Harrowden. Resilient by nature. Reliable by design.
When the Weather Tests the Industry
The last four months have pushed UK growers harder than any winter in recent memory.
Met Office data shows just how extreme it’s been:
November: around double the typical monthly rainfall
December: the wettest in 154 years
January: roughly 134% of average rainfall
Early February: more than 60% of the monthly average in just seven days
With saturated soils, low light levels and almost no drying windows, it’s no surprise that several turf growers have taken to social media to explain the pressures they’re facing – heavier turf, limited mowing opportunities, restricted harvesting, and quality challenges caused by conditions none of us can control.
These are real issues, and the whole industry is feeling them. But this is also where Harrowden’s resilience truly shows.
While others are pausing, rationing, or reshuffling schedules, our multi‑site model and long‑term investment in soil health, drainage and field rotation mean we’ve remained operational throughout. Not because conditions are easy – they aren’t – but because resilience isn’t something you claim after the fact. It’s something you build into the business long before the weather turns.
Our black organic soils hold warmth longer in winter, keeping turf greener and more active when lighter soils elsewhere cool and stall.
Our geographic spread reduces risk, giving us options when one region is hit harder than another.
Our science‑led approach to cultivation and rotation keeps fields workable for longer.
And we choose machinery that protects the crop, not pressures it.
At this time of year, when the ground is at its wettest, we rely on different types of harvesters suited to different conditions, allowing us to keep lifting turf while minimising ground impact. It’s a flexible approach designed to protect the field first and maintain supply second.
And for mowing, we use lightweight electric machines with high blade speed, giving us the ability to cut cleanly when heavier kit simply can’t get onto the field.
Just as in summer we harvest through the night to deliver cooler, fresher turf, in winter we lean on the strengths we’ve built over decades: soil, systems, machinery, and people who know how to adapt, not react.
The weather will improve. The industry will bounce back. But moments like this highlight the difference between coping and being ready.
Harrowden. Resilient by nature. Reliable by design
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