Why Potatoes in Practice left such a strong impression

Despite living just 30 minutes from Balruddery Farm, this year's Potatoes in Practice was the first time I had made it along.

It is, quite frankly, a little embarrassing – particularly when you consider that the event has been running since 2014 and has become such an important date in Scotland's potato calendar.

Having finally made the trip, however, I can safely say it will not be the last.

Hosted by the James Hutton Institute through the National Potato Innovation Centre, in partnership with SRUC and Agrii, Potatoes in Practice brings together an impressive cross-section of the industry.

And that is what I enjoyed most about it.

There was something refreshingly practical about the event. Breeders, agronomists, researchers, suppliers and growers were all in one place, with plenty of opportunities to see what is happening in the field and, just as importantly, to talk about what is happening on farms.

I have been to plenty of events organised by the Hutton over the years, but this could well be my favourite. The speakers were clearly passionate about potatoes, but there was also a realism to the conversations that I found particularly encouraging.

Nobody was pretending the sector has an easy road ahead.

Potato cyst nematode (PCN), virus pressure, water scarcity, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules and trade, regulation and profitability all featured heavily, while there was also discussion about perhaps the most fundamental challenge of all – getting people to eat more potatoes.

Fresh-potato consumption has been falling for decades, but the case for putting more potatoes on the plate remains strong. They are versatile, affordable and familiar, yet too often lose out to rice, pasta and convenience foods. The industry has a role in reminding consumers that potatoes can be quick to prepare and should be valued as more than a side dish.

As Shakespeare put it in The Merry Wives of Windsor : “Let the sky rain potatoes.”

Those are big issues, and you will find much more on all of them across the following pages.

What struck me, though, was the willingness to have those conversations openly.

The PCN session, for example, was not simply about presenting research findings. It became a genuine discussion between scientists and growers, with questions from the floor challenging how some ideas might actually work in practice.

That sort of exchange is exactly what agricultural events should be about.

The same was true when speaking to the businesses exhibiting around the site. For seed suppliers, agronomists, crop protection companies and machinery firms, Potatoes in Practice provides a valuable opportunity to get directly in front of a specialist audience – but it also gives them a chance to listen to what growers actually need.

And perhaps that is why the event left such a positive impression on me.

The potato industry undoubtedly faces some pretty serious challenges, but there was no shortage of people willing to tackle them and plenty of collaboration between those doing the research, those supplying the industry and those actually growing the crop.

So, after 12 years of missing it despite living on its doorstep, I finally made it to Potatoes in Practice.

Better late than never.