E-Malt.com News article: 3135

UK, Scottish: SPECTACULAR landslides and floods make headlines, but it is persistent rain and humidity that is devastating Britain’s grain, oilseed and vegetable harvests.

With more rain forecast to sweep in from the Atlantic, farmers are now facing the worst harvest weather since 1985.

Thousands of acres of oilseed rape have been written off from York to Aberdeen because seed has sprouted in the pods making it virtually useless.

Quality of the Scottish barley crop, most of it usually used to make beer and whisky, is deteriorating in the field and most wheat has turned black.

Scotland’s vegetable growers are managing to maintain quality supplies to supermarkets, but only at the expense of huge wastage when selecting and packing on-farm.

But as farmers face the brunt of the weather, lost crops and soaring costs to salvage and dry what they can, consumers are unlikely to notice any price increases.

Most of Europe, where harvest is over, produced good quality crops at low prices which can be imported for malting, distilling and bread-making.

This is one of the worst years we’ve had to cope with - ALISTAIR EWAN


And supermarkets will import vegetables and fruit if home growers buckle under the pressure of harvesting in wet weather.

Alistair Ewan, managing director of East of Scotland Growers, Britain’s biggest broccoli growers, said yesterday: "I’ve been in vegetable production since 1976 and this is one of the very worst years we’ve had to cope with. It is diabolical." Yields down, costs up, returns static, do not help: "We are maintaining top quality supplies to our customers - but at great expense."

Martin Cessford, a grain and specialist vegetable grower near Montrose, had hoped to be harvesting baby beetroot for pickling, but said yesterday: "As I speak, we’re trying to pull a combine out of the mud. We can’t even venture into the beetroot with the harvester.

"We’re a fortnight behind in trying to get daffodil bulbs planted, our spray programme is way behind, our oilseed rape is a disaster, we’ve had more than three inches of rain this week - and the price we get is on the floor."

For grain growers, prices were already low at about L60 a tonne while soaring fuel costs make drying wet grain expensive if and when it can be harvested.

23 August, 2004