Following a wet spell, potato growers in Dublin take advantage of a dry day to get their crops out of the muddy fields.
The cold wet weather of the spring and early summer has resulted in a shortage of potatoes.
It is hoped that enough potatoes will have been taken out to ease the shortage being experienced at the markets.
As a result of the lack of warm sunshine, it is estimated that all crops are about a month behind their normal yield for this time of year. Unless there is a warm spell soon, the quality of the crop will also be affected. As a result of the scarcity, potato prices are twice what they were a year earlier, with prices now at between £80 and £84 a tonne. In July 1971, it was between £30 and £40 a tonne.
In the shops, the housewife is paying around 28 to 30 pence for a five-pound bag of potatoes and again that's about double the price for this time of year.
Experts predict that if the cold wet weather continues there is a danger of potato blight.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 5 July 1972. The reporter is Donal Kelly.
