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
Bags of spuds were handed out to Canadian politicians and passers-by on Parliament Hill today in Ottawa, in an effort to bring awareness to P.E.I.’s potato industry and a recent government order that has stopped sales and exports out of the red soil province. On hand today was P.E.I. Premier Dennis King, potato industry representatives, and… Read More
The Prince Edward Island Potato Board has expressed its shock over the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) decision to suspend all seed potato exports out of P.E.I., and all potato movement from P.E.I. to the U.S., following a ministerial order announced Monday, November 22. Potato wart is a soil-borne fungus that can lay dormant for decades…. Read More
Seed potato movement out of P.E.I. to the U.S. has been suspended, following the finding of potato wart fungus in two fields in the province. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has also suspended the movement of fresh potatoes from P.E.I. to the U.S., which includes table stock potatoes and processing potatoes. The suspension does not apply… Read More
Poorer than average potato yields in Western Canada as well as in Idaho and the Columbia Basin in the U.S has created contracting headaches and supply issues for the processing sector. The tight supplies are having big impacts on the retail channel, as well. Potato production isn’t like any other commodity, where the processor can… Read More
Potato harvest is well underway in Canada, with varying results from a near-record harvest to too-short in supply. “Moving from east to west, the season is always later. We have more time in the east to allow the crop to get harvested before winter sets in, in a normal year,” says Kevin MacIsaac, of United… Read More
BASF Canada has received registration approval from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency for Veltyma fungicide. Veltyma provides broad spectrum control against key leaf diseases on multiple crops including corn, potatoes, wheat, and soybeans, including Group 3 resistant biotypes, says the company. The product is registered for broad spectrum control against northern corn leaf blight, tar… Read More
Everyone enjoys a good spirit or two, and many Canadians, when looking for a bottle of their favourite spirit, will check to see if it’s been produced from Canadian grains. A recent policy change in Alberta could lead to fewer markets for Alberta cereals and more imports of the raw materials from elsewhere. Jan Westcott… Read More
How does a dairy farmer’s kid end up advising Prince Edward Island potato farmers on how best to grow spuds? If you’re Ryan Barrett, you get there by being curious, intelligent, adaptable, and an excellent communicator. Barrett now leads research and agronomy for the PEI Potato Board, and spends much of his time fostering cooperation and… Read More
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