East Anglia has not only had a warm February but also one of the wettest since records began in 1836. This has led to widespread flooding and caused havoc for farmers. Climate scientists suggest this may be the new norm, in a region that grows a huge percentage of the UK’s food.
Farming
It is easy for the uninitiated to associate farmers bringing in the harvest as an autumnal activity. We can all picture combine harvesters collecting golden corn from the field before it is magically presented to us as a breakfast cereal.
Equally those of us who grew up away from rural pastures tend to think of spring as a time to plant and for seedlings to begin to grow. Yet this does a disservice to the hard-working farmers and manufacturers that help to produce one of most important food items not just for the East Anglian economy but also for the nation’s kitchens: sugar. Harvesting begins in the autumn but continues through to early spring.
Sugar beet
British Sugar, whose brand name is Silver Spoon, is based in Peterborough, with four processing factories, including on the A14 just outside Bury St Edmonds. It can trace its history back to the turn of the 20th century with the start of sugar beet growing in Norfolk. It currently works in partnership with 2300 independent growers in the UK, including many in East Anglia, and produces over a million tonnes of sugar per year.
We currently import about half of our sugar consumption with beet from the EU and sugar cane grown in the tropics. For beet grown here, the average distance travelled from farm to factory is just 28 miles.
Harvest delays
Over this last year, there have been increasing reports of delays to both the sowing and harvest, with some farms being close to a month behind.
One farm manager who wished to remain anonymous told East Anglia Bylines: “We would normally be finishing by now, but we are really behind. The issue is the field itself. We cannot get the tractors or machinery in without sinking or risking getting stuck. If we try with the fields this wet, we risk doing more damage than good. We need the field to drain but with all the local ditches full, it is taking a long time.”
Speaking to the BBC Andrew Blenkiron, a farmer and director at Euston Estate in Suffolk, advised that the conditions have been “frustrating and costly” for sowing and harvesting crops this year.
He said the wet conditions affected the sowing of autumn crops as well as the harvesting of sugar beet over the winter and also left a riverside sheep grazing area flooded for most of the season.
Waterlogged fields
Fields have been so water-logged that one farmer was forced to store 300 tons of sugar beets on the side of a little-used road near Ipswich.
Photos were shared on social media and described the huge pile as ‘fly-tipped’, prompting a backlash from others in support of the farmer. One commenter on Facebook said, “Such a pity local people don’t understand we live in a rural county. Obviously not fly tipped, they are sugar beet worth probably thousands of pounds”. He added the heavy rain has made it impossible for collection to be made from the farm. Understanding the bind growers are in, a sympathetic Suffolk County Council spokesperson confirmed they would not be fining the farmer.
The harvesting delays have had a knock-on effect as growers were supposed to get their consignments to the processing factories by March 6th. Acknowledging the serious issues faced by local farmers, British Sugar has announced that “following the recent wet weather and feedback from growers, we want to provide as much support as possible for growers delivering their crop into their contracted factory.” They added that “given the wet conditions, we will … support increasing the campaign length, to allow growers to deliver to their contracted factory.”
Much of East Anglia has felt the effects of flooding over the autumn and winter. Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman told Eastern Daily Press: “The rise in serious flooding in Norfolk over the last few years is caused by several factors: climate change, new housing estates with inadequate drain infrastructure but also a serious lack of maintenance of our rivers, drains, ditches and culverts…And a lack of clearly understood legal responsibilities.”
Brexit pressure
As if farmers don’t already have enough to contend with as climate change jeopardises beet production, the British sugar industry is also coming under greater competition from imports from overseas thanks to the government’s post-Brexit trade deals.
In December 2020, government ministers announced that over a quarter of a million tonnes (260.000t) of raw sugar cane, grown overseas in countries such as Brazil and Australia, would be allowed to enter the UK without a tariff (import tax) under an autonomous tariff quota (ATQ). The decision was made despite 79% of respondents to the government consultation on the issue indicated they were opposed. Before the trade deal, Australia could only send 9,925 tonnes of sugar a year, tariff-free.
In response, the National Farmers’ Union’s Sugar Board chairman Michael Sly commented: “The prime minister’s open letter to farmers and growers ahead of [Number 10’s] Farm to Fork Summit was positive, in which he committed to 60% self-sufficiency in UK food production, a full impact analysis of prospective trade agreements and protection for our sensitive agricultural sectors. This commitment should be embraced by government by not increasing the 260,000 tonne ATQ on raw cane sugar.”
He pointed out that the ATQ does not discriminate on the environmental impact of the production of the imported cane, effectively disadvantaging UK sugar producers, who grow to higher standards. The ATQ will hugely benefit US sugar giant Tate & Lyle, saving it tens of millions of pounds in tariffs. The company backed Brexit – which has allowed the government to change the quota – and is a Conservative Party donor.
Forecasting the future
With milder, wetter winters predicted as a result of climate change likely to lead to increased risk of flooding, and the threat of quota-free imports, the future for sugar beet farming in East Anglia is anything but sweet.
