Vegetable crops worth tens of thousands of dollars are set to be dumped because farmers claim there is nowhere to store them. Farmers harvesting a bumper crop of broccoli fear much of their produce will end up on the compost heap. They have joined forces to call for proper refrigeration facilities to be established to ensure future crops are not ruined. Yesterday, farmer Roland Hill dumped 2,000 lbs of broccoli -- worth around $2,500 -- at his Astwood Park farm, because there was nowhere to stock the vegetables. And he says around $20,000 of the crop may eventually be lost Island-wide because the Government marketing centre cold storage is broken. "The whole system is a mess, we just don't have enough storage space,'' said Mr. Hill. "The crop is just going rotten. "The Government marketing centre chillers have been broken for two years. All it needs is a quick fix, they wouldn't have to spend a lot, it just needs a small repair -- something needs to be done up there.'' Another farmer is preparing to plough some of his crop in because there is nowhere to take it after cutting. He said: "I am not bothering to cut it, it just doesn't make sense because there is nowhere to put it. I have left several acres, it will make a damn good fertiliser. "If we had a chiller we could keep it for up to a month.'' The farmer said the problem had been made worse by a good crop and a new variety, which was bringing in massive yields. But he slammed supermarkets for paying between $1 and $1.25 per pound, and selling to the customer for up to $2.99 a pound. But Charles Sealock, produce manager for MarketPlace stores, hit back at accusations over high prices. He said they lost between 25 and 30 percent of the produce immediately because the deliveries contained sub-standard vegetables. And a high heat factor in the heads meant they only had a shelf life of one day -- leading to broccoli being dumped or sold off at a reduced price -- and that, combined with other overheads, led to the pricing. But Mr. Sealock backed the farmers' calls for a refrigeration facility, which he said would alleviate what is a regular problem with certain types of crops. "With cooling, that would bring the pricing down, we could almost have year round broccoli. If you can cool, it is a win-win situation for everybody,'' he said. He added that MarketPlace supported the farmers and wanted to help them help themselves. Selling the glut by alternative means could also cause problems. Farmers fear they will be blackballed by supermarket bosses if they try to sell their excess produce on the side of the road. "There has been over supply on the Island for the last three weeks. We wouldn't have a problem if the chillers were fixed -- it would probably only cost $5,000 to $10,000,'' said Mr. Hill. If the coolers at Prospect were working, then Mr. Hill said he could ensure supply over a longer period of time -- bringing farmers income and guaranteeing stock for supermarkets. John Barnes, director of Agriculture and Fisheries, said just one of the coolers was not working at present, adding that there was no room in any of the other rooms. But, he said, farmers could find other chiller space on the Island, for example at one of the wholesalers. The question of whether Government should provide new coolers was tricky, he said. "It is a problem. Is it up to the taxpayers to underwrite the food we eat? I don't know what the answer would be from Government,'' he said. The coolers had $500,000 spent on them six years ago, he said, adding that it would cost millions of dollars to build a new facility, which may lie empty for part of the year.

VEGETABLES VEG