New Annan, P.E.I. — Cavendish Farms is pleased to announce the construction of a new potato research and plant breeding centre in New Annan, P.E.I. The $6-million facility, which is fully funded by the company, is an investment in the sustainability of Prince Edward Island’s all-important potato industry. As witnessed over the last two summers, the growing season is changing with hotter temperatures and less precipitation at critical times. This is a real…
Statistics Canada released its first estimate of potato acreage in Canada as a result of data obtained from its survey of potato growers in Canada. Statistics Canada has estimated the 2019 potato acreage to be up 3.3 per cent or 11,526 acres above 2018. Given some of the additional acreage required to supply two new fry plants and a recently completed new line in Canada, industry had expected the increase to be…
Summer 2019 MANITOBA Dan Sawatzky, General Manager, Keystone Potato Producers Association The crop in Manitoba is progressing well. Planting was only slightly behind normal but cool May weather delayed emergence putting the crop three to five days behind. Dry conditions contributed to little seed rot being reported in spite of the delayed emergence resulting in good stands. Another observation with delayed emergence is the even staging of the crop development across the…
Canada’s potato storage holdings as of June 1 totalled just under 16.4 million hundredweight, according to figures from the United Potato Growers of Canada. That’s an 18.5 per cent decline from the same period a year ago, when total holdings amounted to a little over 20.1 million hundredweight of potatoes. In Eastern Canada, the year-to-year decrease was just over 22 per cent mainly due to substantial declines in storage holdings in Prince…
Robert Thornton, an extension vegetable specialist and professor emeritus at Washington State University has been attending Potato Association of America (PAA) annual meetings since the early 1960s. He says the biggest reason he has maintained his membership for more than five decades is it keeps him honest. “Every year is an opportunity to have your thinking questioned,” Thornton says. “You can stay isolated in your own area of concern and be very…
Despite a late start to the planting season in most potato producing areas in Canada, growers are generally optimistic about the prospects for this year’s crop. However things turns out, it will most likely be an improvement on what, for many Canadian producers, was a dreadful end to the 2018 harvest season, when unseasonably cold, wet weather led to thousands of acres of potatoes being left in the ground. According to Kevin…
The United Potato Growers of Canada has released its Crop and Market Report. Prince Edward Island About 98% of the crop is in ground. The season is at least a week to 10 days late, due to cold and wet soil conditions earlier in the spring. Temperatures lately have been warmer than normal, so potatoes should emerge more quickly than last year. Old crop holdings are down 20.5% with fresh down 31%….
Northwestern European Potato Area Increased Based upon a provisional estimation of the North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG), the area in the five largest potato countries increased to 609,000 ha of consumption potatoes. This is the largest ever. Although it is not the final area figure (final figures will be published at the beginning of July), the estimations show a growth of 2.4 per cent compared with last year and 8.4 per cent…
Prince Edward Island April has been cold with above average rainfall. May has seen more normal amounts of rainfall, however showers almost every second day has made it difficult for growers to get into the fields. As of today, about 10-15% of the potato crop has been planted. Overall acreage will likely be similar to last year. Pricing on old crop has been good with GRI’s at $20.90. Although demand is good,…
IN SOME REGIONS of the world potato consumption has stagnated in recent years. There are several thorny reasons for that, says Peter VanderZaag, president of Sunrise Potato Storage in Alliston, Ont., and a professor at Yunnan Normal University in Kunming, Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China. “In the media, potatoes get a bad rap in many ways,” he asserts. “There is lots of information out there about how they are fattening, they…