The British retailer has published a list of signs which suggest the seasons are already in transition.
According to Waitrose supplier Leckford Farm, the annual arable harvest has taken place two weeks earlier than usual.
In total, the producer has counted in 1,600 tonnes of produce from the latest yield, including wheat, oilseed rape, oats and barley. Bramley Apples were up 23% year-on-year, while pears rose 21%. Blackberries saw a particularly number harvest, up 56% compared with 2024.
‘The drought conditions meant that the plants were stressed, and in reaction to this they raced through their growth stages to produce their seed before they senesce, hence the earlier harvest,’ said Thomas Adami, Farming Operations Manager at Leckford Farm.
‘As we are increasing the organic matter content of our soils through our farming practices, (cover crops, integrating livestock, minimising disturbance etc) we are seeing that our soils have a higher water holding capacity which helps our resilience to drought extremes,’ he continued. ‘An increase in 1% soil organic matter leads to an increase of 168,000L extra water holding per hectare available to the crops.’
Last month, the UK Met Office confirmed that 2025 had been the UK’s hottest on record. Over the course of summer this has resulted in four periods of officially recognised heat wave conditions. Although it is still early to tell, some farmers have reported a fall in yield, although this varies depending on the crop and location.
‘We’ve got an early start to the apple season this year, all thanks to ideal spring conditions and a warm temperature throughout the growing season accelerating the ripening process for many fruits, like apples,’ said Jessica Street, Apple Buyer at Waitrose. ‘The good news is, there’s absolutely no compromise on quality or taste, so you can expect to see British apples proving very popular late August and early September.’
Image: Mustafa akın / Unsplash
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