b'EYE ON THE NATION QUEBEC PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDSarah-Maude Larose, project officer for LesWayne Townshend, board chairman of theProducteurs de pommes de terre du Qubec Prince Edward Island Potato BoardThe 2021 Quebec harvest of storage potatoes started mid- After a nearly ideal growing season growers are approaching September. Early harvest has been underway for some time now;harvest with tempered optimism, as many say, the crop is not yields on the early crop are above average with good quality. yet in the bin. Field days held in early September show theThough we do have some concern on the Russets due to thepotential for much improved yields from those in 2020 that were heat and drought we experienced this summer, we expect anegatively impacted by drought conditions.good crop, but a smaller size profile. The weather improvementsIsland growers have been pleased to see an expansion of the in the past weeks might help to regain size for the later varietiesweather station network in Prince Edward Island this season. in some regions. There is still some time before the crop is inThe University of P.E.I. Climate Research Lab and School of storage, and it can go either way. Climate Change and Adaptation installed 38 new climate stationsBoth the processing and chip crop have started to be dug. Ouracross the province in the summer of 2021. According to Don chip varieties appear to have slightly higher than normal gravities. Jardine from the UPEI Climate Lab, the data from these newOverall, approximatively 1,000 acres more were planted.stations can be combined with data from several other stations Good demand in the fresh sector resulted in a five per centincluding those established previously by the UPEI Climate acreage increase, mostly on the yellows and long whites.Research Lab, the Recently, demand has been positively influenced with return toMikmaq Confederacy of school schedules and cooler temperatures. P.E.I., P.E.I. EmergencyField days in heldAs growers start another harvest season, were planningMeasures Organization, our annual potato conference and banquet to return in-personCoCoRaHS volunteerearly September in November, wishing everyone good conditions to finish theobserver network, andshow the potential growing season with. private climate station owners, for a total offor much improved 98 stations in total. yields from those The potato growers inin 2020 that were P.E.I. are hopeful this expansion of the weathernegatively impaced network will not onlyby drought increase the historical data but will contributeconditions. to improving the localWAYNE TOWNSHENDweather forecasting that is so important for planning agricultural operations.Early harvest has begun in P.E.I. Things seemed to get going a little earlier in 2021 and volumes to Canadian and United States markets are up slightly from the same time in 2020. Processing plants transitioned to new crop local potatoes in mid-September.As of Sept. 8, 2021, 83 per cent of Island residents 12 and over are fully vaccinated and 92 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Public Health recommendations to prevent Theperfect addition to yourthe spread of COVID-19 will continue to be practiced on farmseet. All aluminum trailer insertsduring the 2021 harvest season.\x1fwill transform your dry vans into self-unloading bulk trailers. Built lightweight without troughs for maximum product capacity.Call today to see how we can help you maximize your product payload and reduce your transportation cost.50SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2021'