American and Canadian agriculture officials meet in Ottawa this week to discuss the possibility of reopening the border to Alberta seed potato growers.
Terry Petrow with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said he’s looking for movement between the two sides. The border closed after a potato pest was discovered in two Alberta fields in October.
“I hope there’s going to be something coming out of those meetings,” Petrow said.
Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, said he also hopes the negotiations are successful and the border to the United States reopens.
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Alberta supplies 30 percent of Washington state’s seed potatoes. American growers are scrambling to find alternative seed sources in an already tight seed potato market.
“We are going to be greatly impacted,” Voigt said.
Washington growers start planting potatoes at the end of February. He estimated one-third of the state’s 165,000 acres won’t be planted unless the border reopens soon.
Voigt said American growers are not shouting too loud to have the border open. They want the potatoes, but they also want assurances they will be free of the golden nematode.
“We’re walking the fence.”
Voigt said few people believe that the worm is limited to the two fields where it was discovered in Alberta.
“The feeling is we haven’t found the mother lode yet.”
