PSI Bulletin: November 2024
Updated: Nov 20, 2024
No. 11/24 SUBSCRIBER EDITION: please go to potatostorageinsight.com/subscribe to sign up as a Synopsis subscriber.
Dear Subscriber,
Hello! This is your November edition of Synopsis, your regular monthly potato storage bulletin from Potato Storage Insight.
Finally the harvest buzz seems to be quietening down out there, with many fewer tractors hauling spuds on the roads locally and also judging by the increase in activity of the telephone in the PSI office. It has been a hard slog for many to get crops in; the key now is to keep them in good shape. Visit our regular best practice section in this bulletin for our latest advice.
This month's technical insight feature centres around Mercian's LiveTrace technology-based field and store management recording system. In addition to a full field recording capability, it offers a comprehensive way of managing your store record keeping and you can do pretty much everything from your phone.
PSI activity
Adrian Cunnington has recently taken part, along with Simon Faulkner of SDF Agriculture and Farmers Weekly Grower of the Year Mark Means from JS Means, in a series of UPL potato storage webinars. The sessions formed a trio of events run by the agchem company to focus in on best practice in storage at this time of year.
Adrian will also feature in a storage cost & efficiency workshop -speaking alongside Chris Bishop who'll be explaining the use of heat exchang ers to maximise the use of ambient ventilation in hot conditions - at the pre-Christmas CUPGRA conference (see Forthcoming events).
Big news this month from PSI is that we have at last been able to finalise the details of the PSI Potato Store Managers' Course for 2025. The event is again being offered as a two-day residential course and will be held on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th March at the Greetham Valley Hotel & Conference Centre near Oakham, Rutland. There will be the option, as we offered for the first time on 2024, for delegates to take the BASIS Stored Potatoes qualification as part of the course, with the online examination provisionally set for Tuesday 1st April 2025. And there's one final bonus: prices for 2025 have been frozen at our 2024 rates! If you would like a prospectus, please email adrian@potatostorageinsight.com or visit our website.
Best practice
Drying late harvested crops
Some of the last harvesting heading into storage this autumn has been affected by wet weather and high levels of soil contamination which can seriously limit the speed at which the crop can be dried just when you need it most.
One way of assisting the process is to add heat and this will be particularly the case as ambient temperatures fall as they are forecast to do towards the latter stages of this month.
The picture shown here (kindly provided by Tim Kitson of Potato Solutions) shows gas heaters (typically 200-400 kW units) being used with a modulated control system to heat ambient air from 8C up to 15C but, most significantly, to drop the humidity to 60% RH. This offers some serious drying capacity for crops heavily affected by wet conditions and rotting...
As soon as the moisture can be removed to dry/mummify the worst affected tubers, the priority has to then be to keep temperatures at a moderate level so that any remaining infection is not encouraged to flare up again.
Whenever heat is used, be careful to limit the input to keep the tuber temperature within reasonable bounds. Excess heat will overdry the tuber skins and make them tight increasing the chance of thumbnail cracking.
Protecting store sensors and other vulnerable equipment
An important job that needs to be done before you apply a chemical sprout suppressant to a store is to protect any sensitive equipment from damage.
Generally, ethylene and carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors are the most vulnerable. Because post-harvest chemical treatments are largely applied as fogs, they permeate into the sensors and can saturate the sensor or cause physical damage to it over time. So it's best to either disconnect the sensor and place it in a sealed bag outside the treatment area or, if it can't be disconnected, bag the sensor and tape it closed so the chemical can't contaminate it.
Other equipment at risk might include electronic inverters which are commonly associated with speed controlling ventilation and refrigeration equipment. These often have a small fan fitted to keep the inverter cool, but this fan can draw chemical into the housing. Unless the speed controller is needed to regulate the circulation of the fog, any other kit is best turned off for the duration of the treatment.
Remember too that some of the fogged suppressants can be quite aggressive if they are allowed to drop out of the fog. Always run stores overnight without cooling to even temperatures out as much as possible before application; this helps to avoid condensation. Keep airways clear, free from obstructions and fans running to give an air speed of around 2-3 metres per second. Avoid looping cables over the crop where you can - these can attract the chemical which then runs down the cable and drips on to the crop.
Further information and independent advice on best practice is available through Potato Storage Insight. Contact Adrian Cunnington at adrian@potatostorageinsight.com or call him on 07970 072260.
Technical insight
LiveTrace Technology
For this month's Technical Insight, we have been to the North West to check out a fast--developing crop management information system.
