Farming teams are working through the night in a 24-hour "military operation" to gather Norfolk's pea crops - as summer rains play havoc with their harvest schedules.
Aylsham Growers is more than 80pc through its annual harvest of 3,000 hectares of peas across the county.
It is a round-the-clock operation using a fleet of five hi-tech pea harvesters and an 18-strong harvest team, plus more people involved in the haulage.
Aylsham Growers' pea harvesters working through the night to gather the 2023 pea crop (Image: Stephen Attew)
Commercial director Russell Corfield said: "We are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in all weathers, to ensure these lovely, fresh peas are picked at the right time.
"We can harvest through the wet weather, but the problem we are getting now is the lack of sunshine, so crops are not ripening as quickly as we expected.
"We keep moving about, trying to get crops harvested efficiently, but it has been a challenge.
Aylsham Growers' fleet of five pea harvesters working through the night to gather the 2023 pea crop (Image: Stephen Attew)
"One minute we are going really fast, and the next really slow to keep the pea viners moving, and it is a challenge to manage that.
"We normally have a structured programme moving from one farm to another, but last night [August 3] we had to move 10 miles to get to another field, so we are seeing a lot of road movement to get the crop at the optimum time.
"It is very much like a military operation. A lot of peas need to be in the factory in King's Lynn within 150 minutes, so everything is done by the clock."
Russell Corfield is commercial director of Aylsham Growers (Image: Denise Bradley)
The wet July was the complete opposite of last summer, when harvesters raced to gather heat-stressed peas ripening rapidly in "hellish" heatwave and drought conditions.
"There are lots of surprises, but that is what makes the job interesting," said Mr Corfield.
"It is made easier because we have a really good team behind us, and the support of our Norfolk growers."
The company's pea harvest began on June 19 and Mr Corfield hopes, weather permitting, it will be completed by August 22 - about 8-10 days later than usual.
A pod of peas awaiting harvest by Aylsham Growers (Image: Aylsham Growers)
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