Where can the Sarpo varieties be bought for a commercial venture?
I'm not quite sure what is actually going on here, but if you've already been in touch with Dr David Shaw from the Sarvari Research Trust, then common sense might suggest that he would be the best person to contact with regard to the availability of seed tubers for commercial growing in 2012 (and which of course will be priced lower than retail seed potato prices).
My previous post clearly gives details of availability for gardeners (although of course we have to wait for the 2012 catalogues now to know exactly which Sarpo varieties will be available to grow in 2012).
peter wrote:Allan, JW already answered that, T&M, unless you're after the Sainsbury Institute trial ones!
Sorry, Peter, I meant retail as in going to a shop/supermarket and buying a bag to cook. John Walker didn't answer that one.
I'm sorry, but funnily enough I just don't happen to have a list of which shops/supermarkets are stocking Sarpo varieties to hand. Common sense suggests that if you really want this information then it might be a good idea to ask the Sarvari Research Trust if they can supply it.
As promised, I have contacted Dave Shaw and below is his reply:
Hi Alan, I am not aware of any supermarket selling our potatoes right now. I know that Sainsbury have sold Sarpo Mira in small quantities in the past. We have supplied seed for supermarket trials but they usually say that they are not suitable for their purposes. Some of our newer varieties with lower dry matter may be of interest to them as one of their niggles is that Mira and Axona are too high in dry matter. They are not interested in blight resistance as they say they can solve the blight problem by regular spraying. These days the specification on marketable spuds is so high that they are not interested in any that have the slightest deviation from the specs. Out open day is on Aug 5th. Please come. I will send on details.
These days the specification on marketable spuds is so high that they are not interested in any that have the slightest deviation from the specs.
Now I find that a great shame and must be heartbreaking for David Shaw. I notice that for quantities of more than 0.5 tons contact the trust direct. On the other hand if I do go ahead with growing one variety, will I be able to sell them? There's a thought to ponder! JB.
JB, I guess the salabity of the crop depends upon, what you would have sprayed it with to avoid blight and how you push that to the potential buyers. Downside is would you be able to risk going without preventative or precautionary blight sprays?
Do not put off thanking people when they have helped you, as they may not be there to thank later.
Hopefully Peter I would not be spraying them with anything but because I am not registered as Organic and have absolutely not intention of ever doing so every time I think of the idea I have a vision of a barn full of something I cannot dispose of. I have persuaded myself that it would be a very poor investment. Sad but true! JB.
Maybe David Shaw can give us more insight as to why the Sarpos are not suitable for the supermarket? I was intrigued by the dry matter comment. From what I have seen of the taste tests they came up well, though I am not sure how reliable they were.
When I grew Sarpo Mira in 2009 I was disappointed both in the blight resistance and on the table - cook didn't like them.
Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg) Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
Hi Alan, The farming programme this morning heralded the resistance to the Irish trial of a cisgenic GM Desiree Potato. From being genetically modified seed to plantlet ready to be planted out takes about six weeks and conventional hybridizing would take may more than 15 years to reach the same stage and would never be as accurate a hybridizing as the GM plant will be. The same old rubbish from the Organic faction.
I read some statistics this last week and one of them was that Organic Potatoes represent just 1.2% of the UK annual output. I wonder why? The Irish outdoor trial is going to be a 10m X 10m patch in the middle of around 200 hectares of Clover. Hardly the threat that the campaigners against are trying to make out. JB.
I'm not sure that all their objections stand up to logical scrutiny, but they do represent a "scary scenario" for sceptics.
1.It would damage our national economy by destroying Ireland's status as a GMO-free crop zone;
2.It threatens biodiversity and risks contaminating Irish potatoes in perpetuity;
3.It requires the use of glyphosate which is linked to birth defects and cancer;
4.The Teagasc document contains scientific mistakes and is also incomplete;
5.It is clearly designed as a PR exercise to manufacture consent for GM food and farming;
6.Teagasc disseminates industry propaganda and repeatedly denies scientific evidence on GM crops;
7.Teagasc admits the related GM patents could be sold or licensed to corporations such as Monsanto;
8.This un-needed experiment is a waste of Irish and EU taxpayer's money.
Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg) Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
Hi Alan, Item 3. It requires the use of Glyphosate etc. I can find no mention that the crop will be Glyphosate Ready as it is a simple cisgenic modification so why should the word Glyphosate even be mentioned. Scare tactics! Lies and more lies but apart from that the pattern is just the usual fruitless organic objections. The Irish Government are looking ahead and not going backwards as most of the objectors are. JB.
Re glyophosate the l;ink I posted does expand on this:
Teagasc's notification to the EPA admits it intends to spray the test site with Monsanto's highly toxic herbicide Roundup to remove unwanted leftover GM potatoes. Roundup (and its main active ingredient glyphosate) cause total human cell death within 24 hours at very low levels, and are scientifically linked to birth defects, spontaneous abortions, placental damage, embryo damage, endocrine disruption, cancer, non-hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and other diseases. Roundup is also lethal to amphibians and causes DNA damage in cells. For more info, see page 2 of the summary of the Health Effects of Glyphosate scientific report published by the GLS Bank in Germany.
The inevitable runoff of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide from Oak Park to the adjacent river Barrow (a few meters away) would contaminate and jeopardise the health of the inhabitants of Carlow town, along with the Barrow's entire watercourse and its tributaries, its fish, and anyone who consumes them as for as the Irish Sea.
You want scare tactics, you got 'em!
Another OTT scenario:
Ireland's prevailing Atlantic winds blow from the West and North-West, and frequently reach gale force. If these winds were to carry GMO potato pollen from the field trials the relatively short distance across the Irish sea, they could easily contaminate many of the 40 English counties which have declared themselves as GMO-free crop zones, along with Scotland and Wales which strongly oppose the introduction of GMO crops. Further afield, the experiment could contaminate farmers in France, Luxembourg, Holland and Germany, causing expensive product recalls and contamination lawsuits. Unless Teagasc has secured liability insurance, Irish taxpayers would have to foot the bill for any contamination in Ireland and overseas.
Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg) Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
In my opinion the weakest points made by scientists in support of any open air gm trials usually relate to the separation space from non-gm crops. Pollen (from wind-pollinated plants or flowers with exposed stamens) can travel very long distances in the air.
It is the bit that has always worried me about trials of wind-pollinated plants such as maize, especially when the figure is given in metres.
As for glyphosate I'd much rather see some effort devoted to a logical and reasoned campaign aimed at preventing its use to hasten the ripening of wheat, where residues must surely be making it into or onto the grain. Trotting out OTT stuff against glyphosate in every anti-gm campaign means nothing will happen to restrict glyphosate to its intended use as a weedkiller, or to make people more careful with using it. Funny thing is the wording used in Alans quotation implies spraying some unwanted plants will devastate everything for miles around, but I'm prepared to wager it is already used in similar fashion on many of the surrounding fields in normal farming.
Separate the two issues and the campaigners might make better progress.
Last edited by peter on Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason:correction for clearer english syntax.
Do not put off thanking people when they have helped you, as they may not be there to thank later.