LiveTrace Technology is a division of Mercian, the well-known potato supply chain company, based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Jon Kemp (right), a director of Mercian, who is also actively involved in the company’s merchanting, store management and sprout suppressant application activities, is the man behind LiveTrace.
LiveTrace designs and builds cloud-based data technology systems for potato and vegetable merchants and growers.
Synopsis caught up with Jon recently to learn more about this sophisticated, cutting-edge business that is underpinning supply chain and customer relationship management platforms that manage ¾ million tonnes of potatoes each season. Within this, the LiveTrace storage record system handles around 110,000 tonnes of crop moving into key suppliers.
Systems connectivity is achieved from the outset through mobile apps that allow the user to document the process of traceability and provenance for crops in the field or entering storage. LiveTrace has developed an integrated recording process that brings together farm information to connect with other parts of the supply chain downstream.
At the farm level, growers can make records on a store-by-store basis directly into the app (both iOS and Android versions are available). Every time a store is inspected, a record can be made that builds a history of that crop for future reference, be that for the grower or the end market. The system can also make detailed records of management events such as the application of a sprout suppressant. This uses simple red/yellow/green coding based on industry best practice guides to supplement traceability records for the likes of Red Tractor, for example.
The ‘software-as-a-service’ function - as it is described on their website - provides a multi-account platform to integrate third party cloud software into one place. Using portals, the system provides relevant functionality to each account be they for merchants, growers, customers, hauliers, store foggers or agronomists. LiveTrace’s unique dashboards are customisable to display snapshots of crop growing milestones, store performance indicators, contract compliance, weather, carbon score and much more. Digital traceability, paperless tickets, transport GPS tracking and full integration into Farmplan Gatekeeper or Muddyboots GLGM are all available. Looking to the future, LiveTrace is already active in areas such as carbon management, linking with the Farm Carbon Tooolkit, John Deere’s Op Centre and road hauliers Texel to provide inputs into specific industry supply chains requiring this kind of information.
The system has a common protocol for all users, but access to records can be differentiated across the crop management team using a personalised dashboard system. Data input can be real-time or retrospective to allow for issues such as poor signal strength on some sites, but the LiveTrace model is designed to provide real-time outputs on demand for any crop from any field or store at any time.
Here are some examples of what the system can record:
 |  |  |
Crop/site menu | Store menu including archive | Store ventilation records |
 |  |  |
Photographic field/test dig records | Store inspection records |
 |  |  |
Sprout suppressant application records | Test dig/QC records |
For more information on LiveTrace systems and how you can benefit from them in your enterprise, visit https://mercian.org/livetrace or call Jon Kemp on 07778 876592.
Snippets
Munters takes over the Dutch Hotraco International group
Swedish environmental control company, Munters AB, perhaps best known in the UK for its humidification products used in storage, has announced the acquisition of the Hotraco International Group, based in the Netherlands, from Amsterdam-based Nedvest. The Hotraco Group is the parent organisation of Mooij Agro, a significant player in the Dutch potato storage landscape, whose products are marketed in the UK by Sheffield-based Bradley Refrigeration.
More details here.
Crop Tec event this month
At a time when the agricultural industry is evolving and coming together perhaps more than ever before, Crop Tec will be back at the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire on 27 - 28 November 2024.
This year CropTec is introducing three keynote themes, focusing on Innovation, Knowledge and Profit, to provide you with practical advice to futureproof your farm.
Forthcoming events
If you are hosting a potato or agricultural industry event, please send details to admin@potatostorageinsight.com. Key dates with relevance to the potato sector in the coming months in the UK include:
November
Wed 27 - Thu 28 CropTec, NAEC, Stoneleigh
Two day arable farming show featuring cutting-edge technologies, expert insights and interactive displays. More above.
December
Tue 12 - Wed 13 CUPGRA Conference, Cambridge: Potato Crisis? What Crisis?
Now booking.
February 2025
Fri 7 SACAPP Potato Conference, Apex Hotel, Dundee.
Contact is kyran.maloney@sac.co.uk
March 2025
Tue 4 - Wed 5 PSI 2-day residential Store Managers' Course for 2025, Oakham, Rutland.
Prospectus now available for this comprehensive course that will include the option to sit the BASIS Stored Potatoes exam. Go to the PSI website for full details.
International Events
24-26 Nov INTERPOM '24 Kortrijk, Belgium
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Synopsis is written by Adrian Cunnington and published by Potato Storage Insight Ltd., 45 Main St., Gedney Dyke, Spalding, PE12 0AJ. UK.
© Potato Storage Insight Ltd. 2024
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