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

RJ Sigurdson, MLA for Highwood, is sworn in on June 9, 2023 as Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation. (Government of Alberta video screengrab via YouTube)

Calgary-area MLA named Alberta’s new ag minister

RJ Sigurdson to handle ag file, Horner moves to finance

The Alberta government’s caucus lead on emergency medical services (EMS) reform has been promoted to handle the agriculture file in a post-election cabinet shuffle. RJ Sigurdson, MLA for the constituency of Highwood, just south of Calgary, was sworn in Friday by Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani as Alberta’s new minister of agriculture and irrigation, replacing Nate Horner. […] Read more


Regular irrigation tires push soil away from the footprint, creating trenches up to 14 inches deep in side-by-side field testing. The Swift wheel pulls soil into the centre of the footprint, leaving only a one-inch scratch on the surface.

Skateboard wheel next innovation

The Swift wheel is a replacement for conventional irrigation tires

Glacier FarmMedia – How might revolutionary skateboard wheels relate to farm tires? If Shark Wheel has its way, skateboard tire technology will grow to become big tractor tires. Machine power converts to productivity where rubber meets soil. Technology of that crucial contact point has changed little in the three decades since rubber tracks made the […] Read more

The option to use fertigation, even in a crop like wheat, may be garnering support with its cost efficiency.

Finding the fit for irrigation

Precision agriculture systems are enhancing its value in different ways

Measuring value can range from a storage bin of corn to a load of fertilizer or the return on investment of a tractor. It’s part of farming and it’s becoming more complex. Irrigation is an expense that must be justified, and two influences have convinced growers to sharpen their pencils: higher commodity prices for more […] Read more