REPORT growing potatoes’, emphasises the McCain buyer. The basic contract price is currently 280 dollars. For a good underwater weight, grade and unblemished tubers without brown spots, the growers can earn 15 percent extra on additional quality payments. The maximum price will then be over 300 dollars per ton (13.5 eurocent per kg). With an average yield of 60 tons per hectare and a cost price of 10,000 dollars per hectare, this seems a good basic price for growing chip potatoes. Storage at 6 metres On the South Island, which has relatively cold winters – it can be -8 C – it is not possible to store the potatoes in the field, which is why McCain has invested heavily in store houses near the factory. The company can store as many as 65,000 tons of potatoes here. The potatoes are stored in semi-circular silos up to a height of 6 metres. The stores are fitted out with humidifiers (also used to avoid bruising) and, if necessary, mechanical cooling is applied. In these store houses, McCain stores potatoes of the following varieties: Shepody, Russet Ranger, Russet Burbank and the Dutch variety Innovator. Growers are very business-like here as far as their crops are concerned. If they can’t earn enough, they simply stop growing potatoes Ample crop rotation One of the potato growers who grows for McCain is Ross Hewson from Ashburton. To be able to continue to grow good quality potatoes for the industry, the New Zealander makes sure he grows potatoes according to a 1:6 schedule. ‘When you narrow that down, you lose in yield’ emphasises. He grows 350 hectares of potatoes annually for the McCain factory. He has a 1,500 hectare farm, whereby he usually leases extra land every year for potatoes, to keep up an ample crop rotation schedule. He confirms that there has been quite a bit of discussion about the contract price in New Zealand in the past. He is of the opinion that it is quite good now. , Hewson Jaap Delleman Carbon Footprint Production Distribution Store (Gram Co2) King Edwards (2,5 kg) 160g per 250g 33% serving Anglian New (2,5 kg) 140g per 250g 33% serving Organic New (1,5 kg) 160g per 250g 40% serving Organic Baby New (750 g) 140g per 250g 48% serving 1% 1% 1% 1% 3% 3% 4% 5% Consumption Waste 56% 58% 51% 41% 7% 4% 4% 4% mapping out all activities necessary to grow, transport, store and consume a product. This is called Carbon Footprint. The table below shows a summary of a number of varieties and their origins. Fearne indicated that companies within the chain are now extra alert in regard to the use of energy, so that the efficiency of equipment such as mechanical cooling is raised to a higher level. Potato World 2009 • number 4 35 Pagina 34
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