ditchman Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Been up the chip shop this eve....having a chinwag with the lady who owns it ...and 3 others....she has been holding the price down on chips for the last months...and was saying she will have to post an increase soon........... REASON.......... the french are all over east anglia at the moment buying spuds straight out of the ground.....crates are forked onto lorries and off they go to france.....this is what the potatoe merchant is saying...and talking to the farmers....this will go on for a while.....then....the farmers will put their spuds into storage and watch the price continue to rocket....this time last year she was paying £5-6-7 quid a bag.....this year it is approaching 12-15 quid a bag.............the merchant rekons he wont be able to get any spuds for a period of 8-10 weeks...or until March...then the farmers will start releasing them...so the sheds are empty when the new crop comes in........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmytree Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 You've had your chips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 loads of tatties up here, infact they are still lifting them. Yum Yum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Looks like you will have to dig some of that lawn up and grow your own, you could then build a machine to peel and chip the spuds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 i get mine free of the farmer each year .a bag or more a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastair0903 Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 Even with a lot of irrigation, potato yields are well down in Essex. They really cannot stand any temperature over 28 degrees, they just shut down in the heat and they were planted late after a very wet spring. Good job the price is looking healthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmytree Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 A nice spud story! Back in the early 80s a farming friend of mine ploughed a field that had been grass since WW2, all it had been used for was grass, hay and putting cows on. It got ploughed, slathered with manure and then planted with Marfona. He was driving the tractor, I was drafted in to run the harvester. Within the first few rows we were dumbfounded, the spuds were HUGE! I think the figure mentioned at the time was over 24 tons per acre. When it came to bagging we had one customer who used to take 10 bags at a time but asked specifically for "big ones" so we obliged. Each 52lb (25kg) contained only 10 or 11 spuds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPP Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 7 minutes ago, timmytree said: A nice spud story! Back in the early 80s a farming friend of mine ploughed a field that had been grass since WW2, all it had been used for was grass, hay and putting cows on. It got ploughed, slathered with manure and then planted with Marfona. He was driving the tractor, I was drafted in to run the harvester. Within the first few rows we were dumbfounded, the spuds were HUGE! I think the figure mentioned at the time was over 24 tons per acre. When it came to bagging we had one customer who used to take 10 bags at a time but asked specifically for "big ones" so we obliged. Each 52lb (25kg) contained only 10 or 11 spuds. Sure they weren’t sugar Beet?? 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 36 minutes ago, ditchman said: Been up the chip shop this eve....having a chinwag with the lady who owns it ...and 3 others....she has been holding the price down on chips for the last months...and was saying she will have to post an increase soon........... REASON.......... the french are all over east anglia at the moment buying spuds straight out of the ground.....crates are forked onto lorries and off they go to france.....this is what the potatoe merchant is saying...and talking to the farmers....this will go on for a while.....then....the farmers will put their spuds into storage and watch the price continue to rocket....this time last year she was paying £5-6-7 quid a bag.....this year it is approaching 12-15 quid a bag.............the merchant rekons he wont be able to get any spuds for a period of 8-10 weeks...or until March...then the farmers will start releasing them...so the sheds are empty when the new crop comes in........... In the new Co op at Harleston today the Kettle crisps were £2.55 a bag , and no prizes for guessing what the main ingredients are , this time last year the spuds were a fiver a bag or three for a tenner , this year they are £9.99 for 25 kilos , and some places so I am told are dearer than that. Well worth walking behind the harvester this year . 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markm Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 It wouldn’t surprise me if the cost has gone up following the dry summer we’ve had. I don’t think there is a famine. Quality grain has gone up £40 per tonne from last year. (By quality I mean straw, twig and gravel free). It was being traded at £200 a tonne at harvest time in the north east. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 35 years ago I worked on a farm casual like, I used to work on the spud harvester and it was amazing what would come up on the belt, rats, mice, small rabbits, moles, stones, pottery, voles. Oh yes and spuds. (apologies I digress) My job was to remove small stones and chats from the belt. Used to then tip them out of the hopper onto a belt back in the barn then bag them 40 per tonne on a pallet. The farmer used to hold about 60-70% of the crop until after Christmas and he used to say the price would rocket. I can see it now , Ditchies workshop & fast food emporium. Our motto. Machines fixed while you scoff yer chips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) This has happened before, I remember the same thing happening a few years ago, but the farmers sat on them to drive up the price too long and when they released them they created a glut and the price went through the floor again. Edited October 30, 2018 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted October 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 Potatoe futures my son....potatoe futures......................i wonder if they deal with em in the city..