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have potatoes had their chips?
ОглавлениеWalter Simon has been growing potatoes in Pembrokeshire, Wales, for more than 20 years. Farming has altered in that time, he says, as a result of changes in the weather. Planting happens earlier, and the harvest comes earlier too. Walter concedes that milder winters have made life on the farm easier in some ways – outside pipes no longer need lagging and the sheds where he lays out the potatoes for seed no longer have to be proofed against draughts. Now his main worry is making sure the sheds get enough ventilation to keep them cool.
Walter grows early potatoes and relies on irrigation to water his crop, but he worries about growing seasons extending elsewhere in the country. An earlier harvest in the east of England, for example, could push him out of the market. In 20 years’ time, he says, they probably won’t be growing potatoes in Pembrokeshire. ‘We’ll be growing apricots or something,’ he suggests. ‘But it is the speed of the change that concerns people. It’s not been as gradual an evolution as things may have been in the past.’