Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com NEWS A S potatoes are being harvested, they’ll be removing around 300 kg/ ha of potash from the soil (plus around 50 kg/ha phosphate). Potash is used to balance other nutrients, tomake sure they are used e ciently, aswell as playing a vital role inmaintaining thewater balance inplants and as a precursor to a number of enzyme systems. It’s therefore important to ensure soil levels of Karemaintained andnow is the time to consider reviewing soil nutrient budgets and plan soil sampling. Sampling should be carried out every three to ve years and routinely tests pH, P andMg, aswell as K. e PotashDevelopment Association recently highlighted ve years of data showing a consistent and increasing de cit in rates of K applied, compared to the rates removed by crops. Under-application leads to falling soil indices and the risk of crops being impacted, particularly in stressful conditions. e PDAhas a tool to allow easy calculation of crop removal rates of P and Kand allows users to planbuilding indices back tomaintenance levels over a preferred time, calculating the annual application rates required. Search for PKcalculator anduse it via theweb or download the app. If youneed to arrange soil sampling aimto take 25-30 cores to 15cmfromaWpath across the area to be sampled, avoiding samplingwithin two to threemonths of fertiliser ormanure application and get the samples analysed in a PAAG-registered laboratory. OMEXo ers free soil sampling and analysis for customers if required. Contact the liquid fertiliser experts: Call: 01526 396000 Email: agriculture@omex.com Visit: www.omex.com SPONSORED BY Sustaining Soil Indices Topical crop nutrition advice to boost plant health and improve crop yield from Crop Nutrition Agronomist Scott Baker. taking on Mark Southwell who is based in the area. Mark has spent many years in agriculture most recently working for Omex, and he tells us “This has been an exciting few months, firstly taking on this new role, but also the acquisition of WM Quarrie and his seed business. This news has also been welcomed by farmers in the eastern Counties, many of whom have previously sourced their seed through Wolds Produce and are now supplying crisping potatoes to Walkers too.” Director Tim Foggin said: “Back in 2013, we were supplying around 10,000t of crisping potatoes, 15,000t of free-buy ware sales, and 3,000t of seed - with a very small team. At that time there was still a lot of spot-market sales, but that has shifted massively over recent years with changing weather patterns making buyers move more towards the certainty of contracts. We therefore looked at where we thought the industry was heading, and took the decision to specialise in areas where we could see growth opportunities, namely focussing on expanding our seed and crisping markets.” Seed Director Graham Bennett who has been behind the growth of the seed business added: “Following the acquisition of WM Quarrie, as well as investment in some key appointments over the last two years, in 2021 we will be supplying over 40,000 tonnes of potatoes into the crisping industry and have a seed business supplying over 15,000 tonnes, making us one of the largest independent seed suppliers in the UK. Andrew Johnston joined us back in September 2019, and his many years as a farm manager has already brought a new dimension to our business – his technical knowledge on growing seed is invaluable. The addition of two such well-known and experienced seed professionals as Bill Quarrie and Stuart Fox will give another welcome boost to our specialist team.” MD Simon Tootell added: “This acquisition marks another major key step in our growth and, like many sectors, we are aware of the need to attract new talent into our industry. We are now actively looking for up-and-coming people to join both our crisping and potato seed operations as the business continues to expand and move forward.” “We are now actively looking for up-and-coming people to join both our crisping and potato seed operations as the business continues to expand.” The Wolds Produce team.