We finished planting at the start of May and since then we have been watching the first leaves pushing their way through the ground. As well as the farming, we have been busy inspiring the next generation, attending the School’s Countryside Day in Kelso, the Children’s Countryside Day in Wooler, and welcoming students from The Grove School to have a look around our factory.
The Grove School: A Visit to the Factory
We had three students from The Grove School, visiting with their teachers to find out what it would be like working on a potato farm. They were taken around our factory by Alistair, who explained the process of how potatoes go from the field to your fork, showing them that there is a lot more work involved than you may think.
The visit started off in the polytunnel, with Al giving a brief introduction on potatoes. The students were then given a potato quiz which they all did very well at! They then made their way over to the factory for a tour, and were taken through the steps of how our products go from potatoes to chips, ready to be used by our customers. On their return to the polytunnel they were given fresh chips to try – which went down extremely well!
“Thank you very much for the warm welcome and generous hospitality that we received at Particularly Good Potatoes.
As a local school we greatly appreciate the time and effort that Alistair put in to develop an educational, engaging and professional learning walk. You gave us the opportunity to gain a unique behind-the-scenes insight of what it would be like to work on your production or packaging line within this industry.”
“Alistair was incredibly knowledgeable throughout the learning walk and made the whole potato process and the health and safety involved within their commitment to quality produce very easy to understand. The potato quiz was fun at the beginning and taste testing chips as one of your finished products was a brilliant conclusion to our learning walk.
Tommy loved seeing all the machinery, Saul loved tasting the chips – they were amazing, and Zak loved the whole visit!”
School’s Countryside Day – Kelso
On the 19th May, Martyn and Alastair headed to the Border Union Showground in Kelso, for the School’s Countryside Day. This event is in it’s 13th year and educates Primary 5 pupils across the Scottish Borders about farming and where their food comes from, while giving them a chance to learn in an interactive environment outside of the classroom.
Martyn and Alastair took the harvester and tractor along with them so the children could see the process of getting the potatoes from the ground into the crates. They also had a selection of activities, including a sack race and a potato planting/digging station which proved very popular.
Children’s Countryside Day
Next up was the Children’s Countryside Day, founded by the Glendale Agriculture Society in 2006.
Like Kelso’s School’s Countryside Day, this was an opportunity for children between the ages of 4 – 11 years old to come and have an educational and interactive day out of the classroom. This was our fourth year at this fantastic day and the children were having a great time digging and planting potatoes and taking part in a sack race. The favourite was the big crate of potatoes, where the children could choose their own potato to take home with them. Some said they would plant theirs and some said they would be making chips or mash for their tea!
The cloudy weather and occasional showers didn’t put anyone off from having a great day!
It has been great to chat to the younger generation about where their food comes from – especially seeing their surprise when they realise their favourite crisps started life in a field! some don’t realise that their favourite crisps originally grew in the fields! Events like those held in Wooler and Kelso, are vital in giving children a hands-on experience of agriculture. It is always a pleasure to show young people what we do here at Particularly Good Potatoes and to hopefully inspire the next generation. Maybe some of these brilliant young people will end up working here in the future!