Peas in Peril: The Impact of Extreme Weather on UK Harvests

British pea farmers are facing alarming fears of a shortage due to an unprecedented early harvest, the earliest in 14 years. Prolonged periods of sunshine and dry weather have devastated yields, with vining pea growers in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and East Yorkshire reporting a staggering 30% drop in harvests. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned that this year’s crop failure could diminish the amount of UK-grown peas available in supermarket freezers.

The Met Office revealed that England experienced its driest spring in over a century, compounded by an extremely warm June. Some regions suffered through three heatwaves in quick succession, which caused significant moisture depletion in the soil, resulting in crops like peas suffering greatly. Henry Moreton, a regional NFU chair, noted that fields known for their ideal conditions for growing peas are now unrecognizable due to stress from extreme weather.

Ian Watson, operations manager for Stemgold Peas, reported that their usual harvesting period shifted from mid-June to June 4. Notably, he described crops as unusually thin, with the number of peas per pod dropping from up to ten to just two robust peas due to the adverse conditions.

Tom Screeton, a senior agriculture fieldsman at Birds Eye, mentioned that the drought has caused peas to mature too quickly for harvesting, complicating logistics significantly. Meanwhile, Michelle Lawrie, a quality manager, mentioned that despite the issues, the weather has resulted in exceptionally sweet peas this year due to the abundance of sunlight.

In response to these challenges, farmers and companies like Birds Eye are exploring robust, drought-tolerant seed varieties to better withstand extreme weather fluctuations in the future. Ultimately, this situation highlights how unpredictable weather patterns under climate change can severely impact agricultural outputs, leaving consumers and suppliers concerned about the availability of peas.