It has been a mild winter with very little snowfall, however a low pressure system brought anywhere from 5-30cm of snow the first half of March, with the higher amounts falling in the Western areas of the province.
This much needed precipitation was welcomed as there is some uncertainty about whether runoff amounts will be sufficient to fill off stream reservoirs. So, if it’s true that when March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb, maybe we can look forward to an early spring. Planting season will be here before we know it, and seed has been moving accordingly.
Manitoba Potato Production Days saw record attendance with nearly 650 people attending the multi-day event that includes a tradeshow with more than 80 exhibitors. Our next industry event was the United Potato Partners Spring Production Meeting which was held March 26 in Portage La Prairie.
The storage crop has been keeping well and payables have been above average. There have been some challenges with low bruise free numbers which stemmed from the maturity of the 2023 crop which was high in gravity and larger in size profile.
Contract negotiations have begun but due to excess supply across North America acreage will be down slightly. Market demand remains high however so we remain optimistic that a mutually beneficial contract can be settled upon.
Statistics Canada 2023 – Area, production and farm value of potatoes (Manitoba)
Seeded area, potatoes – 81,000 acres
Harvested area, potatoes – 80,000
Average yield, potatoes – 372 Hundredweight per harvested acres
Production, potatoes (x 1,000) -29,760