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyefor Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 16 hours ago, marsh man said: In the new Co op at Harleston today the Kettle crisps were £2.55 a bag , and no prizes for guessing what the main ingredients are.... WARNING. USELESS FACT MOMENT. It takes 16 tonnes of potates to produce 1 ton of crisps (allegedly & according to Steve Wright's "factoids" c/o BBC Radio 2). So crisps might become bloomin' expensive and £2.55 might seem a bargain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonepark Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 17 hours ago, marsh man said: In the new Co op at Harleston today the Kettle crisps were £2.55 a bag , and no prizes for guessing what the main ingredients are , this time last year the spuds were a fiver a bag or three for a tenner , this year they are £9.99 for 25 kilos , and some places so I am told are dearer than that. Well worth walking behind the harvester this year . 😊 So the value of the tatties in a 150g bag of tatties is the grand sum of 6 pence? . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted October 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 4 hours ago, Eyefor said: WARNING. USELESS FACT MOMENT. It takes 16 tonnes of potates to produce 1 ton of crisps (allegedly & according to Steve Wright's "factoids" c/o BBC Radio 2). So crisps might become bloomin' expensive and £2.55 might seem a bargain? 'nother useless fact.......................walkers rekon one potatoe will make one bag of crisps.......... christ ther must be some profit in it somewhere.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 There was a program on the TV last week showing how Walker's crisps were made and as ditchman says 1 spud makes 1 bag of crisps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 5 hours ago, Eyefor said: WARNING. USELESS FACT MOMENT. It takes 16 tonnes of potates to produce 1 ton of crisps (allegedly & according to Steve Wright's "factoids" c/o BBC Radio 2). So crisps might become bloomin' expensive and £2.55 might seem a bargain? When I peel spuds they are washed first! If the skins are ok I then fry the skins to make home made crisps! My son and the neighbours lad used to polish them off if I turned my back. No reason to waste the skin on a spud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 20 hours ago, markm said: It wouldn’t surprise me if the cost has gone up following the dry summer we’ve had. I don’t think there is a famine. Quality grain has gone up £40 per tonne from last year. (By quality I mean straw, twig and gravel free). It was being traded at £200 a tonne at harvest time in the north east. How times change ? , one year on the farm where I worked they had that many spuds they filled the barns up to the rafters with spuds they couldn't sell , in those days they had the Potato Marketing Board that stepped in when the market hit rock bottom , I believe at the time it was 30 odd quid a ton , once the price fell below that there officials moved on the estate with lances and sprayed a dye over the whole lot and they ended up going for stock feed . It certainly wont happen this year . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPP Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 6 hours ago, ditchman said: Potatoe futures my son....potatoe futures......................i wonder if they deal with em in the city..... Commodities.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 17 hours ago, B725 said: There was a program on the TV last week showing how Walker's crisps were made and as ditchman says 1 spud makes 1 bag of crisps Actually, it was very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yod dropper Posted November 1, 2018 Report Share Posted November 1, 2018 17 hours ago, Lord Geordie said: When I peel spuds they are washed first! If the skins are ok I then fry the skins to make home made crisps! That sounds like it's got deliciousness all over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokersmith Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 On 30/10/2018 at 19:45, ditchman said: Been up the chip shop this eve....having a chinwag with the lady who owns it ...and 3 others....she has been holding the price down on chips for the last months...and was saying she will have to post an increase soon........... REASON.......... the french are all over east anglia at the moment buying spuds straight out of the ground.....crates are forked onto lorries and off they go to france.....this is what the potatoe merchant is saying...and talking to the farmers....this will go on for a while.....then....the farmers will put their spuds into storage and watch the price continue to rocket....this time last year she was paying £5-6-7 quid a bag.....this year it is approaching 12-15 quid a bag.............the merchant rekons he wont be able to get any spuds for a period of 8-10 weeks...or until March...then the farmers will start releasing them...so the sheds are empty when the new crop comes in........... REASON ..... The whole of Europe (particularly the main HAFPAL growing area) 'suffered' a similar summer to ourselves. The crop is down in terms of both average length and quantity. There will be additional quality issues caused by the stress the plants were under during those hot days, and many crops have suffered from secondary growth. There's a huge amount of variation between irrigated and unirrigated crops, along with planting dates and soil types. As timmytree has already indicated ... some crops perform particularly well they've followed pigs of other 'manure' producers. We won't run out of spuds, but there will be an impact on price and quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 Just purchased 50kg which should see us through to the New Year. Same price as last year and first class quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) On 31/10/2018 at 18:49, marsh man said: How times change ? , one year on the farm where I worked they had that many spuds they filled the barns up to the rafters with spuds they couldn't sell , in those days they had the Potato Marketing Board that stepped in when the market hit rock bottom , I believe at the time it was 30 odd quid a ton , once the price fell below that there officials moved on the estate with lances and sprayed a dye over the whole lot and they ended up going for stock feed . It certainly wont happen this year . I remember that ! about 1970 we even riddled them but loaded them via a bale conveyor belt with sides straight into a large artic tippers, then poured a blue dye over them with a watering can... I also remember the price of spuds at the farm gate in 76 after the drought being a tad high, no irrigation in those days 1 minute ago, islandgun said: Edited November 2, 2018 by islandgun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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