Staff, Author at Spud Smart

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Tours AAFC Fredericton Research Centre

Compiled by Staff on April 24, 2019

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, toured the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Fredericton research centre April 23 to learn about the department’s research into all things potatoes. The visit included a stop at the centre’s Potato Gene Repository with Fredericton scientist Benoit Bizimungu. The repository contains Canadian and international potato germplasm. Potato research is the centre’s main focus with an emphasis on potato agroecosystem, bioecology, potato germplasm enhancement and enhancing the…

AgriExpo 2019 to be held August 14 – 15 in Grand Falls, N.B.

Compiled by Staff on April 17, 2019

Valley Chamber of Commerce, Potatoes NB, and Master Promotions Ltd. are working in partnership to bring AgriExpo 2019 to Grand Falls, N.B. The agriculture-focused event will showcase new trends, technology and equipment for farming sectors across New Brunswick, Quebec and Maine. On August 14 and 15, 2019, AgriExpo will welcome thousands of farmers and industry professionals to Grand Falls, showcasing over 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibit space. Attendees will…

McCain Foods Portage la Prairie Facility Celebrates 40 Years in Business

Compiled by Staff on April 17, 2019

Portage la Prairie, Man., April 16, 2019 – Yesterday, McCain Foods (Canada) celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Portage la Prairie, Man., facility and also officially opened its new potato receiving area at a special ceremony hosted onsite at the potato processing facility. Manitoba dignitaries, including Premier Brian Pallister and Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler among others were in attendance, as were local growers from the Keystone Potato Producers Association, McCain executives and…

Potato Cultivation Is Gaining Ground Again In Spain

Compiled by Staff on April 16, 2019

Since Spain joined the EU, its potato acreage has dropped from 200,000 hectares down to 65,000 hectares, although it seems that the decline may be coming to an end due to several factors. Firstly, consumers increasingly demand products with better culinary qualities. The potatoes stored at low temperatures, although aesthetically attractive, have disappointed the consumers in terms of taste, motivating them to switch to other products, such as pasta. The new potato…

New WPC Webinar with Dr. Gary Secor on BMPs for Seed Potato Handling

Compiled by Staff on April 9, 2019

The World Potato Congress (WPC) is very pleased to be offering its third webinar in its 2019 series with Dr. Gary Secor. Secor is a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D, United States. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Montana State University, and his PhD from the University of California-Davis. Secor has worked with numerous potato diseases, concentrating in recent years…

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Potato Acreage Growth In Line with Demand

Compiled by Staff on April 4, 2019

The NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) have estimated that the upcoming area for consumption potatoes in 2019 will increase between one and two per cent toward almost 604,000 hectares in the five main production countries, driven by estimated increase in the area on the mainland. This is the largest area for more than ten years. This is a first estimation: planting for main crop is only starting and final figures will come…

Eye On The Nation

Compiled by Staff on April 4, 2019

SPRING 2019 MANITOBA Dan Sawatzky, General Manager, Keystone Potato Producers Association As I write this snapshot of what I am seeing in the Manitoba potato world, both Simplot Canada and McCain Foods are busy with capital projects. Simplot is on track with the construction of a new plant adjacent to their Portage location doubling their capacity and adding to their ability to produce specialty products. McCain is near the end of a…

2021 World Potato Congress, Ireland: Change of Dates Announced

Compiled by Staff on April 2, 2019

The previously scheduled dates of the WPC Congress in Ireland (May 24-27, 2021) have been moved by one week to May 31 to June 2, 2021 due to the Dublin Bloom Festival (https://bloominthepark.com/). This will allow 2021 WPC Congress participants and their partners to enjoy this important Irish horticulture event in the city, and for the Irish promotion board ‘Bord Bia’ (one of the major sponsors of WPC and organizer of the Bloom Festival)…

Potato Prices Climbing in Wake of Poor Growing Season

Compiled by Staff on April 1, 2019

CBC News Fresh potato prices are higher than usual because of shortages after the worst growing season in decades. On P.E.I., Canada’s largest producer of potatoes, it’s estimated about 2,800 hectares of potatoes were left in fields, because the fall was so wet and fields were too muddy to harvest. The season was also late starting due to a cold spring. People in the industry estimate prices for potatoes are up at…

A Better Estimate of the Net Yield of Seed Potatoes with Vision Techniques

Compiled by Staff on March 26, 2019

Growers of seed potatoes would like to know on which part of their parcel the potatoes grow best, and how the location influences the size of the potatoes. But during harvesting, hundreds of potatoes will roll into the harvesting machine at the same time. Wageningen University & Research is working with Aeres Hogeschool, the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Green Campus and several growers to study how this yield can be measured by…

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