usual suspect,
Your sentiments may be well meaning, but if no one will buy the discarded crop, we cannot expect the potato farmers to bear the expense of transportation. What do you think is the cost to transport a tonne of Tasmanian potatoes to drought affected areas? Probably in the order of $1,000. What is a tonne of discarded potatoes worth as stockfeed? Nothing! Farmers often receive transport and sales bills for crop sent to market greater than the return from the sale. Farmers deserve a fair return on their crop.

Quote, "In regards to the potatoes (and other vegies) left to rot in the paddocks - farmers could get some of the costs associated with producing them back buy selling them as livestock food. Not oats and pasture I know but something for the starving stock in drought affected areas."

Terge,
Why do you expect the councils to subsidise you growing vegetables?

Quote, "I could make a lifestyle for myself growing vegtables for market in my garden if only the councils would subsidies me enough."

Why don't you grow certified organic and sell in Balmain? You don't need subsidies, just customers willing to pay a fair price

To increase the profits of the potato growers you don't aim at the lowest price first (i.e. stockfeed). Firstly, you only harvest the good quality product (all sizes). The packing shed then packages it into small bags of smalls, bigs, X-lg spuds and then 25kg or 50kg mediums for loose sale in the supermarket. There will still be reject produce at the packing shed from machine damage, green marks (sun damage), grubs etc. missed by the pickers which can be sent as stockfeed.

The important thing I haven't seen anyone mention is getting the message to the consumer about our Aussie product. There are oodles of "lifestyle" programmes on TV which include cooking segments. Women and men alike are glued to the tellie each week to check out a new recipe or tip. Also, newspapers and magazines have special cooking sections in most of their editions. Hit them hard with the Aussie (not just
Tassie) spud. Push the tiny tatters in their jackets as well as the bigs. When we grew spuds, we rarely used the mediums. We sold them. There are plenty of uses for the others and the chefs (given the challenge) will come up with heaps of new recipe ideas. That will create a market for bagged smalls and bigs. More profits for the Aussie potato farmer and it should help to keep the cost of the potato at a reasonable price for the consumer.

Any potatoes that are left in the paddock should then be genuine rejects and they are usually worth more to the farmer as fertilizer for his next crop than to sell as stockfeed.

One thing you have to realize, is that it is not the farmer who sets the price of the potato. It is the merchant.

If the price of potatoes is low and a certain merchant thinks the price will go up in a week or two, you will see the parking area adjacent to his shed empty as well as his shed as close to empty as possible and before you know it semi after semi load of spuds arrives (at a cheap price - he "buys" them). He holds onto them. Next week - the price goes up $5, $10, $15 or even more per bag. The farmer sees none of the price increase.

However, if the price had gone down, the farmer would have received the lesser price. This is fact not fiction.

Philo,

The price would be fairer for a potential backyard farmer like me if councils prohibited imports from the country areas outside Sydney. Surely it is their duty to make Sydney self sufficient. After all they represent the people of Sydney not the people of Dubbo or Tasmania. Do they really think it is reasonable that I should compete with the low wage areas like Dubbo?

Regards,
Terje

Terge,
You are obviously not serious; just a stirrer. The plight of Australian farmers has become a serious issue. Please respect the seriousness of this issue.