Potato Ambassadors in Action

Ambassadors in Action

Find out what our team of Potato Ambassadors have been up to.

April 2014

“I was approached by MAC TV last year for a TV programme called ‘Potato Heroes’. The hour-long documentary, which aired in March on BBC ALBA, looked at the process of growing potatoes – from gardeners growing spuds in their vegetable patch through to full scale commercial businesses.

“The production team visited the farm three times during the course of the year to film different stages of the growing process; in the spring they documented the process of planting, followed by the main harvesting procedure – and then my favourite part – cooking and eating the fresh potatoes!

“The programme provided consumers with a great insight into the potato industry and highlighted the importance of potatoes for Scotland and the economy. I was extremely pleased with the positive nature of the programme and enjoyed every moment of documenting the potato growing process.”

Peter Grewar

February 2014

The Potato Ambassadors have been out and about helping to promote Chip Week and generate coverage in their local newspapers and radio stations. Potato Council provided each of them with a special toolkit to help them promote the Week, which included a press release about activity taking place during the Week, as well as recipe cards, chip forks and other promotional material. So all they had to do was to turn up armed with some hot, tasty chips to grab the journalist’s attention!
 

November 2013

“I recently welcomed a TV crew to my farm for an upcoming feature due to appear on BBC 1’s popular TV programme ‘Rip Off Britain’ in February 2014. The feature hopes to uncover why the cost of a roast dinner has increased – and of course, a winning Sunday lunch isn’t complete without tasty roast spuds.

“I spent a couple of hours with the film crew as they followed me around the farm during a typical working day; after wandering the fields and showing them the crop, I explained how potatoes can still be enjoyed as part of a good value family meal.

“Unfortunately it was a wet and windy day, but it provided me a great opportunity to highlight the versatility of potatoes and their nutritional benefits – what’s more, the film crew learnt a thing or two during the question and answer session!”

Matt Spanton

October 2013

Our ambassadors have been working hard to ensure Potato Week reaches as many people as possible. From Twitter messages and potato drops to a day spent with MPs; the team have created a real buzz for the campaign.

“On Wednesday I joined Caroline at Portcullis House in Westminster to help bring potatoes to the attention of MP’s. We had a steady stream of visitors throughout the 3 hour session, talking to a total of 20 different parliamentary members about the intrinsic benefits of potatoes; delivering health and sustainability messaging for them to take away to their constituencies. Of course, this was backed up by cooking tips and tasty recipe kits!

“We had a map for MPs to leave their ‘potato’ stamp to highlight the potential reach and I’m delighted to say the geographical spread was far and wide. I was privileged to be asked to attend and have the chance to show the country’s decision makers what the industry has to offer, both in terms of feeding the nation and supporting the economy – and they seemed to appreciate being able to talk to someone at the coalface.

“I’ve also spent some time this week drumming up interest with my local media, with a potato drop to Radio Lancashire and my local newspaper group. In fact, I’ve just been told I’m in the local paper and I’ve been booked to appear on Monday’s drive time show , so it looks like a great result has been made already!”

Robin Cropper

August 2013

“I was asked to appear live on Cambridge 105’s drive time programme to highlight the fact that fresh new potatoes are abundantly available across the country. The ten-minute interview aired on 23^rd July at around 5.30pm. It was a great chance to promote the industry and offered the perfect platform to talk about the classification system and the nutritional benefits and versatility of potatoes.

“We touched upon a number of interesting topics including the importance of labelling in supermarkets, the significance of trading up to named varieties and different ways to enjoy eating potatoes. I was planning on taking cooked samples for the radio team to enjoy but unfortunately my produce wasn’t available in time; instead I supplied literature, cooking tips and classification booklets, which members of the station enjoyed reading. All in all it was positive day and I hope messages reached just some of their many listeners!”

Mike Newling

July 2013

“The new season crop and growing potatoes was the major topic of conversation at the Great Yorkshire Show, where I spent a morning on the Potato Council promotional vehicle.

“It was the busiest of the three-day event, with fantastic attendance at the stand where we handed out numerous recipe booklets and samples. Being a grower I was bombarded with questions, from tackling blight to getting the best results. It was great to see such enthusiasm and interest and I enjoyed talking to a real mix of people, from first-time gardeners to hobbyists.

“Media interest in potatoes is also increasing. I was interviewed by the Yorkshire Post Saturday Magazine for a piece to coincide with the TV ad on healthy ways to enjoy potatoes. The paper is due to visit us next week for their ‘farm of the week’ feature. This will look at our potato operations and my role as an ambassador, as well as the fact that we keep Angora goats and are members of the Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) programme.”

Amanda Cornforth

June 2013

As harvesting for Grow Your Own Potatoes takes place, our Ambassadors have been busy helping school children uncover their crops. Matt Spanton, Ambassador for the South East explains its importance.

“Grow Your Own Potatoes is a fantastic project for schools and nothing shows this better than a huddle of excited young faces waiting to see what is at the bottom of their grow-bags.

“Last week, I went along to local primary Chartfield School to help them harvest the plants they had been looking after for three months. It is a small school but the enthusiasm from the pupils and teachers was second to none – and with local MP Sir Roger Gale also joining us, it was a great way to show how growers are working with local communities to educate youngsters.

