Over the past two seasons, prices for table potatoes in Russia have remained at an extremely low level. What should potato farmers do in this situation? Look for opportunities to earn a stable income.
“As the manager of the farm, I have the task of concluding a contract for the supply of 90, or better yet 99% of the volume of the future harvest, before the start of spring field work,” says Dmitry Kabanov, director of AgroAlliance-NN LLC. “Not a single enterprise today can afford allow you to grow products without a guarantee of return on investment, “just for luck.”
In 2023, the company tried its hand at producing potatoes for processing, commissioned by the largest chip manufacturer in Russia, Frito Lay Manufacturing LLC. The project turned out to be experimental for all parties: until that moment, the farm had no experience in working with chip varieties, and the processing enterprise did not have partner producers of raw materials in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
The experiment was also supported by the seed company NORIKA-SLAVIA, the manufacturer of plant protection products LLC Firm "August", the supplier of solutions for precision farming LLC "Metos", the supplier of equipment for growing and harvesting potatoes LLC Company "Agrotrade" and the supplier of irrigation equipment LLC "Potential". Our magazine has already talked about the stages of development of this experience earlier (“Potato System” No. 2 and 3, 2023). Autumn is the time to take stock.
Let us remember that the experimental plot for growing varieties for processing occupied only six hectares. It housed six varieties: three (Bonus, Kibitz and Pirol) were selected by NORIKA, three (BP 808, Newton, Lady Claire) were provided by the processing company.
Weather conditions in the Perevozsky region, where the farm is located, were favorable for obtaining a good harvest. “The season is never ideal, but there were no big problems,” comments the head of AgroAlliance-NN. “We grow potatoes under irrigation and overcome drought. Floods were also avoided. 100 km from us, the fields were flooded, but the elements bypassed us. But the situation itself made us think about the need to work with a chisel plow every three to four years in order to improve the soil filtration coefficient.”
Our partners were very helpful in working on the project. “I really liked that every two weeks during the season a representative of the customer came to us, and together we walked around the plots, paving the way to a good result. We watched how the plants developed, how the harvest ripened,” recalls Dmitry Kabanov. “Our consultant supervised several dozen of the same agricultural producers, knew well about the peculiarities of growing varieties in different conditions - on sand or in black soil, in the heat or during the rainy season - and willingly shared this information with us. It was a very useful practice."
At the end of July, the farm received information that the plant would accept the entire volume of raw materials it had grown immediately “from the field.” On the recommendation of the customer’s agricultural manager, the farm carried out several additional irrigations (15-20 mm each), which contributed to an increase in the tuber fraction. In order to preserve the tops for a longer period, the representative of the August Company added another fungicidal treatment to the protection scheme.
The cleaning took place in early September, in almost ideal weather conditions. Productivity indicators, depending on the variety, ranged from 30 to 52 t/ha.
Potatoes were shipped to the plant directly from the field, 60 tons per day. A total of 240 tons were sent for processing. “We managed to harvest and ship potatoes with a minimum amount of damage, due to this we received a premium price for all six varieties,” noted the head of the farm.
The result was decent, although from the point of view of Dmitry Kabanov, the technology still needs serious work. “For every producer, even a very experienced one, a new variety is an initial level of knowledge. Until you try it in action, you won’t understand how to get the maximum result,” the expert explains his point of view. – You need to understand how many tubers to plant per hectare, at what depth, how to adjust watering. All these nuances will take another year or two, and only then we can expect that with your help the variety will be able to fully demonstrate the potential that was laid down by the breeder.”
Next year, AgroAlliance-NN LLC plans to allocate 47 hectares for growing raw materials for the production of chips. This area will be occupied by the VR-808 variety, for which farming conditions turned out to be the most favorable. At the same time, the farm will continue to develop seed production, which remains its main specialization.
Potentially, the farm is preparing to place part of the potatoes produced for processing into storage, and this is a serious task. “Storing potato chips is a different story; the products will need to be treated with growth inhibitors. Such potatoes cannot be in the same room as seed potatoes, which means another storage facility will be required,” explains the farm manager, but he is confident that the investment is justified, since the raw materials arriving at the plant in winter and spring are accepted at a higher price.
“The production of potatoes for processing is stability, which is sorely lacking in the market today,” sums up Dmitry Kabanov. – And I wish agricultural producers to find stability: to work on specific orders with an understandable price, on favorable terms. It is very important that the products that farmers obtain with such difficulty are in demand, and that their producers receive good money and develop with these funds.”
Alexey Radkov, agricultural manager, Frito Lay Manufacturing LLC
– The project for growing chip potatoes in the Nizhny Novgorod region on the basis of the AgroAlliance-NN farm was completed in 2023.
