It’s all eyes to the côtils as small, efficient teams of workers forage down the steep, picturesque hills. But this isn’t for fun; it’s a serious business. The long awaited Jersey Royal harvest has begun.
The truth is that this is quite idyllic. If we travelled back in time to the turn of the last century, this scene would not be very different. Long before Christmas, the “mother” or seeding potatoes - the best samples saved for planting the previous season - are planted by hand and when harvest time arrives, usually around the first week of April, the potatoes are lifted by either a mechanical plough or simply a labourer with a fork, and then picked by hand.
But this is where the nod to the past ends. After spending just a day with the two main Jersey Royal players on the island, The Jersey Royal Company and Albert Bartlett, you quickly realise that this £65 million industry, which can produce more than 1,200 tonnes a day at peak season from April to July, tells another story behind the scenes, in the packhouses, through the supply chain and in marketing.
As Tim Ward, operations director for Albert Bartlett at the potato heavyweight’s purpose-built facility in St Helier, puts it: “We use the best of traditional methods and combine it with modern technology where appropriate to ensure that the highest standards are achieved. It’s all about maintaining the famous brand, while keeping the quality, but appreciating and respecting the long history and heritage behind the product.”
Ward has a history with the premium line. He has worked on the island and as part of the Jersey Royal industry for 18 years and although not an islander by birth, he is a believer in the brand. Ward moved from The Jersey Royal Company to Albert Bartlett four years ago and helped to establish dedicated supply from independent growers.
“Albert Bartlett deals with 11 Jersey Royal growers and started this arm of the business to shorten the supply chain,” explains Ward, who insists that with such a tender, fresh crop, the clock is ticking as soon as the product leaves the ground. “We now lift and pack in the same day, and put the potatoes through a hydro cooling system, which takes the temperature down very quickly, keeping them brighter and fresher. The next day they are in the distribution centre and consumers are able to purchase them by day three. This has taken at least two days out of the chain. Now we are much closer to the supply chain, so when a multiple puts an order in for a promotion, we can regulate our sendings and ensure that the crop is dug to order.”
And the island has found that competition breeds efficiency, with commercial grower The Jersey Royal Company, which supplies around 70 per cent of the volume shifted off the island, stepping up and investing in on-site packaging and washing. “I am not convinced that it is the right thing to do economically to pack Jersey Royal on site, but the offer is out there now and it is what the consumer requires,” says William Church of The Jersey Royal Company, which supplies Tesco, Morrisons, The Co-operative, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, and got the first Jersey Royal grown in 40 acres under glass or polytunnels into M&S in February. “Washing damages the flaky skins and it’s better to keep the dirt on the potatoes for as long as possible. Our unique selling point is that we are an integrated business; we manage the seed, plants, lifting and shipping.”
Ward believes that the bar has now been raised by Albert Bartlett, which supplies Sainsbury’s and Asda with Jersey Royal together with a number of independent retailers through the wholesale sector. “We had been trading on our brand for too many years and we needed to do some catching up,” he says. “Now, the bar has been raised by Albert Bartlett coming to Jersey. It is good news for the island and for the consumer.”
The season begins
After a “disastrous” season last year where lack of rainfall hit the crop and yield, this year is looking good for Jersey Royal production, with high light levels, rain when it was needed and a more consistent weather pattern. The early outdoor crop reached the aisles last weekend and is grown on the slopes so that the first of the southern sun hits the crop as soon as possible in the season.
“Last year, we had to irrigate three quarters of the crop,” says grower Nick Mourant of Meleches Farms, who is the fourth generation of growers from his family on the island, with his son making up the fifth, and is one of the 11 growers that works with Albert Bartlett. “We had to invest in new equipment and reacted very quickly, which saved the season and we did get a viable return, but it was hard work.
“An ongoing effect was that the seeding crop was affected and was smaller than usual, but we had ideal planting conditions from the start and it helps that Easter is later than ever this year as we usually have a limited supply for the holiday when demand is traditionally up.”
Mourant started lifting last week on the south-facing slopes near St Helier and he says that his crop is generally around eight or nine days earlier than last year. “We are always nervous at this time of the yearabout the timing of when we take the protective plastic off the outdoor crop, due to the risk of frost,” he says.
Over on the west side of the island, the protected Jersey Royal crop is in full harvest and most of the glasshouse potatoes have been lifted to ensure that early season premium. “Over the last four years, The Jersey Royal Company has bought out the glasshouse facilities that have become available through companies or products leaving the island,” explains Church. “We have three teams planting and harvesting and a separate farm manager in charge of each of them. We make sure that we don’t harvest too many at the same time and overload the market, affecting our price.”
Jakub Madziek, one of the company’s farm managers, says that the bad season last year has made his site more productive. “We are more prepared now and irrigation, if needed, won’t be such a problem,” he says. “This year, it has been really good for weather and January and February were definitely milder than last year. We had frosts really late last year, but this year looks good.”
And returns are steady, according to the two companies. “It is important that the growers are getting a good price for their crop,” says Ward. “The value varies greatly from the indoor crop and the early hand-lifted côtils to the volumes generated at the end of the season.”
Church agrees. “The Jersey Royal Company has four weather analysis stations in place on the island to monitor the patterns and keep ahead. It is critical to get the timing of Jersey Royal right, as price pressure is an issue. We have to get the best product out there, as early as possible to maintain our brand.”
JERSEY: THE FACTS
• People that are born on the island and stay on the island are referred to as “Jersey beans”.
• Jersey is 45sqm and its main horticultural crops are potatoes and daffodils, although the island has been known for peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and brassicas in the past due to high light levels and sandy soils.
• The trays used to plant the seeding potatoes are virtually the same design as they ever were and the potatoes are planted the length of the tray away from each other. All the seeding potatoes in each tray are the same size as each other so that the potatoes in each field grow at the same rate and can be harvested on the same day.
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