Growing the right crisping potato is what it’s all about for one Bundaberg producer

Samboy, Thins, Kettle Chips and Natural Chip Company; the snacks that go crunch in your mouth and keep you coming back for more.

Chances are, come spring, when you break open a pack of chips, the potatoes could well be sourced from Baldwin Produce, Bundaberg.

Baldwin Produce, a member of Growcom and Hort360 Great Barrier Reef (GBR) certified, is proactive in doing what’s best for soil and water, to get the most out of its crops and to boost environmental outcomes for the GBR and its catchments, so that future generations can enjoy this natural wonder.

Baldwin Produce, consisting of Tim and Brenda Baldwin and their son Eric, are proactive in implementing Hort360 certified practices at their own pace, so that there isn’t too much added strain on their business.

“It’s really a matter of trying to be progressive and get ahead of the game,” Tim said.

“You can’t refuse it if it’s going to be there all the time.”

Hort360 GBR certified practices are just one part of this diversified venture.

Diverse crops offer rewards – & bags of chips

When Fruit and Vegetable News visited Baldwin Produce, the potatoes were starting to flower, and the dam was at capacity with crystal-clear water.

The Baldwins plan to harvest this crop from August through to mid-November.

“We’ve got fairly sandy soils that suit for crisping potatoes and good irrigation supplies so there are a lot of things that add up for us,” Tim said.

“A good crisping potato is probably a potato that grows in a range up to 90mm, doesn’t haven’t deep eyes, is round and has a good flesh colour.

“The Australian market [chips] is for white flesh.”

In addition to potatoes, it’s a diversified operation, with 12,000 macadamia trees planted on 40ha and some sugar cane.

“I don’t think it’s wise to have all your eggs in one basket,” Tim said.

“The macadamia trees are holding up within reason at the moment – they were a hefty capital investment at $20 a tree plus land prep and irrigation infrastructure.

“We headed towards some diversification with potatoes.”

When asked what the biggest challenges were in starting to grow potatoes, Tim is honest and humble in his response.

“What was the biggest learning curve? When starting to grow potatoes, the biggest challenges was learning nutrient and water requirements,” Tim explained.

“They all just look like a spud sitting here in the shed, different varieties have different characteristics requiring a few tweaks to their growing requirements.

“We are on a learning curve – I’m 55 and still learning plenty I can tell you.

“I don’t think it’s different to moving into any other industry.

“I don’t think there is a farmer out there that has waltzed into growing any crop and nailed it bang first time.”

Potatoes are nutrient hungry, sucking a lot out of the sandy soils. To spell the fields ready for next winter, the Baldwins’ practice a 1 in 2 rotation with a summer sorghum crop and a winter cereal crop on the potato fallows.

“I have found that the biggest deterrent to a good potato crop other than government bureaucracy is too much rain,” Tim said.

“When we have dry winters, we grow our best crops.”

Diseases like blight and slimy stem can affect the potato crop, but lack of soil oxygen when too much rain falls is the biggest threat. Fundamentally the potatoes drown.

For the most part Baldwin Produce is drought-resistant and the business anticipates that with current capacity they will have enough water for up to four years.

Fruit and Vegetable News magazine asked Tim what kinds of responses he gets from the general public when they find out he’s a potato grower.

“It’s surprising how many people don’t know that a spud grows under the ground,” Tim responds.

Growing potatoes for chips

“The goal for us is to fill the void when potatoes are not harvested in the south of Australia,” Tim said, when asked why potatoes are grown in such a warm location like Bundaberg.

“They are a temperate crop.

“In Europe, their warm, growing season is equivalent to our cool season in this area in Queensland.”

Tim added that crisping factories in Europe only cook fresh chips for a limited amount of time, with most potatoes stored at controlled temperature and atmosphere.

For good chips – fresh is best.

In Australia, there is a diverse geographic spread of growers.

“Chipping companies like to have a spread – if it rains up north, they have some diversity when it comes to drawing potatoes for chipping,” Tim said.

At Baldwin Produce, about 100ha are planted every Autumn through to mid-winter.  That’s 3.25t/ha with a 37t/ha yield or a rate of between 10 and 12 spuds per plant.

Seed potatoes are freighted from South Australia to Baldwin Produce at a cost of $1000/t plus and are delivered to the farm – by far the highest expense for the Baldwins’ potato crops.

Fertiliser is running a very close second to freight at the moment, Tim said.

“Expenses are rising quickly and Snackbrands Australia is coming with us – they are lifting the contract prices to help cover the costs of production,” Tim said.

Additionally, Tim said, farmers’ ability to absorb costs is becoming harder with most competent farmers today using state-of-the-art technology and methods.

Despite these challenges, Tim is committed to farming and paving the way for the future of Baldwin Produce.