I picked my second lot of rhubarb today and it seems to be very brittle. It's nearly impossible to pull the sticks cleanly out of the ground. They snap off from a few inches above ground level down to ground level. Even brushing the leaves aside to inspect the stalks was causing them to snap. I don't remember it being this way last year which was the first cropping year after planting. Could it be the snow/cold weather has done it? They're not forced crowns and the yield isn't affected. It's cropping prolifically - I got @130 long sticks today. Rhubarb jam this weekend1
I suspect that it is due to the wet weather making the stems excessively turgid.
Mine is similar and I had a similar problem with my potatoes splitting as I dug them last year as you can see on my photo.
http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_potatoes.html
Thanks aal, it's good to know it's not just mine! Excessive wetness makes sense. Let's hope for a little bit less for the rest of the season. I'm worrying about the garlic rotting in the ground again too - I lost a lot last year. And I'm on very free-draining sandy soil.
You're website is great - I've bookmarked it for future reference.