Pea crops destroyed in flooding

Water standing in acres of pea fields across the county has caused the plant roots to rot and die.

Tim Mudge from the Processed Vegetable Growers Association said production would be down by a considerable amount and prices would be pushed up.

Saltfleet farmer Ian Watson said 75% of his crop, which covers 4,700 acres would not be harvestable.

"It's a very concerning time for us"
Tim Mudge, the Processed Vegetable Growers Association

"The amount of rainfall we've had has caused the peas to go under water. A pea plant is like a pot plant in your house, if you over water it, it can get waterlogged, rotten and the plant will die," he said.

"We've tried to work 24-hour days for seven days now. We ought to have cleared about 500 to 600 acres of peas but we've actually cleared 300. It's devastated the whole crop."

Mr Watson said that if the fields were harvestable, machinery would not be able to reach them because of the muddy conditions.

Mr Mudge added: "The picture for consumers is a bleak outlook.

"Retail prices are going to go up but the problem we have is that we won't see any of that money coming back to us as growers to compensate the level of loss we've had from this disastrous weather... it's a very concerning time for us."

Six-hundred-and-fifty homes in the county have been affected by the floods.

Agencies including the emergency services said they had received more than 7,000 calls for assistance.

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