AHDB Potatoes

Set up to replace the Potato Marketing Board, the Potato Council was originally known as the Potato Industry Development Council, and then the British Potato Council until April 2008.

Potato Marketing Board

The organisation was originally established in 1934 as the Potato Marketing Board by the Potato Marketing Scheme (Approval) Order (Great Britain) 1933, under powers given to potato producers under the Agricultural Marketing Acts of 1931 and 1933. The Scheme was mainly set up as a preventative measure against the unstable market conditions that previously existed in the 1920s and 1930s. With this in mind, the Board was to register producers, prohibit sales by unregistered producers, regulate marketing of the industry, encourage co-operation between sellers and producers and in promoting education and research in the field.^[1]

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, the Ministry of Food took control over all agricultural production, including potatoes. With the passing of the Potato Marketing Scheme 1933 (Modification and Suspension) Order 1939, all Board's activities were suspended.^[1]

In 1955, the Potato Marketing Scheme (Approval) Order 1955 repealed the previous order and created a new, but very similar entity. Amendments to the scheme commenced in 1962, 1971, 1976, 1985, 1987 and 1990.^[1] The Board was largely producer-elected, however had a few ministerial appointees. Many of its powers were delegated to committees such as the Executive Committee and the Retailers' Committee. In 1958, The Board bought former RAF base, RAF Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire, and set up an Agricultural experiment station, now known as Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research, the biggest centre of its kind in the UK.^[1][2][3]

British Potato Council

In 1997, under the Potato Industry Development Council Order 1997, the name was changed to the British Potato Council.^[1][4] It levied farmers under powers originally delegated from the Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947^[5] but now through powers granted to its parent organisation.^[6] It was also funded through the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) and the National Assembly for Wales Agriculture Department (NAWAD).

In 2005 a report by Daniel Lewis from the Efficiency in Government Unit (jointly sponsored by the Centre for Policy Studies and the Economic Research Council), called The Essential Guide to British Quangos,^[7] looked into the role of Quangos in British politics and potential efficiency savings that could be made. The report named the British Potato Council as one of the nine "most useless quangos".^[8][9] In 2008, it was merged with other similar levy-funded organisations to form the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, where it operates as a specialist division focused on the potato industry.

Even though it received its £6m^[10] funding in 2007 solely from British farmers, it was forced to drop the word "British" from its name due to EU rules. This was to avoid the impression that it receives state subsidies.^[11]

Discover more about History related topics

RAF Sutton Bridge

RAF Sutton Bridge

Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the River Nene, next to Walpole in Norfolk.

Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947

Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947

The Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947 enabled the creation of industrial development Boards with powers to raise levies from specific industrial sectors in the United Kingdom for co-ordinated action, particularly in research, marketing and industrial re-organisation. These Boards were to report to the Board of Trade and have equal representation from trades unions and employers alongside independent experts.

Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department

Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department

The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) was a civil service department of the Scottish Executive. SEERAD was responsible for the following areas in Scotland: agriculture, rural development, food, the environment and fisheries. Following the change of administration in May 2007, a restructuring exercise led to most SEERAD functions being continued under the new Scottish Executive Environment Directorate.

Centre for Policy Studies

Centre for Policy Studies

The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independence, self determination and responsibility. While being independent, the centre has historical links to the Conservative Party.

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is a levy board funded by farmers and growers and some other parts of the supply chain. It aims to enhance farm business efficiency and competitiveness in the areas of: pig, beef and lamb production in England; milk, potatoes and horticulture in Great Britain; and cereals and oilseeds in the United Kingdom. It undertakes research and development and farm-level knowledge transfer activity, provides essential market information to improve supply chain transparency and undertakes marketing promotion activities to help stimulate demand and to develop export markets. These are activities which most individual farm businesses could not afford to do themselves.

AHDB Potatoes works to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of potato growers, while also promoting the alleged health benefits of potatoes. The Council invests in teaching children about healthy eating and showing how potatoes are grown. Many of the industry's farmers spend time working with children in schools and on their farms, showing how they plant, grow and harvest their crops.

