The British new potato needs no introduction, no complicated recipe, and no embellishment – just butter to enjoy this brief, brilliant early summer harvest. Right now, in three iconic British ‘early potato’ sweet spots, potato lifting is underway. In the coastal fields of Ayrshire, the farmlands of Pembrokeshire, and the Sandlings of Suffolk – farmers…
A major new survey of British potato growers reveals a sector facing significant short-term pressure, with confidence low for the coming season as growers contend with rising costs, policy uncertainty, labour challenges and threats from pests and disease. However, the survey also shows that growers retain greater confidence in the longer-term future of the industry,…
By Scott Walker, CEO, GB Potatoes The humble potato may not make national headlines, but for Britain’s farmers and food system it has become emblematic of the pressures facing modern agriculture. For decades, the UK potato sector has been a reliable cornerstone of our food system. Affordable, versatile, and economically significant, potatoes have long been…
The Treater Group, chaired by Mark Taplin, focuses on all aspects of the crop management of potatoes with a core objective of improving standards, consulting on key matters, facilitating knowledge transfer and developing guidelines for best practice. As we now enter a foliar disease management era without mancozeb it is highly likely that we may…
By Adrian Cunnington, Chair of the CIPC Residues Monitoring Group For several seasons now, the potato industry has been working through the legacy of CIPC. Much of the attention has, quite rightly, been on residue levels in stores that were historically treated. That focus was essential in the early years after withdrawal, but the latest…
GB Potatoes CEO Scott Walker shares his thoughts on some of the new health trends. These days, it seems easier to give yourself a quick injection than hit the gym or rethink your diet. Across the food world, appetite-suppressing weight-loss drugs are making an impact and just imagine what will happen when they move from…
Potato production is a risky business, but there are a growing number of strategies to combat the ever-growing lists of threat to the industry. GB Potatoes recently discussed risk in its Cutting the odds: Managing risk in potato production webinar. It heard from GB Potatoes chair Alex Godfrey, the CEO and President of Potatoes USA,…
There is no guarantee of a repeat of last year’s very low late blight pressure season in 2026 and vigilance is vital in controlling disease, the audience at a GB Potatoes seminar at the British Potato Industry Event heard. “2025 was very unusual; it was incredibly dry with very low blight pressure which led to…
GB Potatoes has celebrated the creativity of fourth-year students at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) after judging a series of marketing campaigns developed as part of the agricultural communications module within the college’s agricultural degree. The project challenged students to create a campaign promoting “The Whole Potato” on behalf of GB Potatoes, the industry body representing the entire potato supply chain. The brief followed a guest…
A vibrant and focused seed industry is essential to the British potato industry, visitors to the British Potato Event heard. Introducing the GB Potatoes seminar Future changes to the UK’s supply of seed potatoes, Richard Baker, Managing Director of breeders HZPC UK described the scale of the British potato seed industry. “There are between 14,000…
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