The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has put out a request for proposals for large-scale potato production on freshly cleared Crown land, the provincial government says in a news release on April 12.
“Potatoes are a tried and true staple of Newfoundland and Labrador’s agriculture sector…this initiative is expected to more than double current production of this hardy crop,” Derrick Bragg, minister of fisheries, forestry and agriculture, says in a news release.
This project was initially announced in June 2020 and since then the government has prepared the Crown land for farming by improving road access, and clearing and developing the area for potato production, the release notes. Additional properties available for agriculture development will be advertised soon.
There is approximately 700 acres of land cleared near Junction Brook, Dead Water Brook, and Glenwood. The land has the potential to yield more more than 230 acres of potatoes annually on a three-year rotation, the release says.
Seed potatoes from the Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Development at Wooddale will be available for commercial potato planting on the land. These seed potatoes have been developed to thrive in Newfoundland and Labrador’s specific growing conditions.
Request for Proposal Guides, including overview and suitability maps of the land available for development, can be accessed online at Land for Agriculture, the release notes. Preference will be given to proposals for potato production and associated crops normally used in rotation with potato production. The deadline to submit proposals is April 26, 2021.
