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 acre in 2023 to 330.9 this year. However, the harvested area across the country increased by 2,000 acres, hitting 383,666 in 2024.
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A warm and relatively dry fall in potato growing regions helped producers get the potato crop out of the ground.
“Favourable weather conditions throughout most parts of Canada during the 2024 harvest season allowed Canadian producers to harvest the vast majority (98 per cent) of the total seeded area,” Statistics Canada said.
Increases in yields and total potato production over the last 15 years have been an untold success story in Canada’s agriculture industry.
In the early 2010s, average potato yields in Canada were around 280 cwt. per acre. From 2021-24, it has been closer to 325 cwt. per acre, a 16 per cent jump in a decade.
Potato production has also boomed, thanks to the expansion of french fry plants in Western Canada.
Cavendish Farms, McCain Foods and Simplot built new frying plants or expanded existing plants in Manitoba and Alberta in recent years. In 2023, McCain’s announced a $600 million investment that will double the size of its french fry plant near Coaldale, Alta.
A large portion of the additional production has occurred in Alberta, which has become the potato capital of Canada.
“Alberta produced 23.7 percent of Canadian potatoes in 2024, maintaining its position as the largest potato producer,” Statistics Canada said.
“(That’s) followed by Manitoba at 21.6 percent and Prince Edward Island at 20.4 percent.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
