Potato testing on-farm network, UK

Farmers preparing the soil in preparation for sowing potatoes on one the UK SolACE farmer network farms, Elveden Estates, Suffolk, England. Photo: Sara Iversen, 2018.

Farm manager explaining the practises around management and conventional growing of potatoes to some of the farmer network participants at Elveden Estates, Suffolk, England. Photo: Sara Iversen, 2018

Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) has set up a potato network of 4 farms who will test different varieties of potato combined with innovative farm approaches, in collaboration with the University of Newcastle.

The network includes two conventional farms in the East of England using irrigation, 1 rain-fed organic farm in the North of England and the Newcastle University experimental farm (managed conventionally). This network was set up specifically for the SolACE project.

Farms within this network follow LEAF’s Integrated Farm Management approach, which is a whole farm business approach that delivers more sustainable farming. They all grow potatoes as part of a wider vegetable or arable rotation and have varied weather (based on specific location), largely characterized by a temperate maritime climate.

The UK farms trialled different potato varieties combined with microbial inoculants with/without irrigation (on southern farms that typically irrigate) or with P fertilisation (on the experimental farm site). With supervision and guidance from the University of Newcastle and LEAF, the trials evaluated crop yield, quality (grading for supermarkets), resource use efficiency as well as economic and environmental indicators.