Wet weather threatens Donegal Potato Crop

In Ireland's Donegal county, the seed potato supply for next year is under threat:

Because of the wet weather, Donegal's Potato farmers face a wipeout which could endanger next year’s national crop because of the high level of native seed grown there.

They estimate up to 2,500 acres of the crop, or 80 per cent of the total, is still in the ground, much of it set aside for the production of seed for the 2012 crop.

The area was visited this week by Minister for Horticulture Shane McEntee, who toured the county to view the difficulties involved.

The Irish Farmers Association has called on the Minister to ask Teagasc to carry out a detailed assessment of the losses farmers face there.

The IFA’s national potato committee chairman, Thomas Carpenter, asked the Minister to make a special case for their assistance.