Potato consumption continues to remain positive across the market and Charlie Doherty of Doherty Potatoes in Donegal attributes that to the impact of the ‘Potatoes – More Than a Bit on the Side’ campaign. Speaking to Irish Tractor & Agri, he called for the promotional campaign to be extended.

Funded by the EU, the Department of Agriculture, the IFA and the Irish Potato Federation, a concerted promotional push was launched in 2015 in an effort to address the declining retail sales  of fresh potatoes in Ireland.

It aimed to re-position potatoes as naturally fat free, tasty and versatile with the key target group being females in the 22-44 year old demographic.

Run in conjunction with National Potato Day, consumers and retailers have been encouraged to support the Irish potato sector, a very important indigenous industry worth €85m at farm gate. It also emphasises the health benefits of Ireland’s most popular vegetable.

The campaign also included the re-launch of www.potato.ie and highlighted the fact that potatoes offer enormous potential within the world of modern cooking.

The main varieties of potatoes grown in Ireland include Rooster (60%), Kerr Pinks (8%), Queens (8%) and Whites (7%). Meath, Dublin, Wexford, Louth, Donegal and Cork are the largest potato growing counties with approximately 500 active potato growers in Ireland.

As most of the fresh potatoes grown in Ireland are also consumed in the Republic, the fall in demand had big implications for local farmers such as Charlie Doherty.

A second generation potato farmer based in Burt, Co Donegal and he has been encouraged by the positive benefits of the ‘Potatoes – More Than a Bit on the Side’ campaign but warns that now is not the time to rest on the laurels.

The campaign was originally planned to be run over three years but he has called for it to be extended.

“The promotion appears to be working but it’s something that we need to keep pushing,” he stressed when speaking to Irish Tractor & Agri. “Hopefully, it will be around next year as well and every potato farmer needs to get behind it. We need to get the word out there that spuds are healthy.

“The market share had been decreasing in previous years. If you look back 10 years there was a lot more potatoes being sold. We were losing market share on an annual basis but there is a turn in the market. We now need to push it on.”

Potatoes are more nutritious, faster growing, require 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.

“Last year was the first time in 50 years that there was no decline in potato sales. That just goes to show what a bit of advertising can do,” he added.

Charlie and his brother Patrick were born and reared in potato farming and learned the tricks of the trade from their father Patrick Snr. They harvest approximately 120 acres of potatoes a year and their varieties include Rooster, Kerr’s Pink, Golden Wonder, Queens, Maris Piper and Fianna.

Another string to their bow is growing certified seed for their countrywide customer base which they have built up over the years.

“There has been a very strong demand for seed this year,” Charlie remarked. “Normally, we would be left with stuff but we’re actually sold out of everything at the moment. We pride ourselves on growing top quality potatoes for the market and the same goes for the seed.”

The Doherty brothers operate out of a state-of-the-art facility and they are constantly innovating to help improve efficiencies on the farm. For instance, they recently installed a warming store which has given them better control of the seed grading process.

A former Chairman of the IFA’s Donegal Branch of the National Potato Committee, Charlie is currently active on the Forestry Committee. Despite the multiple challenges he faces on a day-to-day basis, and the ups and downs of the sector in general, his passion for potato growing has never dimmed.

“It is certainly not a nine to five job. It’s a way of life but I wouldn’t be at it if I didn’t enjoy it,” he concluded.

Doherty Potatoes

Carrowreagh

Bridgend

Co Donegal

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 4, June/July 2018