Potato Farmer Swapped Bankruptcy for Making Millions

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?

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2 replies on “Potato Farmer Swapped Bankruptcy for Making Millions”

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:

In Spain, the agricultural industry is one of the largest in the European Union.

Spain’s agricultural industry is one of the largest in the European Union.

Keep in mind, “Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.“.

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