Farmers heartbroken as potatoes go to cattle feed
Farmers heartbroken as potatoes go to cattle feed
John Devine - in Ramsey St Mary'sWed, July 22, 2026 at 4:46 AM UTC
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Lynden Croft said it was "heartbreaking to see all the farms hard work come to nothing"
A farming family said they were heartbroken after over 100 tonnes of potatoes failed to sell and were sent to feed cattle instead.
The 400-acre (162 hectares) Bank Farm in Ramsey St Mary's, Cambridgeshire has been run by the Croft family for at least five generations, traced back to 1904.
They said their most recent potato crop made just £5 per tonne, compared with the normal expected price of between £120 and £200, which industry body GB Potatoes blamed on an oversupply in the market.
Lynden Croft said it was "heartbreaking to see all the farm's hard work come to nothing... it is devastating the amount of work we all put into it".
GB Potatoes said: "It is extremely disappointing and deeply saddening to see a valuable food crop sold for only a fraction of what it cost to produce.
"Growers cannot continue producing potatoes at a substantial loss."
Chief executive Scott Walker added: "High levels of production in both the UK and Europe last year, combined with more carry-over stock than expected, has left the market with more potatoes than it can absorb and caused free-buy prices to collapse."
Jo Croft said the price of growing potatoes had been rising with fertiliser
Jo Croft, 43, said the heartbreaking reality hit when the first 58-tonne batch of potatoes went.
"Our nine-year-old son watched his grandad load potatoes that we had worked so hard to grow, only for them to be sent away for stock feed because we simply couldn't sell them," she said.
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She added it was a "stark reminder of the challenges so many farmers are facing".
"Many growers have had to do the same, and although this isn't the first year we've been in this position, it never gets any easier," Jo added.
"Months of hard work, time, and care have gone into growing these potatoes, so seeing them leave the farm like this is devastating."
Brian Croft said fertilisers for potatoes cost £460 per tonne
Brian Croft, 75, the father of Lynden, said: "Potatoes have always been up and down, and the public are changing and tastes are changing."
He said the rising cost of fertilisers was another issue they faced.
The farm uses about 40 tonnes of fertiliser for its potatoes, at a cost of £460 per tonne.
"You are talking big money with just a farm like this," he said.
Potatoes were loaded into a lorry that then took the crop to cattle
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