Average may exceed 300 hundredweight per acre for the first time if P.E.I. and New Brunswick have decent crops
Average potato yields may exceed 300 hundredweight per acre for the first time in Canada, says the United Potato Growers of Canada general manager.
Potato production has been climbing steadily since 2011, when the national average was 264.8 cwt. .per acre. Last year the average yield hit 296.8 cwt. per acre.
If producers in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have a decent crop, potato yields could surpass the 300 mark.
“In Canada there aren’t any areas, as far as I know, that are reporting below average yields,” said Kevin MacIsaac, of the United Potato Growers. “I think we’re going to have similar yields to last year, if not above.”
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MacIsaac, who is based in Charlottetown, said in early October that the harvest was just underway in P.E.I. and New Brunswick.
Early results from P.E.I. suggest the crop should be decent. P.E.I. producers typically plant 90,000 acres of spuds, the most of any province.
Yields will likely be above average in Manitoba and Alberta.
Reports from September suggest producers in Alberta and Manitoba would have similar production to 2014, when yields were 357 and 305 cwt. per acre, respectively.
“That’s where I’m pegging the numbers … similar to the last couple of years (for Manitoba),” said Dan Sawatzky, general manager of the Keystone Potato Producers Association.
A hot and dry summer minimized disease pressure for Alberta potato producers, providing a boost to production.
Manitoba potato growers have invested in drainage tile over the last several years, which could be one reason for yield gains in the province.
In addition to robust yields, Canadian potato growers are benefitting from lower production in America and a relatively weak loonie.
MacIsaac said Wisconsin is the only state with higher than average potato yields this year. Production in Idaho and Washington state will be down from 2014.
“In comparison to what we had a year ago, it looks like in North America we’ll have a little less (potatoes),” he said. “The Pacific Northwest, their crops had too much heat in the summertime… It took the top off some of their yields. Idaho would be similar…. Those are the two big players…. Last year they had a bin buster.”
MacIsaac said potato processors want to buy potatoes from Canadian growers right now because the loonie is relatively cheap.
“There has been some potatoes available… in Idaho and Washington that could be used for processing. But the processors aren’t in a hurry to pick them up right now, they’d rather run their plants harder north of the border.”
The Trans Pacific Partnership should aide Canada’s potato sector, but MacIsaac said he needs time to evaluate the details of the trade deal.
The agreement will require countries such as Japan and Vietnam to reduce import tariffs on frozen potatoes, which is positive for North American exporters.
“From what little I know about (TPP), it looks promising. Japan has been a big importer of frozen potato products,” MacIsaac said. “Their (import) tariff…. I think it’s 13 percent. Over a period of three years it will be reduced to zero. The U.S. ships more to Japan then we do. But when they ship to Japan that allows us to ship in there (to the U.S.).”
robert.arnason@producer.com
