•
NEWS
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
MARCH 2017
UK potato growers could be
missing out on £700 per
hectare according to Rob
Clayton, AHDB Potatoes
Strategy Director. Speaking at
the Farming Scotland
Conference in Carnoustie, Rob
detailed AHDB analysis which
looked at some of the top 25%
of producers and found that
improvements in seed rates and
energy efficiency could be
worth approximately £37,000
for the average grower.
He said: “Farmers are not
collecting this extra income for
a number of reasons. Changes
to seed and nitrogen rates and
making simple investments to
improve store performance, can
make a real difference to the
bottom line. We need towork
on supporting producers to
change their practices to
improve productivity and
increase their yields and
margins. Our Strategic Potato
Farm Programme is a key part
of those efforts.”
When AHDB last analysed the
figures in 2015, average UK
potato yields were 48.8 tonnes
per hectare, while Germany,
France and Belgiumwere
achieving yields of over 50
tonnes per hectare. While this is
partly down to environmental
factors such as soil quality and
weather as well as variety mix,
the AHDB analysis demonstrates
that there is room to increase
those figures.
Rob also called on the
industry to embrace the
changing tastes of consumers.
He said: “Many consumers are
looking for convenience, and
for meal time solutions rather
than ingredients. Because of
this we see the chilled potato
sector is growing, chilledmash,
or roast potatoes for example
andwe need tomake sure we
are tapping into this.
“Premium potato products are
also important, especially as we
see a global surge in themiddle
classes, and therefore not only
dowe need to producemore
such products, but we need to
build relationships with those
growing global markets which
are looking out for these
premium goods.”
10
UK potato growers’ missing margins
Rob Clayton.
Controlled release fertilizers boost
Jersey Royal yields
Farming needs arrangement for
seasonal workers
Using a controlled released
fertilizer (CRF) in preference to a
standard nitrogen programme
has been paying off in a trial run
by the Jersey Royal Company. The
trials weremanaged
independently by Ryan Stone, the
firm’s technical manager across a
six hectare area of Jersey Royal
early cropping potatoes.
“Last year we applied
Agromaster CRF - manufactured
by ICL Specialty Fertilizers - to
half of the field trial area. The
other half received a standard
fertilizer, with both being applied
two days before planting,” says
Ryan.
The CRF was applied frommid-
March until the end of April
2016 at a rate of 180 kilograms
of nitrogen per hectare. “When
wemonitored the crop, the
earlier digs didn’t showmuch of
a difference between the
untreated control and the CRF
treated potatoes, but after 12
weeks, the difference was clear
andwe saw up to 8% yield
increase in some fields,” he says.
The benefits of CRF are
numerous according to Ryan,
including tackling leaching.
“From an environmental
perspective, Agromaster helps to
minimise leaching and this is
extremely important for our
farming practices. Reducing
chemical residues is a very hot
topic on our Island,” he adds.
Controlled release fertilizers are
being increasingly employed to
support potato crops, according
to Scott Garnett of ICL Specialty
Fertilizers. “They limit the need
for top dressings and the fact
that the fertilizer remains
available to the plant over a
longer period, offers vital
nutritional support to the crop
throughout the whole of the
growing cycle.” he says.
“The fertilizer granules have an
E-max coating’ which is
essentially a semi-permeable layer
that controls the release of the
fertilizer to the growing plant.
This works in conjunctionwith
the soil temperature and
moisture content, withmore
fertiliser beingmade available as
the soils warm-up. If the
temperature then drops, the
coating condenses and stops the
flow of nutrients. When the
nutrients are fully released, the E-
max coating disintegrates
harmlessly into the soil,” adds
Scott.
Ryan Stone.
Awholesale potatomerchant, who falsely inflated his businesses
expenses by 2,000% to claim £160,000 he wasn’t entitled to, has
been jailed for two and a half years.
Scott Coupland, 48, from Leadenflower Road, Crieff, director of
W D R Coupland (Produce) Limited, submitted a string of false VAT
returns to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) betweenMarch 2011
and November 2012.
By claiming his overheads weremore than 20 times higher than
they really were, Coupland received VAT repayments much greater
than he was due. Investigators found Couplandwas using the VAT
repayments not only to keep his ailing business afloat, but also to
cover the costs of private school fees and his mortgage.
Cheryl Burr, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC,
said: “The VAT repayment system exists to support legitimate
businesses, not a as bank to allow criminals access to ready cash.”
Potatomerchant jailed
A reliable scheme to allow
seasonal agricultural workers
to harvest British produce
must be a priority post-Brexit,
an agricultural conference
heard. The warning came
from AntheaMcintyre,
ConservativeMEP for theWest
Midlands, who spoke at a
conference inWorcester
organised by the National
Farmers Union, on the future
of farming in post-Brexit
Britain.
Miss McIntyre said
horticulture was a key
contributor to the UK
economy, contributing 18% of
the country’s agriculture
income from 3% of the land.
But labour was a key
challenge, she said, especially
the seasonal labour needed at
harvest time.
She said: “We havemore
than 80,000 seasonal workers
in the UKwhichwe need to
get our crops picked. We can’t
let ourselves be told that we
can have British labour doing
the work. With record levels of
employment, we don’t have
the people. Our growers have
tried that and it won’t work.
Calling for an updated
version of the Seasonal
Agricultural Workers Scheme,
she said: “We valued the
scheme. People came here, did
the work required and they
went home again. They did
not contribute to immigration
figures. It worked, andwe
should look to introduce
something similar after Brexit
as soon as possible.”
