Fancy a job as a sun-tanned tattie roguer?
FANCY a job over the summer? Fancy earning some cash, making new friends and getting a sun tan?
So ran the attention-grabbing headline on a press release recently – but while I’d hazard that the tan part of the job description can’t be guaranteed, there are probably worse ways of making a buck over the next few months than becoming a tattie roguer.
“A whit?” I hear you cry. For those who aren’t up on Scotland’s world-leading seed potato industry, a tattie roguer has the highly skilled job of wandering up and down tattie fields for days on end, removing rogue plants which are either the wrong variety or showing signs of disease.
No machine, computer or crop spray can carry out this task – and each year many students, teachers and others who find themselves at a loose end over the summer sign up for a course to teach them the ins and outs of a job which is key to keeping Scotland’s £120 million seed potato industry going.
A lot of the spuds you see growing in Scotland aren’t destined for supermarket shelves, the local chip-shop or to end up in a packet of salt ’n’ vinegar.
Each year mountains of Scottish potatoes go to other parts of the world to be used as seed to grow the following year’s crops. Scotland produces 80% of the UK’s seed potatoes and each year around 80,000 tonnes are exported to Egypt, Spain, Cyprus and even Cuba.
The seed crops, grown in fields on the east side of the country, gained their reputation because our cooler summers and colder winters mean there were fewer aphids that carry viral diseases – but the country’s reputation for healthy seed still depends on the skills, senses and stamina of the roguers – the potato disease police.
The Scottish Rural College, which provides training later this month, is looking for a new crop of volunteers to take the King Edward’s shilling – stating that it’s an ideal job for somebody keen on spending the summer out of doors instead of in an office.
Small teams walk the crops, removing diseased plants to make sure they don’t spread. Once qualified, roguers can earn £10-£15 an hour, depending on experience. That can equate to £3500 pounds in a season – and with annual refresher courses it is a summer job that can last for years.
The training, which costs £325, can be booked through SRUC Aberdeen.