In fresh produce, a year is a long time, and for Jersey Royal potatoes, its been a year of marked contrast. “The difference between the 2018 season and 2019 is immeasurable,” beams The Jersey Royal Company’s director of sales and marketing William Church, glad to have last season as a distant memory, when growers suffered nightmare conditions.
“It rained constantly in the winter, and the one week it stopped raining we were hit by the ‘Beast from the East’, which killed all of the early crop. By the end of the season, the total yield was about 20 per cent down.”
In keeping with a sudden summer spell at the end of February, 2019 has been “incredible”, according to Church. A benign climate has set up the island for a quality season, with Jersey Royal producers aiming for much improved yield per “vergée”, a Jersey measurement which equates to nearly half an acre.
Albert Bartlett, which produces the other 30 per cent or so of Jersey Royals on the island, is also basking in the new-found generosity of nature. “It is hard to believe that 12 months ago the Jersey Royals growing season was jeopardised by the extreme weather of the ‘Beast from the East’,” says Tim Ward, sales and distribution director. “In complete contrast, this year to date we have had one of the best planting seasons on record.
“Conditions have been almost perfect since our growers started hand planting the famous Jersey Royal seed potatoes on the côtils (steep south-facing slopes) in early January. We are currently approaching 75 per cent of the total area planted for the export crop and have benefitted from the unseasonably bright and record-breaking temperatures in February. This will have encouraged early emergence and subsequently good crop development.”
Church says that the only blemish to the year was low light levels in January, which caused the glasshouse crop to grow a bit “leggy”, as the foliage stretches itself to capture less light. Nevertheless, Church says: “Right now we are bang on target and where we want to be. After last year we deserve a bit of luck. Mother Nature has looked down on us favourably.”
JRC’s early crop from the glasshouse, harvested from the end of February, will go straight to wholesalers where they fetch a hefty premium, of around £2.50/lb at the very start of the season, when competition for the variety is strongest. “We still value the wholesale market,” adds Church.
The premium JRC gets for early Jersey Royals is increasingly under pressure however, as production battles the same rising costs as its mainland counterparts. “Jersey farming used to be much easier,” recalls Church, “but consumption of potatoes are down and the cost base is increasing. It’s increasing in oil prices, minimum wages, shipping and inputs. You’re not going to get more money so we have to get smarter on taking costs out.”
Despite drier weather, labour shortages have created a new quagmire for growers. At the height of the season JRC has 400 workers working across its production, from field to packhouse. “After the Brexit vote suddenly we were suddenly finding it harder to recruit the number of people we wanted to. We’ve gone from having seven or eight applications a day, to one,” says Church.
Technology is becoming an increasing focal point for driving efficiency on an island where traditional methods are still retained. Ward says: “One of the main changes that we are seeing is that our growers are embracing new technology both for the benefit of the environment and in an effort to become more productive in a competitive market.”
Church says JRC is also adopting more precision farming methods to boost production. “We are embracing technology. We test all our fields every year, getting a better knowledge of them, and we have probes linked up to measure water in the fields. There’s a lot of technology coming into it. It’s the first year we have used satellite imagery.”
The brand itself is in a healthy shape however, says Church. Aided by social media and a renewed interest in seasonality, Jersey Royals have bucked the recent slowdown in potato sales. “It’s all about the strength of the brand,” concludes Church. “There are only three seasons left on the British produce calendar: Jersey Royals, asparagus, and strawberries, and Jersey Royals are the first in the country to hit the supermarket shelves with the British flag.”
Concerns about the loss of Protected Designation of Origin following Brexit have been mitigated as Britain plans a replacement scheme, while the state of Jersey has also trademarked the brand, giving it added protection. The company is also embracing the LEAF Marque, after the Jersey government mandated LEAF standards for growers. “We are working towards becoming a LEAF demonstration farm,” adds Church, all of which he says will continue to bolster the brand as a benchmark of British produce going forward.
