Hot, dry summer cuts into Ontario potato yields

Hot, dry summer cuts into Ontario potato yields

While heat stress and storage issues remain a concern, recent rainfall and cooler nights could improve harvest quality

Ontario’s record-breaking summer heat and drought could cut potato yields by between 20 and 50 per cent in some fields but cooler nights and rainfall may help salvage harvest quality.





Photo: Thinkstock

Canadian potato output rises in 2023 

Alberta vaults to first place in provincial potato production

At 32.063 million hundredweight of potatoes this year, Alberta vaulted from third to first place as it improved on the previous year’s crop of 26.813 million. Manitoba moved into second spot from third with its harvest of 29.760 million cwt. following last year’s 26.139 million. Prince Edward Island saw its output reduced in 2023 to 25.813 million cwt. from 27.789 million. In 2023, the trio combined for 68 per cent of Canada’s total potato harvest of 128,801 million cwt. 

Rick Kootstra (blue shirt) and Mari Veliz (white shirt, orange hat) explaining the field-edge water monitoring station in a pattern-tile drainage field at a Soil Health Water Quality Field Day on June 21.

Demonstration farm experiments with controlled tile drainage on slopes

Multiple efforts to control water flow have shown effects in easier harvesting and less erosion

The Huronview drainage demonstration farm near Clinton continues to aggregate data from its numerous tillage drainage systems. “People are, like, ‘tell us whether it’s working,’” said project co-ordinator Mel Luymes. “Again, please wait. It’s going to take years for us to get a good answer from this. I’m glad we put it in when we […] Read more


The ideal time to install drainage tile is after wheat (or other cereal) is harvested.

How to get the most from farm drainage investment

It comes from exploring the benefits of proper drainage

The search for every last advantage in a field often requires growers to step out of their comfort zone, whether that means considering precision agriculture applications, reduced tillage, lengthening rotations or adding cover crops. Improving field drainage can have significant benefits for soil health, the overall on-farm environment and increased crop yields. Effective drainage removes […] Read more

File photo of a potato field in Alberta’s Lacombe County. (COrthner/iStock/Getty Images)

Alberta potatoes chip in $2.9 billion for Canadian economy

New report verifies what many in industry suspected

Alberta’s potato industry is making a big impact — not just on that province but the entire country. A new report — dubbed a “landmark study” by the Potato Growers of Alberta — revealed the sector drove a total contribution of $2.87 billion to Canada’s economy in 2022. It also notes the nationwide creation of […] Read more