Lots of veg growers packing up

[Devil's advocate]

Gosh we have lost some growers in recent years & heard today about two more.

Edward Cook grower of carrots & sprouts top class produce.

AB Jones certainly the best caulie & broccoli of any grower in the country.

Both from the Southport area, Merseyside.

Any sales coming up?

I will be shot down in flames, Fecking Brexit. These two were unusual not supermarket suppliers.

 

[kiwi pom]

Gosh we have lost some growers in recent years & heard today about two more.

Edward Cook grower of carrots & sprouts top class produce.

AB Jones certainly the best caulie & broccoli of any grower in the country.

Both from the Southport area, Merseyside.

Any sales coming up?

I will be shot down in flames, Fecking Brexit. These two were unusual not supermarket suppliers.

What's Brexit got to do with it? Did they export?
I wonder why they stopped and what they're going to do now. Maybe they've made their money and want an easier life?

 

[Devil's advocate]

What's Brexit got to do with it? Did they export?
I wonder why they stopped and what they're going to do now. Maybe they've made their money and want an easier life?

No imported, Brexit has made trade very difficult.

They imported people not produce. Although so well established, I'd be suprised if they did not have a local workforce too.

 

[tepapa]

This makes me laugh about governments and Boris's ag revolution. The big efficient veg guys are giving up yet government think that others are going to start up new enterprises to help feed the nation idiot's.

 

[David1968]

If veg becomes too expensive due to short supply maybe consumers will buy more meat and dairy

 

[Devil's advocate]

If veg becomes too expensive due to short supply maybe consumers will buy more meat and dairy

No if you want a caulie you will buy an imported one, not have an extra glass of milk.

I'm near Wakefield which was an important growing area for the local market &b the local supermarket depos.

We were all shocked when the biggest one packed up, couple of years later the second biggest & just recently the 4th biggest sadly passed away.

Sometimes just personnal choice but no one is replacing them. Oh & Hunterpac dropped salads & brassica, a really big powerful producer.

 

[tepapa]

This makes me laugh about governments and Boris's ag revolution. The big efficient veg guys are giving up yet government think that others are going to start up new enterprises to help feed the nation idiot's.

Same with the vegan nut jobs and animal rebellion weirdos making a thing about livestock using 80% of the land area and this land could be used to grow veg. The guys growing vegetables on the best land we have are giving up, what chance is there for a hill farmer on grade 4/5.

 

[glasshouse]

What's Brexit got to do with it? Did they export?
I wonder why they stopped and what they're going to do now. Maybe they've made their money and want an easier life?

They cant get pickers because of brexit

 

[glasshouse]

Gosh we have lost some growers in recent years & heard today about two more.

Edward Cook grower of carrots & sprouts top class produce.

AB Jones certainly the best caulie & broccoli of any grower in the country.

Both from the Southport area, Merseyside.

Any sales coming up?

I will be shot down in flames, Fecking Brexit. These two were unusual not supermarket suppliers.

Got a letter in today, spud men looking for ground. Havent heard from them in 3 yrs.
With barley at £300, the rent is going to have to start with a 7

 

[ollie989898]

It's not Brexit, it's covid. People just don't want to bend their backs these days. It is reckoned that around 900,000 people from the workforce have not returned to it since the first lockdown. They have retired or do cash in hand type stuff. Obviously a lot of foreign nationals have returned home. And to be honest, with the cost of living being as it is, I should think many would have gone just from that.

Fruit and veg have been too cheap for years anyway and the supermarkets take the shine out of the job. Too much waste, faffing and plastic involved and the general public are not without blame either as they don't select their veg and fruit any more so anything too large/too small or blemished is never viewed by them. I would hate to think what percentage of veg never leaves the field.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

This makes me laugh about governments and Boris's ag revolution. The big efficient veg guys are giving up yet government think that others are going to start up new enterprises to help feed the nation idiot's.

I think governments are pretending others will rush in to fill the void but don't actually believe it, just like we don't actually believe in 10% of what they say will happen when they announce they're going to "do" this to "help"

it actually takes a lot of thinking and testing to take something that kinda works, and change it into something that works better - almost always things get worse because whatever equilibrium had been reached is the first thing destroyed in the process?

What I fear and feel appropriate to mention is that this is happening all over the globe, so this concept of "we'll just import" may not actually be the reality.
If they want "food supply to be reduced to subsistence levels" then they're going the right way about it, plus throw in a "cost of living crisis" and many folk will be too busy doing extra paying work to be worried about what they could be doing instead.
Again it would be "worse" before it gets "better" and too few are prepared for it

 

[Bury the Trash]

If veg becomes too expensive due to short supply maybe consumers will buy more meat and dairy

more likely to be rabbit meat, cheapest anyway plenty here to shoot or trap for next to nowt and the barstewards are eating my runner beans and believe or not onion sets as well ... just as they have peeked through

 

[Kiwi Pete]

more likely to be rabbit meat, cheapest anyway plenty here to shoot or trap for next to nowt and the barstewards are eating my runner beans and believe or not onion sets as well ... just as they have peeked through

Little sods I remember the old chap I used to go see as a boy (pre school days) told me that if "the rabbits are getting into the onions then nothing else is safe"

 

[Bury the Trash]

Little sods I remember the old chap I used to go see as a boy (pre school days) told me that if "the rabbits are getting into the onions then nothing else is safe"

They are like poison to the ground in places , were going to have to take serious action soon i think, trouble is that takes time and money when there's loads else to do

 

[Kidds]

The things driving the veg growers out of business are cost of labour, lack of labour and ridiculously low prices.
We jacked in because the prices are the same now as in the 80's. It makes no sense whatsoever to carry on with a business that can't make a profit because the market price is stupidly low.
It was a sensible business decision to stop doing it. Shame really as I think we were pretty good at what we did.
We stopped pre Brexit and pre covid. We also had a significant drought since too. I am damned glad we stopped, it would have been an absolute nightmare to try and work through that lot.

 

[kiwi pom]

They cant get pickers because of brexit

I see, so instead of importing the labour, why not import the product if its available, which it seems to be and use the land for something that doesn't depend on cheap labour to turn a profit?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

The government and public are going to get one almighty shock very soon. Farmers have been mugged off for too long and the sh!t is now starting to hit the fan

 

[Devil's advocate]

Got a letter in today, spud men looking for ground. Havent heard from them in 3 yrs.
With barley at £300, the rent is going to have to start with a 7

Hope your landlord gets his share .

 

[delilah]

Well, like, duh.

 

[Lowland1]

Funnily enough we should be reducing our production at present but demand is still high obviously prices aren’t. In fact wheat production can beat french bean production with regard to returns so long term veg supply will be tight in UK.