Parkland Potato Varieties will be hosting its first annual open day at the Crop Diversification Centre South in Brooks, Alta. on August 26th from 10 am to 2 pm.
Although Parkland has participated in numerous trials around North America, this is the first time Parkland will have its own field day.
“As we change our marketing approach on new varieties, we felt it was the right time to do our own field day,” said Kirby Sawatzky, director of Parkland. “This is our first open day and we hope to do more in the future in additional locations as we grow, develop and evaluate our varieties.”
Parkland has selected a number of varieties to showcase in the field day, including processing, table and specialty varieties.
While Parkland still sells the standard North American varieties, such as Russet Burbank, Shepody and Atlantic, they are trying to find superior varieties that will be more cost effective to produce, either with greater yields or reduced input costs.
These naturally bred varieties are selected based on maturity, storage, and resistance to diseases. Often, a variety may fill more than one market category, giving added flexibility to the grower.
The majority of Parkland’s new varieties are bred in Europe, many from Agrico Research.
Parkland and Agrico have worked together since 1997. Since joining forces, Parkland and Agrico have introduced many successful varieties into North America. Parkland fosters that same spirit of collaboration with its customers as well.
In the past year, Parkland updated its logo and mission statement to better reflect its “business to business” market approach. The long term relationships Parkland has with its customers is evidence of the commitment to providing quality, variety and service excellence.
The Parkland potato varieties field day runs from 10 am to 2 pm and is open to all interested industry members.
