Extreme weather hits pumpkin farmer's crops

A pumpkin farmer has questioned whether his work has been worth it due to the prolonged heat and lack of rain wreaking havoc on his business.

Andrew King, 61, runs a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and creates a 'maize maze' for children to play in every autumn at Ruffins Farm, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.

He said both crops had struggled to grow in the extreme weather and he would be lucky to sell 1,000 pumpkins this year - a tenth of what he normally does.

King told BBC Radio Suffolk he was expecting to lose 25% of his annual income, equating to about £40,000. The government said it was working to help the industry "build greater resilience" to the weather.

King was born at the farm and has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

"I've never known it [the weather] as bad as this," he said.

"We've had [dry] years like this... but not six months on end."

Every October he usually sells about 10,000 pumpkins, but the ones that were currently growing looked "sad", he said.

His maize has also "just died", with "nothing there at all" to create an attraction from.

He expected to still open to the public in October, but for two weekends as opposed to all of half-term and three weekends normally.

Asked how he was dealing with it, he said: "I'm not sure you can deal with it.

"You just have to take what you're given with the weather, hoping the rains come, but it didn't.

"We just have to wait and see, but it's no good for the maize - that's had it - so we'll just pull the plug on that."

King also sells hay at this time of year but has had to hold a large amount back, to make sure he can feed his 500 breeding ewes.

Asked if he believed his work was currently worth it, he said: "Standing here now, I'm not sure it is.

"On a good year it gets you up in the morning and you think, 'lovely'.

"But it's hard work and there's nothing there, so I'm not sure sometimes."

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the government was aware "how hard" the summer had been for farmers, and it was "actively considering additional ways to support" them.

They said part of this was working to make it easier for farmers to build more on-site irrigation reservoirs.

"More broadly we are helping the sector build greater resilience to climate shocks through our farming schemes, the new Farming Roadmap and our work with the National Drought Group," they added.

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