The Canadian potato crop is at various stage across the country ranging from just emerging to touching between the rows, a July 6 news release from the United Potato Growers of Canada (UPGC) said. Growers are optimistic for good growing conditions needed to move this crop in its early life stages.
“At this point the weather can be characterized by hot and dry from Manitoba west and wetter from Ontario east,” the report said.
On Prince Edward Island there has been wide ranging weather since planting. The western end of the Island received up to 50 millimetres of rain last weekend, while sporadic rains hit the central region ranging from five to 13 millimetres. The eastern part of the Island is the driest at this point, the report noted.
“Despite seeing over 200 mm of precipitation in June alone, growing conditions have generally been decent and the crop is in good shape, however the heavy rains recently have delayed spraying in certain areas,” UPGC said in the report.
Old crop is in good supply and moving well out of storages, the report noted. Overall planted acreage on the Island is expected to be up slightly by a round 1,300 acres, mainly in processing and fresh.
In New Brunswick the spud crop was planted almost two weeks ahead of “normal” with some growers reporting their finishing date in 2023 to be ahead of their starting date last year, UPGC said.
“Emergence has been good and although conditions have been wetter in recent weeks they are not yet affecting the growth of the crop,” the report said.
There are lower potato stocks in the province for this time of year than compared to years past. UPGC cautioned this could cause tightness for the crop transition with fresh inventories done by the third week of July and new crop coming on a week or two later.
“Fresh quality depends on the lot as it nears the end of storage season. Fresh prices have been steady with upward movement driven by increased count carton prices in the U.S.,” the report noted.
New Brunswick potato acreage is predicted to be flat for this season.
Growers in Quebec saw almost ideal conditions for planting and emergence. UPGC cautioned though that recent heavy rainstorms had some growers concerned, but current hot and sunny weather should help dry up some of the soaked fields.
“Old crop has tightened up in the last few weeks due to increased demand and should allow for perfect timing as old crop transitions to the new one. Expectations are that loose skinned round whites should be starting mid-July with yellows following end July and reds the first or second week of August,” the report said.
Growers are so far happy with the potato crop. New Brunswick potato acreage is expected to be down in chip but up in frozen on the processing side and fairly flat in both table and seed, UPGC said.
In Ontario, spring came early with warm temperatures allowing for ideal planting conditions, the report said. Some potatoes were hit by frost in early May but weren’t seriously damaged and have recovered.
“The crop overall looks very good; heavy thunderstorms did pass through in the last week but weather has since turned hot and sunny; continued smoke from the forest fires is affecting the province right down into the city of Toronto,” UPGC said.
Ontario old crop inventory is below three year averages and will be tight right up to new crop deliveries, the report said. Potato acreage is expected to be flat this year.
In Manitoba, UPGC said they seemed to miss spring altogether, going from very cold temperatures to suddenly very warm, and while planting started a bit later than normal the crop quickly caught up.
Fresh potato acreage may be slightly higher with the trend of moving from reds to yellow potato varieties continuing, the report said. Old crop red potatoes had been long at the start of the year, but demand picked up substantially in the past two months.
Processing potatoes in Manitoba are being impacted by the heat with some struggling for moisture and some burnt sprouts happening in mid-June.
“Water limitation continues to be an issue for the province and may challenge yield potential but more importantly hampers expansion, keeping planted acreage fairly flat to last year,” the report noted.
Old crop holdings are below three-year averages, with potatoes being imported into the province to fulfil processing needs.
In Saskatchewan, potato growers experienced a late and wet start to planting but have had excellent growing weather since with the crop now caught up, UPGC said. Saskatchewan is expecting the largest increase in planted acreage by percentage with some predicting up to 2,000 more acres mostly in fresh and seed. The report noted though that the province is starting to see some interest for processing acres.
In Alberta, planting was done in good time this year with subsequent emergence having been even with strong plants. The report noted though that it has been extremely dry and very hot in the province, with forest fires raging since May.
“Alberta is not as reliant as other provinces on reservoirs to source water for irrigation, so should have adequate water supply for the processing region, although growers have been busy staying ahead of the crop needs,” UPGC said in the report.
The seed crop traditionally planted a bit later in the northern area of the province and is coming along well. As of June 1, old crop was above average with stocks expected to hold out well until new crop is ready.
British Columbia experience a good spring with great planting conditions, the report said. Growing conditions have been decent since with many fields now flowering and rows are closing, however it has been very dry with little to no rain in two months.
“The Fraser River, which feeds the crops, is normally available until early August however with low snowpack this year there are concerns about a lack of fresh water in the river and supply may be lost in mid-July, impacting some of the fields that are only about six inches high as of early July,” the report said.
The first early Warba’s were hit the markets for sale in early June. UPGC noted this was good timing as old crop was pretty much gone at that point. Planted acreage in the province is expected to go up by around 200 to 500 acres.
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