A low-level photo of potato plants in a field.

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

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.


Farmers harvested nearly 127,000,000 hundred weight of spuds in 2024, breaking last year’s record of 126,593,000 cwt, says a Statistics Canada report released December 5. | File photo

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


Verticillium in potatoes can significantly reduce yield and, being soil-borne, is difficult to manage. Preliminary research results suggest earlier planting of risk-prone fields could reduce losses, in part due to colder soil temperatures earlier in the season. | File photo

Seed potatoes early to avoid verticillium

Pushing a problem field to the front of the planting queue may reduce infection pressure later in the season

Verticillium wilt is a problem for a lot of crops in Manitoba, including canola, sunflowers and alfalfa. In potatoes, the fungus Verticillium dahlia is the main cause of potato early die complex. In a 2021 interview with the Co-operator, Mario Tenuta, University of Manitoba soil scientist and main investigator with the Canadian Potato Early Dying […] Read more

Manitoba growers harvested 29.76 million hundredweight of potatoes in 2023, while 1.780 million cwt. were produced in Saskatchewan.  |  File photo

Canadian potato production increased last year

Alta. now top-producing province with output of 32.063 million hundredweight surpassing previous year’s 26.813 million

There was reshuffling of Canada’s leading potato-producing provinces in 2023, according to a recent report from Statistics Canada. At 32.063 million hundredweight of potatoes this year, Alberta vaulted from third to first place as it improved on the previous year’s crop of 26.813 million. Manitoba moved into second spot from third with its harvest of […] Read more


Statistics Canada data, released in early December, shows that farmers produced a record crop of 128 million hundred weight (cwt) of potatoes in 2023. | File photo

Record potato crop harvested

There will be no shortage of french fries in 2024. Canada and the United States produced a massive crop of potatoes in 2023, so french fry processing plants in Alberta, Manitoba and elsewhere will need to operate at full capacity to work through the huge stockpile of spuds. Statistics Canada data, released in early December, […] Read more

The potato industry is experiencing an economic boom in southern Alberta.  |  Alex McCuaig photo

Potato industry plays major role in economy

New report finds that the sector contributes billions of dollars to the national economy and has created thousands of jobs

Alberta’s potato growers continue to produce more than just spuds. A new report on the sector’s economic impact has found that it contributes nearly $3 billion to the Canadian economy. The report, commissioned by Potato Growers of Alberta, said the surge in potato production in Western Canada continues, accounting for almost half of all production […] Read more

A massive pile of potatoes in an indoor storage barn.

Good ’22 crop leaves Canada rolling in potatoes

Another strong season expected because of high seeded acres and nearly ideal planting conditions in country’s spud regions

Last year, potato growers across Canada produced an average yield of 322 hundredweight per acre, the highest on record.
 Seeded acres were also the highest since 2007, so Canada produced a massive crop in 2022.



Close-up of a mustard plant in full bloom.

Prospects look good for special crops

The United States is the biggest importer of Saskatchewan mustard, which Rick Mitzel, executive director of SaskMustard, hopes will continue this year.


A tractor with a seeder attached plants potatoes.

Bacterial inoculant for tubers

XiteBio spokesperson Richard Clement said commercial trials at Shilo, Manitoba have increased potato production by an average of 10 to 44 bags per acre in the last few years.