Potato growers are facing a broader and more complex risk profile, with weather volatility, market uncertainty, reputational challenges and reduced public support all increasing pressure on the sector, according to speakers in a recent GB Potatoes webinar focused on risk management.

The organisation’s Cutting the odds: Managing risk in potato production webinar brought together GB Potatoes chair Alex Godfrey, Potatoes USA chief executive and president Blair Richardson, and Rory Gibson, Scottish regional director at insurance specialist Howden, to examine how the industry can respond to operational and commercial threats.

One of the clearest messages from the session was that weather-related exposure remains central to potato production economics, but that the tools available to manage it are evolving. Gibson outlined a new parametric protection policy developed for GB Potatoes members, aimed primarily at covering excess rainfall during harvest rather than drought.

“We are seeing increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather patterns, while traditional insurers are becoming more risk-averse,” he said. “Meanwhile, reduced farming subsidies and more uncertainty in crop returns mean protection is more important than ever.”

Unlike conventional insurance products that respond to physical loss from specific perils, parametric cover is triggered by measurable events. In this case, the policy is structured around rainfall thresholds during the period from 15 August to 15 November. The model includes three trigger categories: short intense rainfall over three days, prolonged rainfall over 10 days, and cumulative rainfall over the full harvest window.

According to the webinar, the thresholds are measured using satellite data and information from local weather centres. Gibson said potato growers using the policy would typically look to protect around £5,000 per hectare of income. Indicative cost was put at about £259 per hectare, or slightly more than £5 per tonne. Typical payouts were presented as likely to average £2,273 per hectare for £1,554 of cover over five years.

The webinar also addressed a less tangible but increasingly important category of risk: the reputational standing of potatoes in public nutrition debate. Richardson said Potatoes USA has spent years building a scientific evidence base to counter persistent misconceptions about the crop and improve the industry’s ability to respond to misleading media coverage.

“Fifteen years ago, little research existed on potato nutrition. Misperceptions—like the ‘couch potato’ stereotype—shaped public opinion. In 2010 we began investing $2–2.5 million annually in health and nutrition research, totalling about $30 million so far. This investment now enables us to respond quickly and confidently when inaccurate information appears in the media.”

He said the growth of social media has made that task more urgent, with inaccurate or misleading nutrition content gaining wide circulation on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

“Influencers have financial incentives to prioritise virality over accuracy. This makes credible, science-based research essential for defending the industry. Misinformation spreads faster than corrections, so our strategy includes engaging directly with media.”

According to Richardson, that approach has helped deliver a 36% retraction rate and a 60% reduction in the number of misinformation incidents requiring intervention.

“Our messaging—such as ‘potatoes are real food, real performance’—has gained strong traction, now ranking among the top search results for potatoes. This shift reflects the payoff of proactive investment rather than reactive communication.”

Richardson also said Potatoes USA sees this work as relevant beyond the US market and welcomed the use of its research and communications resources by GB Potatoes to support nutritional messaging in the UK.

For GB Potatoes itself, the webinar served as a platform to show how the organisation is positioning risk management more broadly across the sector. Godfrey said the group’s work is centred on five priorities: improving collaboration across the supply chain, horizon scanning for emerging threats, influencing policy and research priorities, promoting the British potato industry, and giving members access to technical expertise and research.

That work includes ongoing engagement with potato sector organisations, consultation groups for seed and fresh potatoes, and collaboration with bodies such as the Horticultural Crop Protection forum and the National Potato Innovation Centre. GB Potatoes and the innovation centre are also preparing a joint summer summit in London aimed at demonstrating the industry’s importance to policymakers.

Godfrey said residual AHDB funding of £1.8 million is allowing several established programmes to continue in the near term, including Fight Against Blight, aphid monitoring, virus management tools, CIPC residue monitoring and reputational management. However, he warned that the sector would need to self-finance such work within the next three to five years.

He also pointed to the CiC-START PhD programme as a significant development. Run jointly with the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, the initiative has secured funding for 24 PhD positions over three years, including support for pre-competitive research. Alongside that, the Potato Industry Development Programme, facilitated by GB Potatoes, is aimed at strengthening the talent pipeline, with participants already visiting companies including Haith, McCain, Branston and AKP.

Taken together, the discussion pointed to a sector that is no longer treating risk as a narrow agronomic issue. Instead, weather exposure, public perception, research continuity, policy influence and skills development are increasingly being handled as interconnected parts of long-term industry resilience.