In a year when drought was on the top of a lot of people’s minds, many
growers of processing potatoes were contending with the opposite
problem – too much moisture.
Alberta grows its processing potatoes south of the Trans-Canada
Highway, an area that was deluged with rain this spring.
The rain drowned out some crops and washed away valuable nutrients,
setting crops back earlier in the growing season.
“The growers were really hard pressed to get those nutrients back,”
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said Vern Warkentin, the Potato Growers of Alberta’s executive director.
The result will be reduced potato yields in southern Alberta this year,
probably by 10 to 15 percent.
Cool temperatures also hampered crops earlier in the growing season.
Processing potatoes are grown under contract with processors that turn
the potatoes into products such as french fries.
Some growers may not be able to fill their contracts, but when
interviewed Sept. 19, Warkentin said it was still too early to tell.
The upside is that growers shouldn’t have trouble getting rid of their
potatoes this year, provided they can get them harvested and into
storage in good condition.
Warkentin expects the crop to be of good quality.
He noted that disease was not a big problem this year, partly due to
weather monitoring stations set up to give growers ongoing information
about temperatures and humidity levels in their areas. That helped
alert growers to conditions favourable to diseases such as potato
blight.
It was estimated that Alberta grew 37,300 acres of processed potatoes
this year.
In Manitoba, there were also some areas, such as Carman and Winkler,
where excess moisture flooded portions of potato crops.
Garry Sloik, secretary manager of the Keystone Vegetable Producers’
Association, said it was tough to predict overall yields because
harvest was just starting.
He was hearing mixed views from growers, but said he was confident
enough potatoes will be harvested to meet processors’ needs in
Manitoba. There may even be a slight surplus, he added.
“Growers overplanted,” he said, noting the estimate of processing
potatoes planted in Manitoba this year was raised to 88,000 acres from
an earlier estimate of 85,000 acres.
Disease didn’t appear to be a serious problem in Manitoba, despite
fickle weather that set back crops and delayed maturity.
Warkentin said Alberta potato growers were able to reach a two-year
contract with processors this spring. Among other things, it spells out
prices.
In Manitoba, growers of processing potatoes were able to settle a
one-year contract with processors this summer.
That was later than usual, and contract details were still being
finalized with one processor last week.
Settling contracts can be difficult, partly due to the haggling over
price. The stakes are high for growers, because of production,
harvesting and storage costs. Meanwhile, processors say their margins
are also tight.
Prices that growers agree to in one province influence what those in
other provinces can expect.
“Places like Alberta settle too cheap,” Sloik said. “It makes it
extremely difficult for us.”
