I’m glad I’m not a farmer

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For a few decades now we (in Britain) have become used to being able to buy whatever foods we want any time of year. Forget the idea of eating parsnips and turnips in winter, peas and lettuce in summer, and looking forward to the first strawberries… for at least the past 30 years produce such as soft fruits and salad vegetables have been available in supermarkets year-round, and at very reasonable prices. This is all down to a combination of cheap fuel, easy transportation and supermarket competition. Now perhaps this era is coming to an end. This winter a combination of rocketing fuel prices and inclement weather have been having a big effect. In this country the high cost of fuel meant that farmers who previously grew tender crops under cover in winter (requiring heating and artificial light) decided it wasn’t worth their while – in fact they would have made a loss – so they just didn’t. In addition those who grew hardier vegetables outdoors were hit hard by extreme cold back in December. Meanwhile farmers in Spain and Morocco – the source of many imported tender crops – suffered drought last year followed by extreme cold weather as well. And the crops that are available obviously cost more to import due to the price of fuel. Although we do buy most of our vegetables, I did still have a few plants in my own veg patch when winter came. But we went straight from a ridiculously mild autumn – when I was still harvesting tomatoes and beans in November – to an extremely cold spell in December, which killed off most of my usually winter-hardy vegetables, even though the harsh conditions lasted only a few days. So instead of being able to look forward to a few fresh cabbages, plenty of Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli in early spring, all I’ve got is some red kale and a few struggling sprout plants. All the other plants just withered away overnight. I’m glad I’m not a farmer with 50 acres of broccoli plants, just the thought of checking the fields one morning and finding the entire crop devastated is enough to make me feel sick. As it is, I can just say ‘Oh dear my plants have died, I’ll have to buy some broccoli instead’ but of course someone, somewhere, has to have grown that broccoli for me to be able to buy it! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2023.