THE Island’s potato distributors might be warning that this year’s crop of Jersey Royals will be late, but that is a minor setback in what has been a period of healthy growth in the industry in recent times.

The potato business is thriving, owing much to the competitiveness of the two main players, the Jersey Royal Company and Albert Bartlett & Sons (Jersey) Ltd, who will both be operating in new state-of-the-art packing facilities this season.

A successful potato season is judged at two simple stages: getting the potatoes planted on time and digging them up again a few months later. Both processes are largely ruled by the weather. This can easily make or break a season if there is too much or too little rain. Equally, severe frosts and, later on, blight can do tremendous damage.

But,in spite of the cold start to the year, there has been a solid start to the season, evidenced by the huge number of fields covered in white plastic across the Island, the confidence displayed by potato farmers and the huge financial outlay by Jersey Royal and Bartletts. Both companies are expecting a delay in potato growth this year because of the winter chill, but if the weather improves, a few days of sunshine could put everything back on schedule.

Either way, it will do nothing to harm the demand for a humble vegetable that is essential eating throughout the summer months. It is remarkable that about 99% of Royals grown in the Island will be enjoyed in households across the UK – proof of its value as Jersey’s largest export.

Meanwhile, the stability of the Island’s potato growers reflects a positive time for the agricultural industry in general. The bull semen fiasco of February will, for instance, probably be forgotten by the time Jersey Dairy moves into its new multi-million-pound facility in Trinity later in the year, paving the way for a settled future for the Island’s remaining milk producers.

While industry in other walks of life has stumbled through the recession, emerging on the other side bloodied and bruised, Jersey’s two largest farming sectors have gone from strength to strength in the same period. This emphasises the resilience of those who toil on the land, the determination of those at the helm of the large companies and the enduring popularity of the fresh, delicious produce they create.