Potato News from United Kingdom

Bredel hose pumps are contributing to a sustainable solution for steam potato peeling provided by TOMRA Food which reduces water usage, water treatment and food waste.

European Space Agency (ESA) has been supporting research in frying cooking methods in microgravity to fill in knowledge gaps on Earth and in space. Frying potatoes in space seems to be possible!

Extreme weather incidents are serving to rock Europe’s potato industry to its very foundations. Last year was actually the second warmest year on record in Europe. The drought conditions resulted in a dramatic downturn in overall potato output.

CNH Industrial and ONE SMART SPRAY, a joint venture between Bosch and BASF, have signed a collaboration agreement to integrate the latter’s advanced spraying system within CNH Industrial’s agricultural brand product portfolios.

McCain Foods, world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products and a global leader in prepared appetisers and snacks, has partnered with Say It Now to launch their first Actionable Audio Ad campaign in Q2 of 2023.

Extreme weather events pose a significant challenge to potato cultivation. Heat and drought stress reduces productivity, causes physiological defects in tubers, and damages crops.

A new predictive method has shown a way to better select parents for new potato varieties, offering a blueprint for better potatoes and a way to speed up the production of higher yield varieties.

tna solutions has partnered with a premium snack manufacturer, Burts Snacks Ltd, to increase production capacity at its Plymouth, UK, manufacturing site.

HZPC UK, a member of the Royal HZPC Group, a leader in potato varieties and seed production for the entire potato industry in the UK, announced the acquisition of TLC Potatoes, one of Scotland's leading minituber producers.

Defra and UKRI, as part of the Farming Innovation Programme, recently announced funding for 'Potato-LITE' – a multimillion pound project over four years

From melting glaciers and flooding to drought, rising global temperature is affecting agriculture in many ways. Potato production is also taking a hit.

Ground-Sensing technology TuberScan - developed by Agri-tech business B-hive Innovations and partners - is entering its final phase of testing both overseas and now in the UK following the start of this year’s weather-delayed potato growing season.

Following the success of last year’s demonstration programme, GRIMME UK is once again giving people a chance to see the GL 420 Exacta potato planter in operation.

In light of the new rules in the United Kingdom on the use of inhibited urea, announced on 22 March, farmers are being encouraged to check levels of efficiency when purchasing urea, to maximise their investment when complying to new regulations.

Gordon MP Richard Thomson has been advised by DEFRA that new requirements which will allow quality Scottish seed potatoes back into their Northern Irish markets are expected to be in place for autumn this year.

As part of the Spring Budget, from 1st April UK manufacturers now have 100% First Year Allowance for Capital Expensing. This means that UK companies will be able to write off the full cost of qualifying main rate plant and machinery investment in the year of the investment.

With weed control a key challenge for farmers, and reduced sensitivity to some herbicides a continuing problem. New product trials by FMC have demonstrated that effective controls are on the horizon.

Launched in 2017, the potato variety Kingsman has developed quickly in popularity to become Scotland-based potato breeder Cygnet PB Ltd.’s first globally successful variety.