Tag Archives: Potato Council

AHDB rebrand includes HDC and Potato Council

New branding and a proposed new way of working for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) have been formally launched at the Cereals event in Lincolnshire last week.

The move, which was first announced in January, will see AHDB’s sector-focused activity delivered under six brands: AHDB Beef and Lamb, AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds, AHDB Dairy, AHDB Horticulture, AHDB Pork and AHDB Potatoes. Cross sector projects will be delivered as AHDB.

Speaking at the launch, AHDB Chair Peter Kendall stressed that sector specialisms would continue as part of the new plan: “Key to our new way of functional working will be retaining sector expertise and the input of AHDB’s Sector Boards. We will also continue to ensure that levies raised in a sector will be spent for the benefit of that sector.

“Our role is to help put a number of building blocks in place to support the future growth of a competitive farming industry. By working together, sharing expertise and skills across our organisation, I know that AHDB can build on the excellent work it is already providing for all our levy payers.”

The main AHDB Board has also agreed to start a reorganisation of AHDB’s senior team into wider functional roles. This is to drive collective delivery of activity in five areas covering industry strategy, technical, communications and market development, finance and HR.

This post first appeared on HortNews.

New irrigation guide for potatoes

The Potato Council has produced a new guide to early season potato irrigation to accompany its existing guidance document.

Potato Council data suggests 55% of growers have irrigation equipment and 40% of the total potato crop is grown on land with short term tenancies. However, by changing management practices and having a long term strategy for water use the recent problems of scarcity flooding and poor water quality could be alleviated.

According to the Council, “Growers recognise the importance of water and how valuable a resource it is. However, as demand for water increases, it is increasingly necessary to justify need and provide evidence of efficient use, both for environmental protection and to meet crop protocol requirements.”

The new guide also considers the effect of irrigation on disease and common scab development. It can be downloaded from the Potato Council website.

This post first appeared on HortNews.

Potato Council invokes wartime spirit

The Potato Council is urging growers to back its campaign to promote potato consumption using the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on 8th May 2015.

The Potato Council has already asked levy payers to vote on a slogan and now hope that the industry will get behind its promotional efforts. It points out that as part of the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign, cartoon characters ‘Potato Pete’ and ‘Doctor Carrot’ were introduced to spearhead the initiative; both had their own songs and recipe books and Potato Pete was used to ensure the public understood that not only are potatoes easy to grow, they are also wholesome and nutritious.

Potato Council marketing manager, Kate Cox, comments, “The VE Day 70th anniversary represents a unique opportunity for industry not only to celebrate the importance of the national crop, but to position the positive virtues of potatoes in a modern context. Heavily promoted as a good source of protein and energy in the 1940s, we want to remind consumers about the natural goodness of potatoes. They are a great source of fibre and potassium and because of their versatility and convenience are perfect for modern lifestyles.

The post Potato Council invokes wartime spirit appeared first on Hort News.