News on Potato Cultivation from United Kingdom

Potato processors in the United Kingdom and their growers express again extreme concern about the potato supply, due to wet weather and potato varieties grown for processing in particular affected.

British farmers have persevered in the face of adversity to complete 89 per cent of the potato harvest during the wettest year so far since 2012.

The total 2019 planted Great Britain area (revised estimate) is 118.95K ha. This updated estimate puts the area 1% higher than last year and represents the GB area covered by over 90% of producers.

The Lincolnshire Agricultural Equipment Manufacturer Scotts, which manufactures a range of vegetable harvesting machinery, celebrated its Silver anniversary on 11th September.

The first of Tong Engineering’s latest Fieldloader machine, the FieldLoad PRO, is proving to bring a dramatic reduction in loading times at one of the UK’s larger vegetable producers and processors; MH Poskitt Ltd.

Scotts Precision Manufacturing is aiming to finish its record-breaking year in style with its largest-ever presence at British Potato 2019. The Lincolnshire manufacturer of vegetable harvesting equipment will have two stands at the Harrogate show.

Red Tractor are looking for industry feedback on potential changes to the Safe Haven Standards, the seed potato assurance scheme.

Recent research at the James Hutton Institute suggests that limited genetic differences in potato lineages has left British and American spuds vulnerable to late blight, the disease that caused the Irish potato famine.

UK consumers may face a home-grown potatoes shortage next year as stocks run out due to new storage rules.

Scotts Precision Manufacturing is reporting a record year, with sales of its Evolution separator and Trinity range of haulm toppers up by over 30%.

Scientists are creating a “super potato”, fortified with iron and zinc, in a bid to tackle malnutrition in developing countries.

Recently, drones have been given what might just be their most important ever role: being deployed to protect Scottish potatoes.

On 5 June 2019 leading fresh produce stakeholders from across Europe gathered at Freshfel Europe’s 2019 Annual Event to analyse the driving forces for opportunities in the current unpredictable business environment for the fresh produce sector.

The Environment Agency in the UK has already declared irrigation prospects ‘moderate to poor’ in the East of England – in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex. AHDB offers suggestions to place farmers in a stronger position this summer.

The UK’s approach to weed management investment needs to be overhauled, if the needs of industry are to be met. That was the conclusion of the first ever major cross-sector review of weed management, commissioned by AHDB and BBRO.

After Great Britain published its potato statistics earlier this month, the North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) created the overview for their entire region: an 18 percent lower total harvest

Leading handling equipment manufacturer for potatoes and vegetables, Tong Engineering, has announced a number of key new appointments as part of an ongoing commitment to its growing customer base.

Bill Watts has joined AHDB as Arable Knowledge Exchange Manager (Potatoes) for the West Midlands, South West and Wales.