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Poor pumpkin yield hit by 'cold and wet' weather

BBC/Trusley Pumpkin and Potato Patch Two images shown side by side of a pumpkin patch two years apart. The image on the left shows very few pumpkins, whereas the image on the right shows a field full of orange and yellow pumpkinsBBC/Trusley Pumpkin and Potato Patch
Farmer Catherine Ferris said there was a big difference in how the pumpkins turned out

A family of pumpkin farmers says cold and wet weather during the spring and summer has hampered their yield.

Trusley Pumpkin and Potato Patch at Goldhurst Farm, near Derby, said it had scaled back the number of days it was open for people to pick them ahead of Halloween.

On a good year, the farm has produced up to 15,000 pumpkins, but workers said they expected just 1,000 to 1,500 to grow this year.

Catherine Ferris, 48, who works on the farm, told the BBC: "I personally can't remember a year where I've seen it this bad."

The farm also grows potatoes, corn and maize - all of which have been affected by poor weather in the past year.

"It's all down to the weather," Ms Ferris said.

"Mother Nature hasn't been very kind to us. The ground when we planted the seed was cold and wet and we had to replant probably three weeks later.

"We spent twice the money on seed and it just continued to rain. But it's the same with all our crops, it's not just the pumpkins.

"I think last year we had probably 12,000 to 15,000 pumpkins including the tiny gourds we grew. We're probably looking at about 1,000 to 1,500 pumpkins this year."

Two women lean down to look at pumpkins on a pumpkin patch in Derbyshire.
Ms Ferris (left) and Sarah Bates are disappointed with how few pumpkins have grown this year

Ms Ferris's father Haydn Ferris, 76, has worked on the farm nearly all of his life.

"We've had years as bad as this but we've had two bad years together now," he said.

"Financially, it's a loss. You've got to try and keep your spirits up, really. It's just depressing really.

"You're putting all the hours in and getting nothing back for it. But that's farming, it's always been like that. People think farming is a fun life, but it's not.

"I'm losing the love for it, to be quite honest. It's just hard."

A pumpkin which has failed to grow properly
Pumpkin seeds struggled to germinate after constant cold and wet weather

Record-breaking rain in the first few months of 2024 left fields of crops under water and livestock at risk or harm.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), an independent think tank, predicted in April that the unprecedented wet weather could bring down the UK wheat harvest by more than a quarter.

Tom Lancaster, land analyst at ECIU, said: "To withstand the wetter winters that will come from climate change, farmers need more support. The government's green farming schemes are vital to this, helping farmers to invest in their soils to allow them to recover faster from both floods and droughts."

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