Potato Review

22 POTATO REVIEW MARCH/APRIL 2021 PROFESSIONAL PROFILE Q: What are your main goals currently? MR: Making sure that JRC has a future. This is by driving sustainability and efficiencies. Working with an enthusiastic team at all levels in the business, we always strive to be better and look at the latest ways of working and implementing the latest technologies. Trialling the latest products on the market, including many new biological alternatives, minimises our impact on the environment. Having recently become a LEAF demonstration farm, we are always keen to learn from others and are happy to talk to others about our work. Would you or someone you know have an interesting story to tell? If you’re interested in sharing your story in our Professional Profile section, please get in touch. Email Stephanie Cornwall at stephanie. cornwall@warnersgroup.co.uk Q: Tell me a little about your business successes and failures and what you have learned from them. MR: The business has changed a lot over the time that I have been involved with it, with the formation of The Jersey Royal Company following the merger of several large farming and marketing businesses through to the acquisition by Produce Investments. Growing potatoes on an island on a large scale is challenging. The structure of the island, with a house sitting adjacent to many fields, means that we are always in the face of the public. We don’t always please everyone, with people getting stuck behind a tractor on the way to work or school, sometimes putting mud on the roads or creating noise and “Working from the ground up and learning from some people who have given me the opportunities to get to here I an now has been fantastic.” dust. Farming in all of the island main water catchments which supply the island water company has also been a challenge and so we work strategically to ensure that our impacts are minimal. This has meant very carefully choosing what products we work with. Q: How has your own career outlook changed over the years? MR: The structure of the Island’s farming sector has changed dramatically, from hundreds of individual farms to around 15 dairy farms and 12 potato farms of which JRC is by the far the largest. Working for a more corporate company has its own challenges but has also presented opportunities to further my career path.