News on The Potato Supply Chain from United Kingdom

More than 140 potato growers, advisors and agronomists met at Frederick Hiam Ltd, Tuddenham, Suffolk at the end of August, 2013, for Potato Council’s East of England Potato Day.

Machinery manufacturer Tong Peal has announced a brand new machinery finishing process, as part of continued efforts to provide farmers and growers with the highest quality custom handling equipment.

Branston and Tesco are offering consumers the opportunity to have their moment of fame with their new ‘Pic on a Pack' initiative. Customers have at chance to have their photo featured on packs of freshly prepared Parmentier potatoes.

Richard Newman has joined the team at R J Herbert Engineering Ltd in the role of sales manager for farm and recycling.

Growers, agronomists and technical specialists turned out in high numbers at Potatoes in Practice earlier this month on the James Hutton Institute’s Balruddery Farm, Invergowrie.

Avoid bruising at potato harvest by managing moisture levels pre-desiccation is the advice from Hutchinsons Root Crop Technical manager, Darryl Shailes.

Importers and growers looking to buy high health, high quality seed are warmly invited to visit Potato Council’s stand at Potato Europe (Emmeloord, The Netherlands, September 11-12, 2013).

In the aftermath of last year’s difficult growing and harvesting season, almost one in ten of Britain’s potato growers decided to call it a day, but, according to Rob Clayton of the Potato Council, the 2013 acreage of potatoes in the UK has not fallen.

Furious potato growers are going head to head with supermarkets and restaurants in a campaign to reclaim the "British New Potato".

Greenvale, the UK’s leading potato supplier, is putting spare spuds from its Shropshire site, Tern Hill and Cambridgeshire site, Floods Ferry, to good use by using them to tackle food waste by working with food distribution charity, FareShare.

The North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) has issued an updated estimate of planted area for the 2013 crop (at the start of July).

Despite one of the most challenging years in British farming history, with early droughts followed by widespread floods, PepsiCo surpassed the target of a one-third reduction in water use using drip irrigation at the same time as growing 'more crop per...

The Potato Council’s first estimate of total potato plantings for the 2013 crop year in Great Britain is 121,200 hectares.

Children across the United Kingdom have been harvesting new potato crops as part of the Potato Council’s primary school project, Grow Your Own Potatoes.

Sainsbury’s has relaxed the product specification of Scottish potatoes to support farmers through one of the toughest seasons. The run of wet weather this season has left many Scottish farmers with crops of smaller potatoes with increased blemishes.

In the United Kingdom, the Potato Council is seeking to raise awareness for the new season crop, with a TV advertising burst to hit screens in July.

Greenvale, the UK’s leading potato supplier, will be celebrating the return of this season’s British Gems baby new potatoes in Sainsbury’s with a marketing campaign heralding the great British summer and a season jam-packed with iconic British events.

Tesco stores in the South West of England will receive the first Cornish potatoes from Branston this week.