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Food

22nd Oct 2019

There could be a national potato shortage soon due to bad weather

Jade Hayden

Won’t somebody please think of the hash browns.

The potato: a staple of any Irish meal.

In the mood for something carby? Get some mash.

Just a light snack? A few chips in your paw.

Need a breakfast based treat? Hash brown got you covered.

There are a myriad of ways that the humble potato has made our lives infinitely better since it first landed on our shores all those years ago.

That’s why fears surrounding a potential potato shortage due to bad weather is absolutely not an ideal headline to be reading on an already bleary Tuesday morning – but hey, what can you do, we’re not here to make friends.

RTÉ News reports that farming experts are concerned that this year’s potato harvest will fall short because of poor ground and weather conditions.

Just 30 percent of the countrywide potato crop has been harvested this year, with only between 10 and 15 percent of the winter crop having been planted at all.

This could lead to some farmers having to give up on potatoes this year entirely, instead focusing on less profitable crops.

And less delicious ones too, probably.

This lack of harvest is also set to negatively affect farmers’ incomes for next year, if they cannot get the potatoes in the ground in time – a feat that is proving difficult given all of the questionable weather we’ve been having.

The rain – it ruins everything, tbh.

Topics:

food,Potato