What do you get when you connect two ‘city kid’ filmmakers, a world-class chef, and nine farmers and their families? You get Before The Plate, a genuine behind-the-kitchen-door, on-the-farm look at how food is produced in Canada, and the passion and commitment chefs and farmers apply to their craft. The driving force behind the film… Read more »
Category: Potatoes
Simplot acquires access to CRISPR-Cas9 gene technology
One of the largest potato processors in North America has acquired access to new gene-editing technology. J.R. Simplot company has secured a deal with Corteva Agriscience (the agriculture division of DowDuPont), the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for the license of CRISPR-Cas9, along with other gene-editing tools. Along with potatos, Simplot produces a full… Read more »
Where the potatoes grow — a profile of this growing industry
In an effort to explore additional areas of agriculture that RealAgriculture does not cover on a daily basis, RealAg Radio featured potato production in Canada in a discussion with Kevin MacIsaac, General Manager of the United Potato Growers of Canada. How would you describe the overall health of the potato industry? Overall MacIsaac described the… Read more »
New insecticide promises to take bite out of soybean aphids
Soybean growers will soon have a new tool in the fight against yield-robbing soybean aphids. BASF expects to launch Sefina, a new insecticide it says will deliver control of aphids and white flies in soybean and potatoes, in 2019. BASF Canada horticulture crop manager Scott Hodgins explains that the new insecticide will deliver a unique… Read more »
Simplot announces $460 million potato plant expansion at Portage la Prairie
Simplot announced a $460 million expansion of its potato processing facility at Portage la Prairie, Man. on Wednesday. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler were on hand with J.R. Simplot CEO Bill Whitacre to announce the investment, an expansion that will add nearly 100 jobs to the facility. “Manitoba delivers in so… Read more »
Cavendish Plans $350 Million Potato Plant in Lethbridge
Cavendish Farms has announced plans to spend at least $350 million on a new frozen potato processing facility in Lethbridge. Robert K. Irving, co-CEO of J.D. Irving Limited and president of Cavendish Farms, was in southern Alberta to make the announcement alongside Ag Minister Oneil Carlier, local MLAs Shannon Phillips and Maria Fitzpatrick, and Lethbridge… Read more »
Syngenta Seed Treatment Network Extends to Canada
Syngenta’s SeedCare Institute is officially setting up shop in Canada. The company’s Canadian facility, located at its Honeywood research facility in Plattsville, Ontario, is now part of a network of 12 centres of excellence around the globe, focusing on advancing seed treatment technology and innovation. At the official launch last week, Anja Pires, Syngenta Global… Read more »
New Fungicide Promises Better Late Blight Control for Potatoes
Potato growers have a new weapon in their fight against late blight, the crop’s most devastating fungal disease. Last month, Syngenta Canada launched Orondis Ultra, a new fungicide that promises to deliver up to 21 days of residual control for late blight in potatoes. The product is registered for control of oomycete diseases caused by… Read more »
Say it Ain’t So — Yukon Golds are Slipping Away?
A good story can be told about potato production in Canada. It rose more than 4.5 per cent in 2015 over the previous year. Half of the new production came from Manitoba, with about another third coming from Quebec. That production increase didn’t hurt McCain Foods Canada’s decision in January to expand its Carberry, Manitoba… Read more »
Growing Potatoes on Mars? Plant Scientists Say Pulses Would Help “The Martian’s” Chances of Survival
“I am the greatest botanist on this planet,” declares Matt Damon’s character in 20th Century Fox’s new blockbuster “The Martian.” Astronaut Mark Watney (played by Damon) is stranded on Mars, able to survive by growing potatoes for food. Several Earth-bound scientists who are members of the Crop Science Society of America shared their thoughts on the portrayal… Read more »
Ag Ministers Hopeful RCMP Will Find “Scoundrels” Involved in Food Terrorism
On May 21, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers of a possible food tampering situation where needles and nails appeared to be showing up in potatoes, primarily in our Atlantic provinces. And this week, the growing concern of food and farm tampering was on the agenda, as federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers converged… Read more »
Ottawa Commits $1.4 Million to Potato Yield Research
A day after National French Fry Day, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced a $1.4 million investment in potato yield research through Potatoes New Brunswick on Tuesday. The AgriInnovation Program funding will be used to identify factors that limit potato yields as part of a national effort to boost “the export competitiveness of Canadian French fries.” “The stakes for… Read more »
Feds Announce $1.83M for Potato DNA-Based Diagnostics and Pest Research
The Canadian government has announced $1.83 million for an research project involving international partners looking at potatoes and potato pests at a genetic level. Parliamentary Secretary Gerald Keddy, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, announced the funding Fredericton on Tuesday. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, researchers will use new data about the DNA… Read more »
Team Building & Bucket Filling with The Little Potato Company
In 1996, Jacob van der Schaaf, a Dutch immigrant to Canada, and his daughter Angela Santiago planted a small, one-acre plot of potatoes just outside Edmonton, Alberta. It was an experiment meant to test the waters of the potential potato market in Alberta, and was obviously an overwhelming success. Today, Jacob runs Tuberosum Technologies and Angela is the… Read more »
Syngenta Canada Announces Cruiser Maxx Potato Extreme Seed Treatment
Syngenta Canada has received approval for registration of Cruiser Maxx Potato Extreme seed treatment in Canada. This all-in-one, liquid pre-mix delivers a concentrated formulation for convenient use and provides reliable protection from seed-borne diseases and early-season insects, Syngenta says. “This new liquid pre-mix formulation provides growers with the ability to target both disease and insect… Read more »