Cavendish Farms’ newest plant is officially open for business. The announcement was made at a ceremony held Oct. 3 at the new Lethbridge frozen potato processing facility. Cavendish Farms President Robert K. Irving was joined by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman and other dignitaries to celebrate the largest private sector investment in the history of the City of Lethbridge. “It is a great day for Lethbridge and for our…
Prepping your potatoes for storage depends on smart harvesting and effective cleaning. Everyone knows digging too warm, too cold and too wet are all bad news for long-term storage, as is allowing your tubers to drop and bruise during harvest. However, putting your potatoes into storage in less than clean condition is just as costly in the long run. New cleaning options exist. Here’s a quick recap of what you need to…
Maintaining the quality of potatoes through storage is as critical to one’s ultimate returns as is growing a good crop in the first place. Gone are the days of throwing a crop into any empty structure and hoping for the best: today’s potato storages offer impressively high-tech options, and more storage management innovation is on the horizon. The thermodynamic air envelope — more simply known as heated walls — is a mainstreaming…
Many potato growers across the country had to deal with some serious weather challenges in 2019. In August, severe hailstorms caused widespread crop damage in southern Alberta, while in September, Hurricane Dorian delivered torrential rain and gale-force winds to Prince Edward Island. Those areas — as well as most of the other potato-producing regions in Canada — experienced a cool, wet spring, which delayed planting by up to two weeks. This was…
The provincial average yields for potatoes on dryland and irrigated fields are estimated at 11.6 and 17.8 tons per acre, respectively. Yields so far for irrigated dry beans are reported at 2,700 pounds per acre and 28.6 tons per acre for sugar beets. Region One: Southern (Strathmore, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Foremost) About 69 per cent of potatoes have now been harvested, with yields on dryland and irrigated fields estimated at 10 and…
Rainfall in the week (Monday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. 22) was extensive in distribution in the province, and heavier than last week. The weather station sites recorded 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. This week’s rainfall has put the total rainfall over the 30-year average for most areas in the province. The temperatures were generally warm (>28 C) early last week, but have dropped in the last two to three days (<15…
With the planet facing an urgent climate situation, the global food system must become more sustainable. Producing more with less, and protecting the vibrancy of the land by enhancing biodiversity and soil health are critical priorities within agriculture to feed a growing population, responsibly. McCain Foods has long recognized the importance of farms to communities – and the broader world. It is for this reason that McCain Foods has today announced its…
With the planet facing an urgent climate and biodiversity situation, McCain Foods has become a founding member of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) coalition of leading companies. Launched at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 23, 2019, this business-led coalition aims to gather forward-thinking, agriculture-centric companies determined to take bold action to protect and restore cultivated and natural biodiversity within their value chains. In addition to business-led actions, the…
On Sept. 24, I dug an on-farm variety trial in one of HJ Vanderzaag fields near Alliston. Although the new varieties were very interesting, I could not keep my eyes off the 8-row Spudnik windrower that Garrett, Homer’s son, was operating very skillfully. This fantastic, folding windrower was digging eight rows and picking up another six rows of windrowed potatoes, 14 rows in total. A third windrower was picking up six additional…
Yesterday, the Alliston area was buzzing with diggers and windrowers in action. Potato trucks were continuously on the roads carrying the crop to their storage destinations. I saw very good Lamokas being stored at HJ VanderZaag Farms. WD Potato was also very busy receiving potato trucks and filling storages. Potato quality there was also very good. In general, the size profile is better than expected. I did not see any tuber health…