Graham Bannister has spent more than 40 years working in the potato industry – growing them, buying and selling them, and latterly talking about them.
Prior to working with AHDB Potatoes leading the Knowledge Exchange team, Graham spent almost 10 years buying potatoes in Scotland for Greenvale, based at its Burrelton office, before returning to his native Yorkshire. He is now putting his experience to good use to help develop the new organisation, GB Potatoes.
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Every potato grower knows that the investment in their crop is eye-wateringly large even before they are harvested. Protecting that investment is key to making a profit through careful planning and application of both nutrition and plant protection products to the judicious use of water culminating in the most effective method to desiccate the crop.
At the end of this and hopefully after a season where the weather has been kind there should be a very valuable crop ready to place into storage. Good storage is controlled by many factors, a large number of which are influenced throughout the growing season and definitely by the harvesting process.
All growers invest heavily in equipment and staff to ensure the lifting of a high-quality crop in a timely manner, and much thought and training goes in to the process. As some crops spend more time in the store than they do in the ground, getting storage right is critical to maximising return on investment.
So now is the time when stores are empty, to look at them and carry out maintenance as well as servicing the refrigeration equipment while also paying plenty of attention to the hygiene of the store. Preventing disease in store starts in the field, but an unhygienic store will quickly undo all the good work done in the field. Investment, both with time and money, in storage is an investment well made.
As energy costs have spiralled, the impact on the cost of potato storage has been immense and has eroded the already tight margins. But there are things that can be done to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of a storage regime. After the closure of the AHDB’s Crop Storage Research Centre at Sutton Bridge, there was a large gap left in the development of novel and efficient storage techniques and in particular the dissemination of information, or knowledge exchange.
In order to fill this void GB Potatoes, in collaboration with Potato Storage Insight and SDF Agriculture Ltd, have introduced the Strategic Potato (SPot) storage programme.
The first year has seen work undertaken at Winters Lane Storage in south Lincolnshire. This culminated in an on-site event in early May where visitors could meet the partners, of which there were 21, and discuss the services and advice on offer.
There were talks on novel approaches to air circulation. This involved turning a fridge through 180 degrees and it showed a significant improvement in air flow. Cold storage strategies for fresh potatoes, Maleic Hydrazide uptake, sprout suppressants and respiration, weight loss and dormancy as well as energy efficiency were also presented to the 70-plus attendees. Due to the success of the day and the interest created, the SPot store programme will continue into 2025.
GB Potatoes is a national organisation representing all aspects of the industry and we are keen that the project reflects this. We will be looking for a suitable site in a different area of Great Britain to continue and build on the work that has been started with the potential for a seed storage facility to be used.
There is also potential for expanding the programme to follow a crop from planting right through to storage and beyond, which is currently being explored and developed.
While there are common features and problems within seed and ware storage, both have unique requirements which need to be highlighted and investigated.
As part of the SPot store project, and with its commitment to knowledge exchange, we are planning to organise meetings around the country to present the work undertaken and give growers the opportunity to discuss their own storage issues and how the information from the research could be implemented in their own stores.
We are planning to be in Scotland in November or December when potato storage expert Adrian Cunnington of Potato Storage Insight will lead the discussions and present the findings from the SPot store.
Why not join GB Potatoes and be a part of the growing movement that represents the entire GB potato industry?
This will ensure that work such as the SPot store programme continues to provide relevant and timely information, with the potential for individual businesses to gain privileged access to new information.
We will be at Potatoes in Practice in August as well as at Potato Days UK in September, so please call in for a chat and hear about how you can be involved in securing the future of this amazing industry, and how this can benefit you.
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