Pea Crop Report 06.06.24

To recap the 2023 crop, there is only a small volume of Marrowfat peas left. Due to poor-yielding crop in both 2022 and 2023, there is not much availability left. 2024 will need to be a much better year for the industry so that growers can make a profit and encourage them to keep growing peas, rather than switching to other alternatives like High Erucic Acid Rapeseed. The 2023 crop of Green peas is completely sold out. The exception may be a few spare tonnes here and there but nothing significant.

Crop 2024

The weather over the spring was outside of normal parameters, with a huge amount of rain in February and March delaying the planting as the ground was far too wet to do so. Fortunately, the weather in April and May was much better with ample warmth. The soil dried in just a matter of weeks, so the peas that are normally planted early to the end of April got pushed back to early May.

The ideal weather has resulted in a huge amount of vegetative growth in the last month, but the rain comes with a slight caveat that the root growth of the plant is shorter. This means if we get dry weather in June, the crop will be affected badly. The peas are currently in good condition but the poor quality of the previous year's crop meant that the germination rate wasn't as high as we wanted, so farmers had to compensate by planting more seeds. The amount of plants is still expected to be lower than usual, however.

Peas will start flowering very soon so now is the time that we watch the crop with bated breath to see how it progresses based on the weather.

via Wherry & Sons