to be in. Can we keep up with consumer trends? That is the difficulty. We need people to eat more Sunday dinners and all the vegetables that come with it, every week - and not just on Christmas Day.”
Battle of the brassicas
With the exception of broccoli, British brassicas are in their element during the winter months, with probably the ultimate seasonal vegetable, Brussels sprouts, coming on stream in September, causing a flush of demand and then a typical Christmas push in December. “Brussels sprouts are one of the only winter vegetables to see such a seasonal swing,” says Phillip Effingham, director of farming and agronomic development at Marshalls and chairman of the Brassica Growers’ Association. “The crop is looking good, with good quality and nothing to worry about at the moment. There is a larger demand for sprouts on the stem, but not really enough to add to the overall market value.”
Despite the Save the Cauliflower campaign this year, the UK crop is still facing a losing battle against broccoli consumption during the winter. Cauliflower producers are continuing to decline at an alarming rate, but winter supply coming onto the shelves is giving the remaining growers cause for cheer. “The situation for growers is much better this season,” says Effingham. “Growers are producing less yield as the product is more expensive to grow. This is good because the crop experiences gluts on the market very easily, which causes the price to plummet. It has not been easy over the last couple of years, but we seem to be getting a decent price at the moment. But this also means that it is going to be tight at times.”
Cabbage remains a faithful staple through the winter months and Effingham notes that traditional green cabbage has suffered at the popularity of Savoy and pointed types. The cabbage season is lasting longer each year and, whereas in the past the winter season would end abruptly in November, it now finishes in January. Curly kale types are also proving popular, with black kale making an impact on the market in the last three to four years.
“Savoy stands up a lot better to the winter months than green and, with improvements in varieties, I think we could extend the season well into May,” says Effingham. “Winter vegetable crops on the east coast have increased on the back of milder winters and growers now feel more comfortable planting more lines.
“Winters are getting milder and drier, which bodes well for the winter vegetable sector.”
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