Farmers issue warning on future of beloved vegetable: ‘It’s not looking good’

Sep 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

The Earth’s overheating is affecting another crop that many of us use in our frozen vegetable rotation.

While it’s normal for some fruit and vegetable yields to fluctuate depending on the year, a 30% drop in pea production has caused concern for British farmers.

What’s happening?

According to the BBC, British farmers have seen pea crop yields drop by nearly a third in 2025. The National Farmers’ Union noted that unusually long exposure to sunshine and dry weather caused the earliest harvest in 14 years.

The Meteorological Office reported that England has had the driest spring in over 100 years, as well as the warmest June on record. Some regions endured three heatwaves in a matter of weeks in June and July, drying out pea farmers’ soil.

A regional NFU chair in Lincolnshire, Henry Moreton, said, per the BBC, “It’s not looking good at the moment. I’ve never known the viners go out so early. I really haven’t.”

Moreton also mentioned that this summer’s heat is likely to cause a shortage unless they get a lot of rainfall before the end of the growing season.

An operations manager for Stemgold Peas, who works with 45 farms covering 3,500 acres of land, said that the number of peas has dropped by half, and the pods that do make it have fewer peas in them.

Why is a shortage of British peas important?

A dramatic change in weather does more than just affect growing conditions. It also affects the quality and the taste of the peas, as heat causes them to be much sweeter.

Peas are also one of the most affordable vegetables as they are commonly used in canned goods, frozen foods, and baby foods. A shortage of an affordable product can have a profoundly negative impact on marginalized communities.

Weather changes have already affected the cost of melons in South Korea, canola oil in Canada, and strawberries in India.

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When crops don’t succeed, it not only affects the livelihoods of farmers and the budgets of consumers, but we also see a reduction in pollinators that regularly flock to the crops, ultimately hurting our delicate ecosystem.

What’s being done about the shortage of British peas?

Farmers are harvesting as fast and efficiently as possible, but it’s likely that farmers will have to look into creating different varieties of peas in order to withstand shifting weather behaviors.

“I think going forward we can work on building more robust varieties as part of our breeding program with more drought-tolerant and stress-resistant varieties,” Birds Eye senior agriculture fieldsman, Tom Screeton, told the BBC.