Extreme temperatures have hit this year’s Brussels sprout crop hard, according to one major Lincolnshire supplier.
Record-breaking summer highs, leading to drought, and now, sub zero temperatures have wreaked havoc.
Bosses at TH Clements, in Boston, said unfavourable conditions have led to “lighter yields and shorter stalks”.
However, consumers have been assured there should still be plenty of the Christmas dinner staple to go around.
Managing director Chris Gedney told the BBC: “It’s challenging. We had the heat wave, and now we have the really low temperatures; the timing could not be worse.”
Lincolnshire, with its fertile soils and flat landscapes, is one of the UK’s most important agricultural areas. But the county saw the worst of the 2022 heatwave, with the new UK high of 40.3C recorded in Coningsby.
Just 15 miles (24km) from Coningsby is TH Clements, which typically harvests 192 million sprouts each year. If they were to be laid out in a line, they would stretch 3,400 miles (5,472km) – the equivalent distance of Boston, Lincolnshire, to New York.
Given the challenging conditions, Mr Gedney said he was “reasonably happy” with this year’s crop.
He said: “We’re looking at lighter yields and shorter stalks but we’re confident people will have Brussels sprouts on their dinner plates this Christmas.”
‘Tough people’
According to the Met Office, the temperature was -7C (19F) on Thursday.
Mr Gedney said: “Once it gets below about -3C (27C) it starts to get really challenging for both our operators and machinery.”
He praised his hardy workforce, adding: “A lot of our work still needs to be done by hand. There are some tough people out there.”
According to the British Growers Association, Lincolnshire is the biggest grower of brassicas, producing about 60% of Britain’s requirements.
Chief executive Jack Ward said: “Brassicas being harvested now will probably have been planted in June or July, at the very hottest time of the year. They will have really struggled during those important early stages of development, and that has an impact on final yields.”
Although shortages of sprouts are not on the cards this Christmas, he did expect the season to be shorter.
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