We’re a co-operative of around 250 farmers from across East Yorkshire and North and North East Lincolnshire who all grow peas for Birds Eye.
Working together, and with Birds Eye, we pool our resources and share our knowledge to grow tasty peas of the very highest quality. We grow our peas sustainably, doing all we can to protect the natural environment and boost biodiversity.
Every year, we harvest around 45,000 tonnes of peas, which we grow on around 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land.
The season begins in March, when we start ‘drilling’ (or sowing) pea seed. Harvest typically begins in mid-June and runs through to early August. However, the weather conditions determine the exact timing of each stage of the pea growing process.
‘Vining’ (or harvest) is our busiest time; it’s a huge logistical operation involving hundreds of people working around the clock to ensure that every single pea completes its journey from picked to frozen in 2.5 hours. Peas have to be harvested at just the right moment for maximum tenderness and flavour, guaranteeing that they are fresh and tasty by the time they reach your plate.
They then have to be quickly transported to Birds Eye’s state-of-the-art pea processing facility in Hull, where they are frozen within just 2.5 hours of being picked. From there, they make the journey to the supermarkets and then into your freezer.
Growing exclusively for Birds Eye, producing all the peas for their dedicated freezing operations in Hull, which represent the large majority of their UK production.
We are proud to support Yes Peas! This is a collaboration between growers and others working in our sector to celebrate all that is wonderful about the nation’s favourite vegetable.
