Expect smaller broccoli if heatwave continues, farmers warn

As the heatwave continues to impact crop and vegetable yields, farmers in the driest areas of the UK are facing some of their worst ever harvests. Broccoli growers are particularly struggling with a lack of water and bone-dry soils, with yields cut by more than half, quality affected, and shoppers warned to expect smaller vegetables on the shelves. According to one Herefordshire grower, if sustained rainfall does not arrive soon, there could be supply shortages if continued rain does not appear soon. Supplies of brassicas, including broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, were tight, according to the British Growers Association, but better harvests in wetter areas of the UK could mean that vegetables are still making it to the supermarkets.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), an independent think tank, is now alert that the UK is on track to see its sixth or seventh worst harvest since records began 40 years ago. Despite the fact that the overall harvest picture is mixed across the UK, farmers in areas of the country that have seen little rain and have low river levels - and who are growing produce in lighter, drier soil that does not hold moisture well - are seeing significant shortfalls. Customers will have to shift their expectation about the size and shape of the vegetables in supermarkets, according to Ben Andrews, who farms broccoli near Leominster, Herefordshire. He continued that, although brassicas were still too hot for them to be grown abroad and imported to the United Kingdom, there could also be problems with shortages.

You may not be looking at much less availability and may not have to deal with smaller heads of broccoli, lettuce, or cabbage.

I'm not positive about the shelves being empty,he said, butif this persists, it is not completely impossible.

The British Growers Association (BGA) said this summer was

proving to be yet another climatic challenge for growers,

but producers' shortfalls were limited by producers growing more crops in regions that have seen lower temperatures and higher rainfall.

In some regions, summer brassicas, cauliflowers, and cabbages are limited,

BGA chief executive Jack Ward said.

Other root crops, carrots, and onions have been raised by irrigation, but there are serious questions regarding water sources if the lack of rain persists.

We are positive that the crops will be available at this point, but the weather events of the last three months highlight the growing confusion surrounding our food sources.

While arable farmer Martin Williams, who is also the chairman of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) Herefordshire branch, said he had seen a 50% decline in his cereal yield, a third of the normal potato crop, and that there had been a 70% decline in the grass grown for feed.

Absolutely dry

was the case, according to him, and he is now considering how and what he will raise in the future.

I'm curious about the profitability of growing cereal commodity crops,he said.It's a risk-based job, but if I can control my risk down by not growing those dangerous crops," he said.

'Hugely varied' harvest

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the extremes of weather this year had been unprecedented, with the overall harvest picture now

hugely different. Farmers in areas that had seen rain were actually seeing

better-than-expected

yields, according to Jamie Burrows, chairman of the NFU's crops board, while others are

facing significant declines that will have major financial implications on their businesses. Farmers, according to Tom Lancaster, the ECIU's head of land, food, and farming, extreme weather was causing both wet and dry toll on farmers.

I don't think we should look at this year only in isolation,

he told the BBC. This is part of a pattern that has emerged from the second worst harvest in last year and the worst harvest on record in 2020. "It's the pattern we need to be worried about as these impacts on agriculture and on farmers begin to stack up, farmers will simply stop farming.