Farm: “I started growing vegetables back 30 years ago. My father used to grow potatoes in his time but not to the scale we are at today. I’ve around 300ac in vegetables, 100ac in grass and grain for rotations. Most of the land is rented.”

Vegetables: “We have finished up harvesting broccoli. We are now on the winter cauliflower, leeks, turnips, sprouts and winter-round cabbage.”

Teamwork: “My wife, Mary, is working in the office everyday to keep on top of all the paperwork that is involved. There are programmes and orders that have to be filled, so we know what and how much needs to be harvested each week.”

Sprouts: “They swing into gear this week. We will be doing 20-hour days then to get the sprouts harvested, washed, graded, packaged and delivered. The only step we don’t do is cooking them.”

Weather: “It’s been the wettest year for trying to grow crops. The sprouts were planted in May. They should be four to five feet tall but some of them are between two and three feet. The crop will be back and the size of the sprouts themselves will be small because the roots have been so long in wet ground.”

Challenges: “The weather has been terrible nearly all year long. This wet spell is making it so hard to keep the vegetables clean and they have to be spotless before going into the supermarket. There are only three or four of each of the vegetable growers left in the country at the minute. We are crying out for a small rise in the prices. The supermarkets are going to have to try and do more for us or we will be gone.”

Future plans: “I have a responsibility for workers as long as I stay farming. I love what I do but I can only stay at this if I start getting fair pay for my vegetables.”