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Farmers heartbroken as potatoes go to cattle feed

John Devinein Ramsey St Mary's
John Devine/BBC Lynden Croft is wearing a blue T-shirt with 'polo jeans' written on it in a logo. Behind him is a heap of 70 tonnes of potatoes in a big barn.John Devine/BBC
Lynden Croft said it was "heartbreaking to see all the farms hard work come to nothing"

A farming family said they were heartbroken after over 100 tonnes of potatoes failed to sell and were sent to feed cattle instead.

The 400-acre (162 hectares) Bank Farm in Ramsey St Mary's, Cambridgeshire has been run by the Croft family for at least five generations, traced back to 1904.

They said their most recent potato crop made just £5 per tonne, compared with the normal expected price of between £120 and £200, which industry body GB Potatoes blamed on an oversupply in the market.

Lynden Croft said it was "heartbreaking to see all the farm's hard work come to nothing... it is devastating the amount of work we all put into it".

GB Potatoes said: "It is extremely disappointing and deeply saddening to see a valuable food crop sold for only a fraction of what it cost to produce.

"Growers cannot continue producing potatoes at a substantial loss."

Chief executive Scott Walker added: "High levels of production in both the UK and Europe last year, combined with more carry-over stock than expected, has left the market with more potatoes than it can absorb and caused free-buy prices to collapse."

John Devine/BBC Jo Croft has shoulder length blonde hair and a multi-coloured sleeveless dress. She is standing in a garden which has several bushes and hedges.John Devine/BBC
Jo Croft said the price of growing potatoes had been rising with fertiliser

Jo Croft, 43, said the heartbreaking reality hit when the first 58-tonne batch of potatoes went.

"Our nine-year-old son watched his grandad load potatoes that we had worked so hard to grow, only for them to be sent away for stock feed because we simply couldn't sell them," she said.

She added it was a "stark reminder of the challenges so many farmers are facing".

"Many growers have had to do the same, and although this isn't the first year we've been in this position, it never gets any easier," Jo added.

"Months of hard work, time, and care have gone into growing these potatoes, so seeing them leave the farm like this is devastating."

John Devine/BBC Brian Croft is standing in front of a barn which is full of potatoes. Brian has short grey hair and is he is wearing a black jacket and is wearing clear framed glasses.John Devine/BBC
Brian Croft said fertilisers for potatoes cost £460 per tonne

Brian Croft, 75, the father of Lynden, said: "Potatoes have always been up and down, and the public are changing and tastes are changing."

He said the rising cost of fertilisers was another issue they faced.

The farm uses about 40 tonnes of fertiliser for its potatoes, at a cost of £460 per tonne.

"You are talking big money with just a farm like this," he said.

Bank farm A farmyard scene with a green dumper tractor with a long arm and a bucket loading potatoes into a large high sided lorry which is silver.Bank farm
Potatoes were loaded into a lorry that then took the crop to cattle

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