The technology for growing potatoes for chips involves performing a total set of activities, including soil preparation, fertilization, planting, watering, application of plant protection products, and harvesting. If all these stages were followed, the average potato yield when shipped from the field for all varieties in the project was 41,6 t/ha, and the maximum was 52 t/ha. These figures are significantly higher than the national average among potato chip suppliers.
The average quality of chips obtained by processing all varieties was also above the Russian average and amounted to 4,2%.
Summing up, we can say with confidence that the Nizhny Novgorod region is favorable for growing potatoes for processing into chips. You just need to follow all work regulations. Plans for 2024 include increasing the planting area and shipping potatoes from the field and after storage.
I would like to note that the plant invites other potato producers from the Nizhny Novgorod region and other regions of Russia to cooperate. The requirements for product quality are quite high, but quite feasible.
The company accepts potatoes of special varieties with a caliber from 40 to 90 mm, without mechanical damage and internal defects, greening, in washed form.
The supply of washed products is beneficial, first of all, to the agricultural producer himself: dirty potatoes are difficult to sort through, but if the soil is washed away, the problem tubers become more noticeable, they are easy to reject and hand over for processing raw materials of the highest category, for which bonuses are paid.
Products are supplied to the plant throughout the year, and each period has its own price. Potato storage is carried out under the control of our specialists.
The plant is committed to long-term fruitful cooperation with suppliers of raw materials on mutually beneficial terms for all parties!
Alexander Sukhov, head of the agronomic department of NORIKA-SLAVIA LLC
– Our company took part in the project by providing seed material of three varieties of NORIKA selection used for processing into chips: BONUS, KIBITS and PIROLE.
They are known on the domestic market, have been tested in different regions of the country, showing excellent performance, including in the difficult conditions of North-West Russia and Siberia (potatoes of these varieties are used for the production of chips at enterprises in these regions). It was interesting to see how they would show their qualities in the Nizhny Novgorod region, competing with the most advanced varieties for processing from other breeders.
In my opinion, the experiment was a success, even if our varieties did not become leaders in yield. After all, yield is only one criterion of value, I am sure that all potato growers understand this well; it is no coincidence that farms usually have several varieties in their varietal line. For processors, it is important not only the quantity of the harvest, but also the possibility of processing it into high-quality chips, i.e. dry matter content, reducing sugars and other quality indicators.
The KIBITS variety, for example, is characterized by amazing stability in sugars throughout the entire storage period; the tubers are suitable for processing “without loss of product quality” until next summer.
I think it would be very useful to try all varieties by frying at different periods of time: not only immediately after harvesting, but also over time, at different periods of potato storage. This would make it possible to obtain the most objective characteristics of each “test subject”, and for some, it might help to competently form a conveyor of varieties. But this is rather a wish for the future; the current format did not provide for such work.
I would say that the main result of this project is the fact that the farm received an excellent harvest, which earned high praise from the customer.
It is quite possible that, based on this result, other enterprises in the region will choose a promising direction for the production of potatoes for processing.
We will be happy to provide advice to anyone who wants to start working with our varieties.
Dmitry Dergunov, manager-technologist of JSC Firm "August"
– Our specialists have developed a comprehensive protection system for this project using products from the August company. When thinking through the protection strategy, we took into account the main problems that potato growers in central Russia usually face, and of course, took into account the characteristics of the varieties grown (in particular, knowing that chip varieties are sensitive to the effects of metribuzin, we included in the scheme the herbicide Kamelot, which has a different active substance).
The scheme provided for 12 treatments (including treatment of tubers with a disinfectant before planting), in fact 11 were carried out (additional treatment with a fungicide was added, since the task was set to preserve the tops for a longer period, while the farm abandoned two treatments with desiccants).
During the season, we did not record any serious problems (signs of diseases, presence of pests) in the experimental plots; the farm received a good harvest of high-quality products. Next season, we recommend that the enterprise rely on the same scheme (with minimal professional adjustments).
Dmitry Nikiforov, General Director of Metos LLC
– The Metos company joined the project by providing the AgroAlliance-NN farm with a set of weather stations for monitoring the water balance and available moisture in the soil.
Unfortunately, we were invited to participate quite late; the weather station on the farm was installed only on July 27, and ideally the equipment should have been used from May. Many opportunities (for example, in calculating the correct application of fertilizers, conditions for using plant protection products; determining conditions favorable to the occurrence of diseases) were missed.
Nevertheless, we managed to complete certain monitoring tasks.
In general, I think that such projects are very necessary. Companies providing various services in the agricultural market need to move towards combining efforts. Together we can clearly show how modern technologies with an ecosystem approach allow farms to achieve guaranteed high economic results.