With a driving distance 234 kilometres south of Manitoba’s southern border, the recently announced Agristo potato processing plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota, should be exciting news for the province’s potato producers.
Tariffs mute Manitoba welcome for new potato processor
European potato company Agristo will break ground on a new North Dakota plant this year, but U.S. tariffs may stop Manitoba producers from taking advantage
U of S grad student develops spray for frost damage prevention
The work has primarily involved canola, but there’s been some testing on potato plants as well
University of Saskatchewan grad student Will Short has been working on a spray to prevent frost damage in early spring crops.
CFIA’s 2024 potato wart survey comes back clean
Canadian Food Inspection Agency potato wart survey turns up no cases of the disease for 2024.
Ag exports ‘underperforming’ in Southeast Asia
Potential remains ‘unrealized,’ despite signing trade agreements and opening a new trade office in the Philippines
WINNIPEG — Canada could be missing out on $1.6 billion in annual exports of wheat, frozen potatoes, meat and fertilizer to Southeast Asia. That nugget of data comes from the International Trade Centre (ITC) and Farm Credit Canada, which have studied the potential of agriculture and agri-food exports to Southeast Asian nations. The FCC is […] Read more
Farm revenues and profits were strong in 2023
WINNIPEG — It seems like a long time ago, but 2023 was a great year for Canadian farmers. Statistics Canada data on farm operating revenues and expenses released Dec. 6 shows that total operating revenues were $117 billion in 2023, up from $108 billion in 2022 and $97 billion in 2021. Breaking that down by […] Read more
Potatoes set harvest record
WINNIPEG — It was a fantastic year for potato growers as Canada set another record for potato production. Farmers harvested nearly 127 million hundred weight of spuds in 2024, breaking last year’s record of 126.593 million cwt., says a Statistics Canada report released December 5. Average potato yields dipped slightly, going from 331.7 cwt. per […] Read more
Producers report favourable potato crop yields
Early results suggest the Canadian crop could be one of the largest on record and a dramatic increase from five years ago
WINNIPEG — Potato growers won’t duplicate last year’s record crop, but 2024 will likely be a solid year for yields and national production. Statistics Canada and United Potato Growers of Canada don’t have official figures because the harvest is still underway but early results suggest the crop will be smaller than the 128 million hundredweight […] Read more
New chipping varieties catch potato growers’ attention
Sunrise Potato Systems Institute’s SP327 reaches commercial production in Canada, and company negotiates with China
Glacier FarmMedia – An early chipper variety stirred interest during recent potato field trials in Ontario by offering earlier maturity than standard varieties with similar yields. Five companies, including one in the United States, are evaluating the potential of F160032-06 this season. Vanessa Currie, a research technician with the University of Guelph’s plant agriculture department, […] Read more
U.S. farm workers cultivate heat safety standards
A group that works with workers in southern states sets up the Fair Food Program, which includes heat-related measures
WASHINGTON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Heat records have repeatedly been toppled in recent weeks, just when farms in some of the hottest parts of the United States are at their busiest. That worries Lupe Gonzalo. “A lot of places in the field, you don’t have access to shade, to clean and fresh drinking water,” said […] Read more
Farming north of 60 requires self-sufficiency
Former Alberta producers grow wheat, oats, peas, barley, camelina, canola and a wide variety of vegetables in the Yukon
WHITEHORSE — Thirty kilometres from Whitehorse, amid the mountains and the forest, canola is blooming bright yellow. The colour is unexpected, unlike the Prairies where it is so common. Yukon Grain Farm has been growing Polish varieties for the last four years. It’s a value-added proposition for the operation, which has a small crusher and […] Read more
