22/09/26 Potato yields, Pulse growing

UK potato growers could be facing losses of almost £170 million because of this summer’s heatwaves and drought. That’s according to new analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a not-for-profit organisation which looks at the impacts of climate change. Add that to crop losses across Europe’s main potato growing countries - Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands - and we could be looking at 3.5 million tonnes fewer potatoes getting into the shops.

We're looking at pulses this week. They're the dried edible seeds of plants in the legume family, they grow in pods and we’re talking things like beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils. Here in the UK, they’ve generally been grown as what’s called a ‘break crop’ by arable farmers to put nitrogen back into the soil, and then used for making animal feed. But growing pulses for human consumption comes with the prospect of bigger rewards. Today, we're in Carmarthenshire where they're carrying out trials growing Carlin Peas on a county council owned farm. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sally Challoner.