Potato Review

4 POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER 2021 NEWS Editor Stephanie Cornwall 01778 395055 stephanie.cornwall@warnersgroup.co.uk Multimedai Sales Executive eresa Geeson 01778 392046 theresag@warnersgroup.co.uk Publisher Juliet Loiselle 01778 391067 Julietl@warnersgroup.co.uk Design Amanda Calre Subscriptions 01778 392464 subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk Subscriptions & advertising copy Potato Review, Warners Group Publications, e Maltings, West Street, Bourne, PE10 9PH www.potatoreview.com ISSN 0961–7655 © AREMI Ltd 2018 e publishers are not necessarily in agreement with opinions expressed in this journal. No responsibility can be accepted for statements made by contributors or advertisers. POTATO REVIEW is published by: Warners Group Publications, e Maltings, West Street, Bourne, PE10 9PH Printed by Warners (Midlands) Plc Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs. PE10 9PH November 2021 PRINTED BY WARNERS 01778 395111 Agronomists sought for biostimulant feedback AGRONOMISTS interested in finding out more about biostimulants and the e ect they can have on UK potato crops are being encouraged to contact a natural fertiliser manufacturer. The UK importer of seaweed-based biostimulant, Algifol, wants to establish a network of regional agronomists to receive insights and feedback from them and their clients. Marcus Palmer, the UK importer of Algifol, is o ering free product to those that get involved. Algifol is manufactured in Germany by NeoMed-Pharma. The biostimulant has been distributed in the UK by Marcus since 2005. In that time, Marcus and his customers have applied it to a potato and other crops. Now, Marcus is keen to hear the views of agronomists and their clients. He said in the past the company has worked alongside several universities and academics to look at the e ect on root establishment, disease resistance and yields. “Since distributing Algifol in the UK, I have received lots of feedback from customers who are delighted with the results of using it. They say they like it because it is entirely natural, improves yields, reduces the stress caused by droughts, heat and heavy rainfall. It is also cost-e ective, with just one litre being enough to spray one hectare. “Now, though, I’d like to work with agronomists and gain their feedback on the product as we look to broaden our knowledge and develop our proposition. Most big brands have their in-house agronomists, but we’d like to take a di erent approach and work with independent agronomists.” Algifol is a concentrated brown algae gathered from the North Atlantic, dried and refined to maximise its wealth of trace elements, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, carbohydrates, polyuronides and growth-regulating plant hormones. NeoMed-Pharma recommends four applications of one litre of Algifol diluted at a ratio of up to 1:1,000, which can be applied by knapsack, trailed or mounted sprayers or planes. Algifol wants to work with one agronomist in the South East, South West, East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, the North East and North West of England, as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Agronomists wanting to take part or needing further information should contact Marcus on 07702 293 727 or email marcus@mjpsupplies.co.uk . Lower pro t margins expected for LambWeston LAMB Weston Holdings’ gross profit margins for 2022 are likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels according to its President and CEO, TomWerner. In announcing the company’s fiscal first quarter 2022 results, Tom said: “Our first quarter sales results reflect the ongoing broad recovery within the frozen potato category, with overall demand in North America near pre-pandemic levels, and our shipments improving in each of our core restaurant and foodservice sales channels.” He went on to add: “The impact of extreme summer heat that negatively a ected potato crops in the Pacific Northwest, combined with industrywide operational challenges, including highly inflationary input and transportation costs, labour availability, and upstream and downstream supply chain disruptions, will result in higher costs as the year progresses, and significantly pressure our earnings. Accordingly, we expect our gross profit margins to remain below pre- pandemic levels through fiscal 2022.” His team are approaching the challenges by executing pricing actions to o set commodity inflation, restructuring freight policies, modifying production and crewing schedules to reduce labor volatility, adopting new policies and practices to attract and retain manufacturing employees, and rationalizing our product portfolio, he said.