Potato News from United Kingdom

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).

Mackie’s Crisps hosted almost 200 hundred guests at the opening of their new crisp factory in Errol, Perthshire earlier this month.

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".

Ishida Europe is introducing an enhancement to its market-leading Atlas range of snack food bagmakers which the company says will increase its already-high speeds on Potato Chips by a further 35% to a performance leading 150 bags per minute.

Potato processor McCain has contracted Soltens to remove and recycle by-products from its Scarborough french fry factory.

The Highlander crisps plant at Bathgate, West Lothian, closed on July 31 with the loss of 28 jobs.

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.

Potato Council’s summer ‘Many Faces of Potatoes’ campaign has been hailed a major success, following positive industry and consumer feedback.

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

Potato Chips Manufacturer Tyrrells Potato Crisps in the United Kingdom will get new ownership. Investcorp announced today that it has agreed to acquire Tyrrells Potato Crisps from Langholm Capital for £100 million.

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...

Tong Peal Engineering is set to showcase its latest range of processing equipment at Europe’s largest potato exhibition in September, Potato Europe.

Tong Peal Engineering will be hosting an open week later this month, to give growers and packers the opportunity to see its latest machinery in action.

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.