The Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA) has released what it’s calling a landmark study on the economic impact the potato industry in the province. The report outlines the significant growth of Alberta’s potato industry in recent years, and documents its economic impact. The study — completed by Serecon Inc. and Nichols Applied Management — estimated… Read More
Category: Potatoes
Wireworm is a destructive pest of potatoes, wheat, barley, and other crops. It’s also a below-ground feeder, making it difficult to scout for and even harder to control. Changes to available insecticide seed treatment ingredients has also made it more challenging to protect crops from feeding. Research from Eastern Canada has made significant discoveries into… Read More
Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) Sustainability Incentive Program is open to applicants in partnership with the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) and McCain Foods. The program pays out incentive payments calculated on a portion of a customer’s lending with FCC if they are also participating in specific certification programs, including the CRSB certification initiative and… Read More
Vive Crop Protection Inc. has registered its first Canadian product with the introduction of AZteroid FC3.3 fungicide. “Bringing cutting edge innovation to the pesticide industry is groundbreaking work and this first Canadian registration has been several years in the making,” says Dr. Darren Anderson, co-founder and CEO of Ontario-based Vive Crop Protection. “At Vive, we’ve… Read More
McCain Foods is making a substantial investment in its Coaldale, Alta. plant, doubling the size of its facility and output. Established in 2000, the potato plant currently employs 225 people. The announced $600 million investment will provide an economic boost for the region that will create 260 new jobs, the company says. Aligned with McCain’s… Read More
Soil acidity is an issue that’s gaining attention in the Northern Plains, especially in areas where no-till practices have been paired with high surface-applied nitrogen rates. “They’re seeing this advancing a lot faster in parts of North Dakota and Montana, under traditional zero till conditions where they broadcast urea fertilizer. They find they’re acidifying the… Read More
The Successors is a RealAgriculture podcast series hosted by Kara Oosterhuis focusing on agriculture from the perspective of the up-and-coming generation. If you sit down and talk to many of our parents and grandparents, they will remember harvesting potatoes from the garden growing up, and getting rid of the small, undersized potatoes. Flash forward to… Read More
An international panel convened by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has concluded that most parts of Prince Edward Island outside of what were deemed “Regulated Fields” should be considered free of potato wart (S. Endobioticum). The International Advisory Panel (IAP) on Potato Wart was set up by the CFIA in 2022, as a follow-up… Read More
The United Potato Growers of Canada (UPGC) has hired a new general manager. Victoria Stamper of Mascouche, Quebec, will join UPGC in the role, effective April 25, 2022. She will replace outgoing general manager Kevin MacIsaac, who announced his retirement from the organization earlier in the year. Stamper brings a commodities distribution background to the… Read More
Table potatoes from Prince Edward Island will soon be allowed into the U.S. again under certain conditions, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Potato exports from the province known for its potato production were suspended by the Canadian government in November after the confirmation of potato wart… Read More
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson has introduced a bill that would end the province’s single desk marketing system for table potatoes and root vegetables. Bill 12, “The Peak of the Market Reorganization Act,” would transition Peak of the Market from a non-profit regulated marketing agency into an independent company. It would also remove the requirement… Read More
The Canadian government announced Tuesday, February 8, 2022, that table potatoes from Prince Edward Island would begin moving into Puerto Rico beginning today, February 9. Potato movement from the island province to the U.S. and even other provinces has been on hold since late November, 2021, after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) stopped exports… Read More
The P.E.I. potato industry hasn’t had an easy time lately, as the finding of potato wart fungus in two fields in the province halted potato exports to the U.S. The two positive cases were confirmed in October of 2021. Ryan Barrett, agronomist with the P.E.I. Potato Board, and farmer at Belmont, P.E.I., provided RealAgriculture with… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has completed its national survey for potato wart ahead of schedule, the federal government says. Potato wart was not detected. The national survey conducted this fall involved soil testing across areas of Canada that grow seed potatoes (except Newfoundland) to confirm that unregulated areas of Canada remain free from… Read More
A cross-border trade issue with P.E.I seed and table potatoes seems likely to extend long past the winter season, as Canadian Food Inspection Agency says that providing the U.S. with the testing data it requires may take until 2023. Canada preemptively banned the sale of seed potatoes out of P.E.I in late November, after the… Read More