British Sugar has postponed the start of the 2008/09 beet harvesting campaign in East Anglia by a few days to give hard-pressed growers more time to deal with the delayed cereal harvest.

The factory at Wissington will now begin accepting loads on Monday 22 September, five days later than planned, while Bury St Edmunds and Cantley will open their gates on Thursday 2 October, two days later than planned.

Colm McKay, head of agriculture at BS said: “With the wet summer causing problems for many farmers we have taken the decision to delay the start of the beet campaign and ease the pressure on our growers’ workload.”

Newark’s opening date remains unchanged (17 September).