England is feeling the brunt of storm Ciaran this week as high winds and heavy rain has caused flooding and has left thousands without power.
Nigel Clare from Peloton Produce said that in Spalding where they are based there has been heavy rain that is seriously affecting harvesting. He also states that their new season cauliflower crop in Cornwall has seen the worst of the weather with Cornwall having to abandon harvesting due to safety reasons for two days.
“We couldn’t harvest yesterday or today and will not be able to harvest tomorrow for a third day due to high winds and a combination of heavy rainfall for a two week period. Our harvesting rigs are just getting stuck in the water-logged fields. We have definitely seen some damage to the cauliflower crop, however, it is too early to assess the extent or say when we will get back into the fields. The combination of water soaked fields and high winds means that the root structure is weakened and the plants lean over, hence when we get back in the harvesting rigs will catch the heads and damage them. A cauliflower crop is a low yielding product and these horrific conditions will only exacerbate our low yield position on this crop.
“We have been getting a lot of rain for the last ten days and have had rigs being pulled by tractors so they don’t get stuck, this of course increases costs and reduces yields as the tractors are running over the crops. I have seen farmers going into fields with diggers to dig channels to try and get the water off the fields.”
This wet weather which has been seen across the country, particularly in Scotland over the last few weeks is causing huge damage across the whole farming industry, but Nigel said it is more prolific in brassicas as they grow above the ground and so suffer from both damage to the head quality as well as mechanical damage from harvesting in poor conditions.
“For brassicas it is a double whammy, with damage both above and below the ground. It is a juggling act at the moment, we don’t know what to expect so we are just taking it day by day. We will have to inspect the crops and see what can be harvested. Normally you expect less damage in crops such as Savoy cabbage which is low lying, however, if we go into the fields that are completely sodden the trailers will sink in the soil and there will be no clearance above the crop. We will just have to wait and see what the weather does in the coming weeks, but once again the British grower is having to deal with weather conditions that are becoming more extreme and therefore the appetite to grow such risky crops in the current climate is diminishing.”
For more information:
Nigel Clare
Peloton Produce
Tel: +44 1945 780222
[email protected]
www.pelotonproduce.co.uk