According to her, the most difficult situation for potato growers is in organic farming, where the yield is so low that the amount collected is practically enough only for next year’s potato seeds. In addition, the quality of the organic potato crop is not as good as farmers expected.
At the same time, Kraukle reported that this year was quite good for potato growers in traditional agriculture. Compared to last year, the harvest of many farmers is much higher this year, although the association has also received reports from farmers about a poor harvest.
She noted that this year the weather conditions for harvesting were quite good, but due to the late harvesting of grain in many farms, the timing of potato harvesting coincided with the timing of sowing for winter.
Kraukle also noted that selling prices for potato growers have not increased compared to last year, but costs have increased. Prices have increased for both plant protection products and mineral fertilizers, but Kraukle said that the increase in prices for protection products for potato growers was not as significant as the increase in prices for mineral fertilizers.
She pointed out that due to the rise in the price of mineral fertilizers, farmers used mineral fertilizers in the fields in minimal quantities, which also affected the quality and volume of the crop.
A source: https://mixnews.lv
