Danish Potato Farmers Tour Angus

Members of a Danish farmers co-operative experienced a packed 3-day tour of the Angus potato industry recently.

The delegates were members of KMC, a co-operative owned by potato farmers from throughout Denmark who specialise in growing 30,000ha of potatoes for starch production. They enjoyed a packed itinerary organised and hosted by SoilEssentials, the Forfar based precision farming technology company.

Charlotte Hou from KMC commented:

“For more than 80 years, we have been growing, developing, and producing potato-based ingredients for the global food industry - serving more than 80 countries across the globe.”

“We are always keen to learn of new innovation in the industry, and our tour of Angus has given us that, whilst also showing us the beautiful Scottish countryside.”

There was no rest for the delegation as the tour began as soon as they landed in Aberdeen. Whisked off to enjoy the coastal route southwards passing Dunnottar Castle, taking them to their first stop at the newly opened Arbikie Distillery, overlooking Lunan Bay and followed by a neighbouring new business diversification at Upper Dysart Larder.

Day two of the tour saw the group visit SoilEssentials to learn about the latest in precision technology, the Scanstone factory to see innovative soil preparation and root crop harvesting machinery under construction and Ogilvy Distillery to learn how locally grown potatoes are distilled into premium Scottish vodka.

The third day of the tour included visits to the world-renowned James Hutton Institute at Dundee, lunch at Glamis Castle and a visit to Scottish Agronomy, which is itself a farmer owned co-op.

Jim Wilson, Managing Director at SoilEssentials commented:

“It was a pleasure for us to host the KMC delegation. We are in such a fabulous corner of Scotland for the potato industry, and it was great to be able to showcase that to overseas visitors. I would love to think that this will lead to stronger connections in future, in future projects and potentially increased business and trade too.”

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