Doherty Potatoes in Burt, Co Donegal have been supplying a large customer base with their high quality potatoes for  two generations. This family run business has continued to evolve with the times and their state of the art facility allows them to provide an efficient and excellent service.

For this month’s edition of Irish Tractor & Agri, we profile the company and speak to manager Charlie Doherty about what is involved in growing the perfect potato.

There are many budding potato growers around the country, many of who have a small patch in the back garden, but to grow hundreds of acres of potatoes means that there is a different set of skills needed, which Charlie and his brother Patrick have learned down through the years.

“Myself and Patrick have been involved in the business since we were kids when my father Patrick Snr was running the business and we are still learning the trade to this day as it continues to develop,” said Charlie. “We harvest in the region of 120 acres of potatoes a year and there are a wide range of varieties grown here.”

Some of the varieties harvested including Rooster, which is the most widely grown potato in Ireland and is available all year round. Kerr’s Pink is another variety and is still the most favoured in Donegal. Golden Wonder is a very tasty traditional Irish potato and the most ‘floury’ potato variety available. Queens are a second early potato variety and are available from late June to September.

Maris Piper has a golden skin colour with dry creamy white fluffy flesh of good flavour, that rarely discolours on cooking.  They are a versatile all rounder, excellent for roasting and one of the best chipping varieties available, indeed they are the variety of potato most favoured by chippers throughout Ireland. Fianna is also a very high dry matter potato with its own distinct taste which we would sell late on in the year.

“A lot of work goes into harvesting potatoes from sowing right through to packing. It suits us to bring in contractors to do some of the field work. We have our own two harvesters, but use other contractors as well.

As well as growing ware potatoes for consumption, Doherty Potatoes are heavily involved in growing certified seed for their customer base nationally which they have built up over the years.

However in recent years Doherty Potatoes and other seed growers are having difficulty working with the Dept of Agri.  A lack of experience and vision by senior staff within the Dept of Agri has led the seed industry to fall from almost 1600ha in 2007 to just over 200ha this year. Charlie says “I am going to have no option but to move my certified seed business to Northern Ireland, where the Dept  has a lot more experience with farmers and are committed to driving the seed industry forward.”

The potato continues to be enjoyed in Ireland today. The year 2008 was declared the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations, noting that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world’s population, and affirming the need to focus world attention on the role that the potato can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty. Potatoes are more nutritious, faster growing, need less land and water and can thrive in worse growing conditions than any other major crop. They provide up to four times as much complex carbohydrate per hectare as grain, better quality protein and several vitamins.

However, Charlie revealed that consumption levels have dropped dramatically in recent years and he stressed that something needed to be done at national level to address this.

The reason for this is that a lot of people opt for ready made meals. A lot of families these days have both the husband and wife out working and it is handier to either go for convenience foods or get a takeaway than start cooking when they get home.

“More promotion of the potato at national level needs to be done and we’re hopeful that there will be a push on an advertising campaign to promote this,” added Charlie who is Chairman of the Donegal Branch of National Potato Committee of the I.F.A.

The industry is very weather dependent and Charlie admitted that it was very hard to find a perfect medium in regards to the Irish climate.

“There was a great summer last year and the yield was very high, which you may think is a good thing, but in fact when that happens, the price of potatoes by the ton drops considerably and that’s what happened this year.  Potato growers must invest a lot of money into their business if they are to be successful in this industry and Charlie admitted that they have been continually investing.

“The annual cost of running the business is very expensive, but you have no choice but to invest otherwise you will be left behind.”

Doherty Potatoes
Carrowreagh,
Bridgend,
Co Donegal.

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 2 No 5, October 2014