INNATE POTATOES, the biotech spud from Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Company, have been approved for production and sale in Canada since 2016. Since then, Innate has been grown in field trials in P.E.I., Ontario and Manitoba and the trials are expected to continue in 2019. But aside from a few acres in Ontario that’s producing an Innate chip variety for an American processor, there isn’t any commercial production of Innate potatoes in this…
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…
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…
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…
As growers head into another production season, some are concerned about Colorado potato beetle populations and rising neonic insecticide resistance. Ian MacRae, a professor and extension entomologist at the University of Minnesota, offered some practical insecticide resistance management steps at Manitoba Potato Production Days in January in Brandon. MacRae kicked off the conference presentations with a talk about Colorado potato beetle management in a post-neonic world. The bottom line is we’re…
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…
The Potato Association of America is pleased to announce that the special issue of the American Journal of Potato Research (AJPR), Volume 96 Number 2 is now available online. The focus of this publication is “The Contribution of Potatoes to Human Nutrition.” It is the hope of the PAA that this special issue highlights the unique contribution of potato to the human diet, and concurrently expands AJPR readership and the journal’s stature…
The 103rdannual meeting of the Potato Association of America will take place July 28 to Aug. 1 at the Delta Hotel in downtown Winnipeg, Man. It’s never been held in Manitoba before, and organizers are looking forward to hosting what’s considered the premier educational event for the North American potato industry. “It’s the most academic type of potato meeting that we have, and it tends to be the event of the year…
Canadian potato farmers could be facing higher production costs with the potential loss of a key weapon against late blight. Mancozeb is a relatively inexpensive, Group M fungicide that’s used extensively in Canada to combat late blight and early blight, with some growers applying the chemical up to 10 times per season on their potato fields. The broad-spectrum fungicide is currently under review by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency due to…
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…