Just a few weeks from planting season and the team at Craignathro is planning their biggest crop to date with 300 acres ear marked for potatoes.
Matthew Steel moved into the ware potato market eight years ago and since then has doubling the area planted.
The family farm near Forfar has cereals, free-range hens and renewables alongside the large potato business.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
Headed up by Matthew, the farming enterprise is run with assistance of foreman Brian Baxter and builds on decades of family know-how.
The Steels have grown potatoes for generations right back to Matthew’s grandfather Jim Steel who grew tatties in Lanarkshire.
Matthew’s parents, Andrew and Carol, moved to Craignathro in 1989 and they brought their potato expertise with them, regularly growing 50 acres of seed tatties such as Pentland Dell and Wilja.
Switching to ware
Over the years the seed business grew to around 130 acres of mostly seed crop in 2015 when the decision was made to move more into ware market.
They have always grown some ware but it was a market Matthew wanted to focus on with the decisions down to a number of factors.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
He said: “We were keen to grow our margins in the potato business and we
could see the better prices paid by the packers at that point.
“The fixed prices coupled with the higher yield from a ware crop meant the margin was better with slightly less hassle as it doesn’t need rogued or inspected.”
The decision was made shortly before the European market shut following Brexit but Matthew is keen to stress he likes to make decisions on market demand as opposed to policy outlook, although the latter, he admits, can occasionally affect the former.
As a result of the family’s decision in 2017 the team had to upgrade their potato storage to ensure their produce was able to be sold into the market at spec.
Historically the family has ambient stores which suited the seed varieties but would not keep their crop in the condition ready for supermarket consumers.
They had 1500t of ambient storage which covered about 80% of their typical annual yield. The Steels then installed refrigeration into most of the sheds as well as built new ones which brought the capacity to 4000t of cold storage whilst retaining 2400t of ambient storage.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
These cold storage sheds keep the temperature at three degrees Celsius with air circulation ensuring an even temperature for all the boxes.
The upgrades were completed by Graham Robertson of GS Robertson in Forfar and Farm Electronics refrigeration, in Lincolnshire.
Today the Steel’s can keep 4000t in cold storage which allows the family to supply potatoes from October to June into packers. The whole process of upgrading the facilities took from 2017 to 2021 with Matthew open to expanding further in years to come.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
This year the family is focusing on new chicken sheds to bring their flock to 96,000 laying free-range hens.
Irrigation upgrade
Alongside upgrading the potato storage, the family has also invested heavily in irrigation on the home farm.
Table potatoes require more stable summer conditions with prolonged dry periods affecting yield and skin quality. To do this the family spent £120,000 on a borehole and buried irrigation pipes.
The investment allowed for an additional 740 acres to be irrigated so 1040 acres can now get access to water.
Matthew said: “In the summer of 2022, irrigation really helped to keep the potato crops growing. The long spell of dry weather would have had a significant impact on tubers had we not been able to irrigate.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
Without it we would have had a reduced yield and issues with scab.”
Grading is also critical for the business with 99% of the crop going through a Tong grader which sorts tubers to between 45mm by 85mm for the table market.
Even with a good proportion of the crop hitting spec, profits are not guaranteed, with some years potatoes ending up heading for stock feed.
Matthews added: “Selling packing quality potatoes as stock feed is not something I would recommend.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
“In the summer of 2022 we were getting £250/t into the market on a forward contract but were forced to sell for £30/t as stock feed for anything out with contracted tonnage. Some years it even worse when we only got £3/t and we have even been forced to give it away.”
Soil and growing
Despite growing a variety of potatoes, Maris Piper is the main tattie of choice for Craignathro.
“Maris Piper seems to work well in Scotland, it is a robust potato which can cope with the Scottish climate.
We are aiming for the pre-packed market with most of the tonnage signed up in contracts around March for the following harvest.”
Of the 300 acres in potatoes around 150 acres are planted with Maris Piper with 60 acres in Saxon and Elland white potatoes.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
There are also ten acres of seed potatoes planted for their own multiplication on non-irrigated rented land with the remaining acres used for Cara and Hermes seed for export as well as Maris Piper for the home market and retention.
Potatoes grow well in the Angus soils with the ground between grade 2 and 3.2 in the Macauley land classification.
The biggest issue in the soil is potato cyst nematode (PCN) which is due to the historic nature of how the ground was farmed.
Matthew said: “We are keen to keep a high health crop and there are some great resistant and tolerant varieties on the market, which if the retailers and packers can get them on their list, could really help. Elland is an example of a variety which is PCN pallida resistant and even reduces the pallida in the soil whilst also commercial as it is on the list.
“Potato breeding is important to keep the industry moving forward, and we must ensure that the new varieties work at a field scale.
“We have tried a few other new varieties which were great on paper but just did not store well enough. I wouldn’t be able to farm for very long if my crop rotted before getting to market.”
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
The usual battle with blight is a big issue for Matthew with all their agronomy being done by Dave Barclay at Agrii. Matthew tends to opt for the premium chemical options to reduce the number of passes over the field.
Planting typically starts mid-April with the aim to finish mid-May.
Potatoes follow spring barley in the rotation and the ground is sown in a cover crop over winter of ryegrass and vetch.
The crop is direct drilled with 50kg of nitrogen per hectare and is grazed by sheep in the new year which allows the organic matter to go back into the soil.
This year’s season is going to be particularly exciting as it will be the first run out of their new four-row Grimme planter bought as an ex-demonstrator last year.
The machine has double the rows of their previous planter and should double the speed at which tubers go into the ground.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
Matthew said: “I am looking forward to seeing the new machine in action.
The weather windows seem to be getting shorter to complete field work, so the increased capacity is important.
“Potato farmers need to have the kit to operate in a tight timeframe.
“Last year my father described the potato harvest as worse than 1985, which is a year which sticks in so many people’s minds who were working at that time.
“Typically we begin lifting mid of September and finish up a month later mid October.
“But last year we seemed to hit by every storm affecting Scotland.
“As a result, the relentless rain meant the last field was harvested in the third week in November.
“If we didnt have modern machinery we would still have potatoes left in the field.”
New market floor
The contracts being signed at the moment are for potatoes which are yet to be planted and might not leave the farm until June 2025.
Matthew believes the market needs to reward farmers who have the confidence to grow potatoes and previous mediocre prices are not enough.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
“We need to be paid a fair price for the food we produce to encourage people to continue.
“Whilst variable costs can fluctuate, the fixed costs are going up and up. The rising cost of machinery and infrastructure is phenomenal.
“If you want to buy a brand new potato harvester, it will cost around £800,000.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here