A national survey on the watch for potato wart has come back clean. On March 13, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said results from their 2022 potato wart survey had not found any cases of the soil-borne fungus. The agency had tested nearly 1,500 soil samples from fields in British Columbia, the three Prairie […] Read more
Tag Archives potatoes — page 4
Potato wart survey gives clean bill of health
Fields across Canada with a history of getting seed potatoes from P.E.I. tested negative
McCain to double Alberta french fry plant capacity
Lethbridge-area plant to more than double staff count
Alberta’s plans to boost its irrigated acres are being met near the starting line with a major french fry producer’s plans to double the capacity of its plant there. McCain Foods announced Monday it will put up $600 million to build two new production lines for frozen french fries and potato specialty goods at its […] Read more
Canada’s potato crop edges up in 2022
Alberta up into top spot among potato-producing provinces
MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada (StatCan) issued its potato production report Thursday, which noted a 1.5 per cent increase in the country’s crop in 2022. Across Canada, nearly 122.9 million hundredweight (cwt) of potatoes were harvested last year, with an average national yield of 322.3 cwt/acre on 381,351 acres. Alberta rose from third into the top […] Read more
Potato storage research to get boost
A federal-provincial investment goes to improve an existing storage facility at the University of Manitoba
Manitoba’s potato research landscape is getting a funding injection to improve infrastructure. The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing $98,970 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to upgrade the University of Manitoba’s horticulture storage facility so it can conduct potato research. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and provincial Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson made the announcement […] Read more
Trudeau tours storm-hit Atlantic Canada as power outages persist
Flooding may hit P.E.I. potato crops
Port aux Basques, N.L. | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday started a tour of Atlantic Canada, where thousands were still without power after record-setting storm Fiona ravaged the country’s east coast, tossing homes into the sea and killing at least three people. Fiona recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever for a storm […] Read more
Fiona batters Eastern Canada’s farms, fishery
'You'll hear me swearing in Saskatchewan'
Winnipeg | Reuters — Powerful storm Fiona slammed into Canada’s eastern fishing and farm industries over the weekend, smashing wharves, food processing plants and barns that will take months to repair. One of the worst storms Canada has ever faced left more than one-third of customers in Nova Scotia without power, swept homes into the […] Read more
McDonald’s and McCain partner to boost regenerative soil practices
A new partnership between McDonald’s and McCain Foods will invest $1 million in regenerative soil education and practices for Canadian potato production. “Through our shared vision with McDonald’s Canada, we are focused on supporting our growers in accelerating the transition to the key principles of regenerative agriculture,” said Jeremy Carter, McCain Foods’ western Canada agriculture […] Read more
Advances in optical grading increase potato sorting efficiencies
New equipment for vegetable growers can increase productivity
Potato farmers are seeking avenues to increase productivity, lower costs and comply with environmental regulations. “We’ve tried to pull together the equipment to go right from planting, fertilizer, spraying, irrigation, harvesting, storing,” said Dan Mann, vice-president of HJV Engineering. “And then coming out of storage, washing, packing and right to the end user.” Why it […] Read more
Private potato breeder hopes new variety can go commercial
Peter VanderZaag puts his chips on SP327 variety he developed
Peter VanderZaag is cautiously optimistic that SP327 will be the variety that finally makes it to the chipping big leagues. The SP327, developed by VanderZaag at Sunrise Potato in Alliston, has already shown consistency in fry tests throughout winter storage, with glucose levels remaining stable and low, providing a desirable colour and an ideal shape. […] Read more
Old invention shows promise for weed control in potatoes
Originally designed for insect larvae, the potato vine crusher lowers germination rate of weed seeds
An invention originally designed to control European corn borer in potatoes has shown potential to reduce weed seeds during potato harvest. Dr. Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, recently discussed the advantages of minimizing weed seeds during harvest to reduce pressure in potato crops. Then a colleague suggested an invention that […] Read more
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