Potato company makes its mark in East Riding

Chris Berry visits WCM in Kiplingcotes

Getting the best deal for your potatoes can be tricky if you’re farming on your own and have plenty of other pressures on your time. If you’re part of a group of potato farmers it’s even more important to have the right people marketing your produce too.

East Yorkshire-based WHOLE CROP MARKETING (WCM) is the new name in potato marketing. Having started in September last year they have been running for nearly 10 months and came into existence because of the people they now serve.

Like many new businesses before them WCM has come into the market because of the experience of the people at its helm. The pair heading up this new, yet massively knowledgeable operation have masses of years worth of experience behind them and the names Mark Tomlinson and David Burks have been long associated with the potato industry.

‘We started up last year because there was a group of farmers, predominantly based here in the East Riding of Yorkshire, who wanted us to market their potatoes and get a better value for them, across all conditions,’ says Mark.

And it seems to be working well as they have sold around 80,000 tonnes of potatoes in their first year and are already supplying outlets such as Tesco, ASDA and a variety of packhouses. Their strength is not just in the two of them though. They also have some of the country’s leading potato farmers as shareholder members too.

‘WCM has 10 shareholders, which includes David and myself plus the eight potato producers. We all have a vested interest in the success of the business and it has gone extremely well so far.’

WCM started out on land owned by Andrew Soanes, of T Soanes & Son potato growers, at Wallace Grange in Kiplingcotes, himself one of the farmer members of the group.

‘Andrew very kindly offered us an office there, and we have now moved to another of his farms at Middleton on the Wolds. We had already outgrown the first office and have now taken on more staff. Our supply of potatoes is also already far in excess of the amount grown by the 8 farmer members. The group members’ potato acreage alone accounts for nearly 6000 acres within the group.’

The aim of the group is quite simply to reach the best possible price for all grades of potato and Mark feels that the pairing of he and David is a winning formula.

‘We find the best market for any quality of potato. David has been a well-respected trader for many years, having worked for one of the leading companies until last year. He sells the top end stuff, whilst I find the markets for the lesser grades.’

Mark’s background has largely been that of working with packhouses, including some of the industry’s leading names. He tells of how he gets the best deals for the group.

‘You can always get rid of lesser stock, but this year it has been particularly difficult with the surplus of potatoes. There has been a lot of poorer quality stock around as well, but we have managed to trade it in such a way that the farmers have been able to make money – and that’s what it’s all about.’

David Burks believes that the onset of WCM has to be a good thing for the potato industry:
‘I left my previous company last June. Andrew and others then brought this idea to me whereby he and his other potato farmer colleagues wanted to offer their potatoes to the rest of the country. There had been one packer who had dominated the area and they wanted to see just what they could get for their produce. As a result of how well we have done so far we now have at least another 40 growers from outside the group members. They have come to us for one reason, and that’s because we are doing a good job.’

As far as Andrew is concerned he’s very happy with the way in which WCM has started, and since he grows over 1000 acres of potatoes their success is very much entwined with his.

‘David was with the company that I previously traded my potatoes. I believe in going with the person I know and I have known David most of my life. He’s a local lad and between him and Mark I feel very confident in their ability to market my spuds.’

Good quality, high grade seed potatoes is another area where WCM is planning to make its mark. James Thompson has recently joined as Seed Manager from his previous role as Technical Manager for a leading Dutch Seed House. James will be co-ordinating production of best quality Yorkshire Seed from within the business, procurement of seed for the business and offering for sale all available varieties for Yorkshire growers.

‘Members of the group have complained in the past about the quality of seed potato traditionally grown in Scotland. This is in our opinion due to the ongoing problems of primary scab due to the wet conditions north of the border and we seem to be able to get a better product here in the East Riding. So this year we are pushing for greater quantities of seed potato being grown by our own producers.’

Andrew Soanes agrees: ‘We have quite a lot of virgin land on the Yorkshire Wolds where we can take advantage of growing seed, with plenty of potential to expand. It’s a market I believe we can service well.’
Whilst neither Mark nor David are over-concerned with attracting too many farmers too soon, as they are concentrating on sales, word of mouth is certainly getting around of their success to date. This is certainly a potato marketing company to watch out for in the future.

WCM - Wholecrop Marketing Ltd
Wold Dyke Farm
Middleton on the Wolds
Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire
YO25 9DD
Mark Tomlinson/David Burks
Tel: 01377 217873
www.wholecropmarketing.co.uk
mt@wholecropmarketing.co.uk