William Orr and Son are one of Ireland’s premier potato growers. For over 60 years, the Orr family have specialised in growing and selecting only quality potatoes at their drumlin farm at Raffrey near Ballygowan in Co. Down where the renowned rich soil and natural drainage combine to produce excellent growing conditions.
While the Orrs have been involved in commercial potato production for three generations, they have been growing potatoes for at least five generations. Founder William Orr passed on his passion for potato growing to his son Robert and his grandsons Richard and Philip, who now head up the business. They plant around 200 acres every year on the home farm and on rented field across Co. Down. Because the soil gets tired when potatoes are grown in the same fields year after year, the land is rotated to ensure a better, disease-free crop.
“There is a lovely, loamy soil in this part of the country that is ideal for potato growing,” enthuses Richard, who is also chairman of the Comber Earlies Growers Cooperative Society Ltd.
“As beef farmers and cereal growers also, we are able to change the land regularly which allows us to produce potatoes of the highest quality. Between the land we own ourselves and the land we’re renting, we farm somewhere between 500 and 600 acres. We grow traditional Irish potato crops as well as well as new varieties, which are all packed full of flavour with a real freshness you can taste.”
William Orr and Son grow about 12 different varieties. They start the season with the famous Combre Earlies PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) using varieties such as Home Guard and Accord which are planted in February and harvested in mid-June. Mid-season favourites include Queens, Melody and Squire. Popular main crop varieties include Maris Piper, Navan and the four niche varieties of Kerr’s Pinks, Arran Victory (Blues), Dunbar Standard, Rooster. William Orr and Son received a gold star at the 2014 Great Taste Awards for their Arran Victory – ‘Balls of Flour’.
“Maris Piper is by far the most popular variety we grow. But we have varieties to suit every taste and requirement,” Richard explains.
“While harvesting is restricted to a few months of the year, we pre-pack potatoes every day of the year, from 500g microwavable bags up to 10kg bags that are branded with the William Orr and Son logo. We use Glenside’s comprehensive Albrecht Soil Survey to identity the limitations of each soil and the barriers they pose to optimum crop production. It is a very exact and detailed way of growing, but with great results such as clean and healthy bright potatoes. Appearance and taste are very important. Using seaweed dressing also helps to keep the spuds as stress free as possible.”
On the Orr farm, you’ll also find a grading, washing and pack-house. Every potato is polished and inspected before they are packed into either clear plastic packaging or traditional paper bags. “We supply to everyone from the Henderson Group (Spar and Eurospar) and the North Down Group to independent retailers, farm shops, butcher shops, restaurants, hotels and nursing homes,” Richard says.
The Orrs, who employ 10 staff at peak times, use a six-strong fleet of John Deere tractors and state-of-the-art harvesters to harvest their crop. “Our Grimme and Reekie harvesters are able to handle a variety of soil conditions. They needed to be extra gentle with this year’s crop because the soil was so dry.”
Richard is in his third year as chairman of the Comber Earlies Growers Co-Operative Society Ltd, which represents a number of the largest local growers, namely Richard, Hugh Chambers, Stephen Christie, Trevor and Richard Davidson, Stephen Donnan, Ian Gilliland, Nathan Gilmore, Harry Hamilton and John Hamilton.
Comber Earlies are famous Europe-wide, having been granted an EU PGI status in 2012 which puts them in the same league as Feta cheese and Melton Mowbray pork pies. Only potatoes planted, grown and harvested within the protected geographical indicated area can be marketed as Comber Earlies, and only potatoes harvested in May, June and July are eligible for the status. There is no actual variety called Comber – the name refers to the general geographical area in Co. Down where the potatoes are grown.
The exceptional soil and climate found in the PGI area allows the farmers to grow this unique potato. Protection offered by the Ards Peninsula to the east and the Mourne Mountains to the south along with the south-east location mean that the micro climate of the designated area is both warmer and drier than other parts of Northern Ireland. The area receives the greatest amount of sunshine and has the longest mean growing season of any part of the province.
These unique characteristics of soil, climate and topography all work together to produce fantastic potatoes with their earthy, sweet and nutty flavour – the much-awaited taste of summer.
Richard is also involved with The Mighty Spud campaign which has built up a strong social media following through showcasing the endless ways potatoes can be used, the impressive nutritional credentials they hold and by partaking in a lot of potato-based craic and humour. The campaign has also highlighted the great work the Northern Ireland Stakeholder Potato Promotion Group (NISPPG) is doing to keep the province’s potato tradition alive.
William Orr and Son
134 Carrickmannon Road
Crossgar,
Co. Down BT30 9NL
Telephone: +44 (0)78 5537 5279
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.williamorrandson.co.uk
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 9, November/December 2016
