Thursday, March 28, 2024

Spud expert peels UK industry

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Both New Zealand and Britain have their challenges when it comes to growing the humble spud, but from one side of the globe to the other they are quite different.
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Addressing growers at a PotatoesNZ and Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) field day in Mid Canterbury last week, British potato consultant John Sarup told growers 2017 had been a big year for potatoes in the United Kingdom.

But with no market and at just NZ$57-$76 per tonne for uncontracted product, what’s the point in increasing the yield?

“We did have limited contracts at up to $228, but the rest sold at $57.

“There’s usually far too many potatoes grown, and most growers are only just making enough to invest back in.”

Managing fluctuation in price in relation to quantity grown is the huge challenge, Sarup said.

“So as I give an overview of the UK potato industry, it may be that you can learn from our mistakes,” he told NZ growers.

UK seed growers were selling per tonne into a saturated market.

“The market is just a nightmare, as specific seed varieties keep a close hold on the seed sold.

“The length of the growing season in the UK was typically 120 days. So seed was produced to suit that time frame and mature quicker – we don’t have the beautiful sunshine that gives NZ 150 days.”

About 60% of the UK potato crop was produced on rented land so the grower had no control, arable soils were losing organic matter, and cover crops were currently a huge topic as to how to get biomass.

The UK was just starting research on a farm scale similar to that done by FAR in NZ.

“That will be an interesting concept, and one I am very interested in given my job is to put research into practice to hopefully profit the grower,” Sarup said.

“We have less than 200 growers in the UK now – they are all growing more so there will always be a compromise re soil bed preparation, compaction problems and so on.

“It’s called recreational cultivation – auto-steer and Facebook!”  

With the Brexit uncertainty there was some degree of panic with everyone trying to make as much money as they can.

“Who knows what is going to happen in two years’ time.” 

On his travels throughout NZ, Sarup was looking at a broad range of potato crops and several trials being jointly undertaken by PotatoesNZ and FAR with both processing and seed crops in Canterbury, Manawatu and the wider Pukekohe region.

“I think NZ is way ahead.”

Potatoes are an $810 million industry in NZ.

But PotatoesNZ chief executive Chris Claridge said with a large percentage of potatoes grown in Pukekohe, the challenge ahead for the NZ industry was maintaining access to good growing soils.  

He said the industry had ended 2017 in a strong position, with the highest export volumes and values of recent years.

Relationships with strategic partners had gone from strength to strength, allowing greater traction and following in the wider horticulture industry. 

Potatoes were grown in all parts of the country with the principle growing areas being Pukekohe, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu and Canterbury, which grows 60% of the national crop where the two main processors, Talleys and McCains, are located.  

“We have 170 growers from Northland to Southland growing fresh table potatoes, process and seed potatoes.”

Claridge highlighted real opportunity in frozen fries, especially into southeast Asia and Australia. 

But he said there was pressure on some of the best soils for potato production, and that was a big concern.

“There’s plenty of land to grow potatoes but there is pressure on the unique land available around Pukekohe.

“The soils there are quite elite and rare in NZ, and enable us to grow early and get fresh potatoes into Auckland early.”

But the urban sprawl was putting that at risk.

“Once you grow a house you never get the soil back. As an agriculture country NZ needs to ensure it maintains access to good productive soils.”

Claridge said HorticultureNZ was making submissions to government to ensure that access was considered.

Meanwhile, North Island growers were leasing land in Canterbury to grow spuds.

“A lot of skill and knowledge is needed to grow a potato crop and we have some very good growers in Canterbury too, but a lot of land is leased for potatoes and Canterbury lends itself to being a good place for that.”

Biosecurity was the other key concern.

“Don’t get me started – we have serious focus on ensuring priority pests don’t make it into the country,” Claridge said.

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