B2 – Upper Intermediate
The story of William Chase is just one of many talking about the struggles and triumphs of doing what you love and turning it into a business. If you’re as lucky as him, you might even end up making millions.
Read the article about the potato farmer who went from being bankrupt to a millionaire. Be ready to answer the questions that follow.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35491792
Discussion Questions:
1. In your own words, tell the story of William Chase.
2. What were some of the challenges that he encountered? What were his frustrations?
3. How would you describe the agricultural industry in your country?
4. Are your local farmers supported by the government?
5. If you had the opportunity to have a business, what would you put up?
4 replies on “Potato Farmer Swapped Bankruptcy for Making Millions”
1. In your own words, tell the story of William Chase.
William Chase is a farmer who, incensed by how supermarkets treated farmers, decided to put her boots on and change things. Not by fighting them directly, but by creating a high-end crisps brand. When supermarkets like Tesco (which had previously pressured farmers over the products they sold )wanted to sell his crisps, William Chase refused. He saw it as a chance to stand up to the system and started a quiet battle against them.
Later, when things didn’t go as he had hoped, Chase sold the crisp brand and started again, this time by founding a distillery to produce vodka.
2. What were some of the challenges that he encountered? What were his frustrations? One of the main challenges William Chase faced was dealing with supermarkets. He was deeply frustrated by how they treated farmers, especially when they refused to buy his potatoes simply because they didn’t meet the supermarkets’ strict and often arbitrary standards.
3. How would you describe the agricultural industry in your country?
It’s quite similar. Wholesalers are constantly pushing farmers to secure products at the lowest possible prices, and yet they’re the ones who end up taking the biggest share of the profits when selling to supermarkets. It’s frustrating and unfair because the wholesalers don’t produce anything themselves; they simply act as the link between farmers and retailers, but they walk away with most of the cake.
4. Are your local farmers supported by the government?
Not enough. While there are some laws in place, many farmers feel they’re not adequately supported or protected. They often believe the government doesn’t do enough to address their real needs or to shield them from unfair market pressures.
5. If you had the opportunity to have a business, what would you put up?
I’d open a bookstore. It might not be the most original idea, but I’d love to create a chain of libraries with cozy coffee bars and thoughtfully designed spaces for children. The goal would be to make it an inviting and peaceful place where people can enjoy reading and take a break from screens for a while.
You wrote your answers very well.
Here is a better word choice for the expression in this sentence:
Way to go! Keep up the impressive job!
1. In your own words, tell the story of William Chase.
William Chase bought a potato farm, but the potato market was volatile, and the torrential rains of 1992 ruined his crop, forcing him to file for bankruptcy. After traveling and securing financing, he returned to the farm, but he was unhappy with how big supermarket chains rejected imperfect potatoes. For this reason, he started a new business using these potatoes to make crisps. Thanks to Mr. Chase’s ability to tell a good story, this new brand of crisps grew rapidly. However, unhappy with the new big business, he sold it to private capital. After that, he created a new business producing vodka and other liquors.
2. What were some of the challenges that he encountered? What were his frustrations?
He encountered severe challenges, the most important one being that big supermarket chains only wanted cosmetically perfect potatoes.
3. How would you describe the agricultural industry in your country?
In Spain, the agricultural industry is one of the largest in the European Union. However, in my opinion, there are too many grants and too many regulations coming from the European Union. For this reason, there are many farms that are not profitable but still exist.
4. Are your local farmers supported by the government?
Yes, they are. They receive grants. However, there is too much bureaucracy involved.
5. If you had the opportunity to have a business, what would you put up?
I would put up something related to software and programming.
Great going with your writing practice. You wrote good responses.
This is another way to express this sentence:
Keep in mind, “Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.“.