“Everyone got hands on lifting and weighing the potatoes, while I also had the opportunity to give a ‘potato talk’ highlighting key fun facts including nutrition, the importance of local produce and farming in the region. The children were encouraged to ask questions and were fascinated with what Roger and I had to tell them – which will hopefully stay with them for years to come.”

Matt Spanton

Scottish Ambassador, Peter Grewar, has just started filming for a documentary on potatoes, to be aired on BBC Alba later in the year.

“I was approached by Potato Council and macTV to be part of a film to document all aspects of growing potatoes; from enthusiastic gardeners to full scale commercial production – which is where we come in!

“Filming for the first segment happened mid-May and followed much of our planting operations. They will return later on in the summer to focus on seed roguing, with a final visit for harvesting. We’re also hoping to do a spot around the kitchen table to show just how important potatoes are to our mealtimes – being quick, easy and healthy.

“Anything that promotes potatoes and the industry is a good thing and I’m delighted to be involved in spreading the message. As well as filming I use Twitter to provide potato facts and updates on our farm activity. At the moment my two children are having great fun being responsible for our ‘Grow Your Own Potatoes’ plants and I’ve been in in touch with local schools to offer assistance for harvesting next month.”

Peter Grewar

Chip Week was a great opportunity for growers to speak to local media, as Kevin Stokes the East of England Potato Ambassador highlights.

“After getting to know the drive time presenter on BBC Leicester quite well during Potato Week and recognising he’s a bit of a ‘foodie’, Chip Week was a good time to get back in touch. I called and emailed through some chip facts, which was enough for them to invite me into the studio. The chip shop wasn’t open early enough to take a hot portion in, however, I went armed with potatoes and rape seed oil and we had a good chat about making the perfect chip.

“The station is keen to talk to local businesses, so it’s worth making an effort to get in touch and feed information through on a regular basis. What we may think of as the norm – planting and harvesting – can be of interest and help build the profile of your business and the industry at the same time.

“We also promoted Chip Week in the farm shop and café and across Facebook and Twitter, which are fantastic ways of interacting with customers.

“Just recently, I spoke at the local gardeners club. We presented slides and pictures of the farm over the years and spoke about growing potatoes, as well as other fruit and vegetables. We’ve also been approached to be part of a new CBBC programme about parents that can’t cook. This will be an ideal outlet to show them how quick, easy and versatile potatoes can be. Watch this space for updates.”

Kevin Stokes

The impact of the weather on crops has been a real talking point for the media. Potato Council has provided regular updates, supported by views and experiences from our team of Ambassadors. North West representative, Robin Cropper, has been closely involved with local TV and radio.

“My most recent interview about the impact of the bad weather happened just before Christmas with BBC Radio Lancashire. I have been in touch with them throughout the season, reporting on progress and they even hosted an entire Sunday afternoon show from the farm in October. As well as talking about the wet conditions out in the fields and describing the stores, which are not nearly as full as normal, it was also an opportunity to promote potatoes, including their health benefits, and local produce in general.

BBC North West Tonight has also followed the season. They first visited the farm back in the summer of 2012 to film a piece following predictions that we were in for a tough season. They came back in October after some quite serious flooding in the region to see how local producers were affected, the impact on the harvest and what it meant for shoppers in terms of pricing and supply. The item also addressed some environmental concerns and policies in the area.

“Each opportunity has been positive, having been reported in a well-balanced way. Furthermore, it has helped us forge strong relationships with the press which I can build on to promote other campaigns, and key messages. In fact, just this week I was able to speak to BBC Radio Lancashire about Chip Week.”

Robin Cropper

Our youngest Ambassador Mike Newling has been building relationships with local media to show there is more to potatoes than meets the eye and advocate life as a farmer in East Anglia.

“In between harvesting, I made time to visit our local newspaper The Fenland Citizen. I went armed with three types of potatoes to demonstrate the new classifications of ‘fluffy’, ‘smooth’ and ‘salad’ as well as recipe sheets and the ingredients to make quick and tasty baked potatoes with peppers and cheese.

“The reporter, Emma, was really enthusiastic about the visit and I spent around 45 minutes chatting to her about potatoes. I was able to explain all about the new initiative, as well as the many positive benefits of potatoes and why we are encouraging people to eat more of them. We also talked about the industry in general and why farming is a great career choice, with many opportunities for young people in the area.

“The article – and my picture – appeared in the following issue (view it here) and I was pleased that all the key points were included. It has also opened up further opportunities, as we agreed to stay in touch should they ever need a farmer’s viewpoint or additional farming stories.”

Mike Newling

As the press interest in the impact of the weather on potato crops has grown, the Potato Ambassadors have been on hand to help respond, as Cornish grower, Reuben Collins, explains.

“During July and August I was put in touch with two newspapers covering the South West that had requested comment from Potato Council about how the weather has affected crops and the risk of blight. In both instances I was able to talk to the journalists over the phone to explain the situation.

“One article appeared shortly after in the Western Morning News, which is our biggest daily newspaper. The writer had clearly listened to what I had to say and included additional information, such as the website address I recommended to give gardeners advice on controlling blight in their gardens. We also agreed to speak again closer to harvesting so she could provide an updated picture for readers.

“Talking to the press is important, not just as an Ambassador but as a grower too, particularly if we want to keep potatoes in everyone’s minds. It is easy to speak to a journalist about a subject they are already writing about and turn it to our advantage. Just adding a couple of positive snippets about potatoes can change a story about bad weather into good news.”

Reuben Collins