Its publication is the Potato Weekly, which mainly lists current prices of potatoes per tonne. It visits agricultural shows and extols the virtues and health benefits of potatoes, with a resident cook on hand.

Its main functions are:

• To promote potatoes to customers at home and abroad
• To encourage and commission research into improving the efficiency of potato production and their sale
• To offer advice to other parts of government and other farming organisations
• To provide statistical information on the UK potato industry

AHDB Potatoes raises all of its money from a compulsory levy paid to AHDB by potato growers and seed merchants and receives no funding from the government. The grower levy is £42.62 per hectare and the purchaser levy is £0.1858 per tonne. Its main base is at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, and there is a Scottish office in Newbridge in Midlothian and an experimental station (SBEU) in Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire.

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Agricultural show

Agricultural show

An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show, a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment. The work and practices of farmers, animal fanciers, cowboys, and zoologists may be displayed. The terms agricultural show and livestock show are synonymous with the North American terms county fair and state fair.

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is a levy board funded by farmers and growers and some other parts of the supply chain. It aims to enhance farm business efficiency and competitiveness in the areas of: pig, beef and lamb production in England; milk, potatoes and horticulture in Great Britain; and cereals and oilseeds in the United Kingdom. It undertakes research and development and farm-level knowledge transfer activity, provides essential market information to improve supply chain transparency and undertakes marketing promotion activities to help stimulate demand and to develop export markets. These are activities which most individual farm businesses could not afford to do themselves.

Stoneleigh Park

Stoneleigh Park

Stoneleigh Park, known between 1963 and 2013 as the National Agricultural Centre, is a business park located south-west of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. It is home to the NAEC Stoneleigh conference and exhibition centre.

Newbridge, Edinburgh

Newbridge, Edinburgh

Newbridge is a village within the parish of Kirkliston, to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It originally lay on the western edge of the county of Midlothian; however, local government reforms in the late 20th century placed it within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council.

Sutton Bridge

Sutton Bridge

Sutton Bridge is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A17 road, 7 miles (11 km) north from Wisbech and 9 miles (14 km) west from King's Lynn. The village includes a commercial dock on the west bank of the River Nene over which spans a swing bridge, and the parish, two 19th-century lighthouses 3 miles (5 km) to the north from the village on the Nene.

The agricultural experiment station is located alongside the River Nene between the Sutton Bridge Power Station and the A17 road. It occupies the former RAF Sutton Bridge airfield site that was acquired in 1958 by the Ministry of Agriculture. For many decades it has been at the forefront of research into potatoes in the UK.^[12]

Discover more about Agricultural experimental station related topics

Agricultural experiment station

Agricultural experiment station

An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with farmers, ranchers, suppliers, processors, and others involved in food production and agriculture.

River Nene

River Nene

The River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire. The river is about 105 miles (169 km) long, about 3.7 miles (6.0 km) of which forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. It is the tenth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for 88 miles (142 km), from Northampton to The Wash.

Sutton Bridge Power Station

Sutton Bridge Power Station

Sutton Bridge Power Station is an 819 MW gas-fired power station in Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire in South Holland, England. It is situated on Centenary Way close to the River Nene. It is a major landmark on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk border and on clear days with its bright red lights it can be easily seen as far away as Hunstanton.

A17 road (England)

A17 road (England)

The A17 road is a mostly single carriageway road linking Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England, to King's Lynn in Norfolk. It stretches for a distance of 62 miles travelling across the flat fen landscapes of southern Lincolnshire and western Norfolk and links the East Midlands with East Anglia. The road is notable for its numerous roundabouts and notoriously dangerous staggered junctions and also for its most famous landmark, the Cross Keys Bridge at Sutton Bridge close to the Lincolnshire/Cambridgeshire/Norfolk borders which carries the road over the River Nene.

RAF Sutton Bridge

RAF Sutton Bridge

Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the River Nene, next to Walpole in Norfolk.

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It attained its final name in 1955 with the addition of responsibilities for the British food industry to the existing responsibilities for agriculture and the fishing industry, a name that lasted until the Ministry was dissolved in 2002, at which point its responsibilities had been merged into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).