Bucks, Beds and Herts families hope tough harvest has little impact on Christmas dinner favourites
There are concerns of a vegetable shortage because of extreme weather this year
Last updated 2nd Dec 2023
Despite the extreme weather causing havoc on crops in Bucks, Beds and Herts this year, it's hoped that won't stop you from enjoying your usual Christmas dinner.
Crops of potatoes, broccoli, parsnips, and cauliflower are thought to have been badly affected by heavy rainfall.
There are also reports that Britain's potato crop is predicted to hit a record low of 4.1 million tonnes, according to experts.
And because of this, there are concerns it could lead to a vegetable shortage.
The NFU says despite difficulties in farming, it is confident that there shouldn't be a shortage of your favourite vegetables this Christmas.
Iain Rook, of Village Farm near Biggleswade, says the struggles started with the early heatwave in May:
"It continued to be wet up to where we are today, and we still have crops in the ground which should've been harvested a month ago. We've got frost now, which is our biggest danger.
"Potatoes and beetroot aren't frost-tolerant and will end up starting to go rotten. We haven't been able to travel on the land and we don't want to make too much of a mess to the soil structure.
"We've only got a very small area left, which is unharvestable where it flooded. Once potatoes have flooded the water starts to affect them and they deteriorate."