Nature

In our work at Hodmedod we celebrate and enjoy pulses every day of the year, but World Pulses Day is an opportunity to step back and consider the wider picture. Pulses really can play a crucial role in mitigating the global challenges of poverty, food security and nutrition, human health, and soil health.

Last year (field scale chickpea production year 2) was a real struggle: drought through much of the season, intense heat in late May, then extraordinary rainfall in August. This year (chickpea year 3) hasn’t started much better to be honest: a cold start and prolonged wet conditions are not what chickpeas like.

The 2019/20 winter must have been one one the most challenging UK farming has had to endure for many years. We've recently had the wettest period of weather on record with particularly severe flooding affecting the North and West. But even in the South East farmers have not been able to get on the land as it's been so wet.