b"A six row harvester picking up the six-row windrowed potatoes. The five-foot tarp was filled by the windrower at Under the Hill Farms in a minimal tillage field during the 2020 growing season.PHOTO: VIKRAM BISHTThe Cautiously Optimistic Growers near Cypress River, Man. and mainly When growers first saw the regenerativegrows potatoes for J.R. Simplot Co. was agriculture announcements, many weresurprised the announcement hadnt been surprised and wanted more details onmentioned in any grower forums first.what exactly they were expected to do. There was very little details. So, lots of We are excited by the direction thatguys were wondering what's happening the companies are taking. There areand what they are going to bring forward Its a hugesome steps that we are taking on our ownfor regenerative ag, Berry says.investment foralready. However, as a grower group, wellBerry is known for experimenting guys to make.have to see how much investment it wouldwith minimal tillage on his farm. He has take to get there, Harold Perry says. upgraded his potato planter and in recent And if theres anyPerry, who runs a processing andyears planted potato crops into other crop research and datachipping potato farm near Chin, Alta.stubble using reduced tillage. He plans to with his brother Chris, had alreadyexpand it to more fields on his farm in the for those guys tobeen using farming practices whichfuture.copy, instead of justfall under the regenerative agricultureFor the growers though, theyre all starting from scratchumbrella. The farm grows processinglooking for more information on what it potatoes for McCains Coaldale plant andis going to cost for them to follow these to begin with, itchipping potatoes for the FritoLay plant inregenerative agriculture practices.would help a lot.Lethbridge, Alta. It's a huge investment for guys to make. I think most growers are doingAnd if there's any research and data for CHAD BERRY regenerative ag at some level, and I thinkthose guys to copy, instead of just starting there's an opportunity to learn more. Thefrom scratch to begin with, it would help a awareness of soil health and its benefitslot, Berry says.are very important, Perry explains.It wasnt just potato growers whoMoving Forward with Sustainabilitycontract with McCain and PepsiCo whoWhile McCain and PepsiCo have made were interested in knowing more. Chadpublic regenerative agriculture pledges, Berry who owns Under the Hill Farmsanother major North American potato 10SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2021"