b'Cultivating InnovationMark Owen and his father Pat own andManager, notes, Its difficult to properly assess a operate their 1,200-acre family farm, Owen10-acre trial. Proof of concept is the objective of Potato Company, in Carman, Manitoba,the Hubsmoving beyond a successful plot trial to and have been growing primarily Russetnormal farm practices.Burbank potatoes for many years. TheseAt his Innovation Hub, Mark is testing four different are process potatoes grown on contractnitrogen rates across the rows to see if humic for McCain Foods for year-round delivery,usage will increase efficiency of the fertilizer he so consistency of quality and yield areapplies. Our trial is studying nitrogen optimization and incorporation of humic acids. Were trying to important. understand if the physiology of the plant can be encouraged by a lower dosage of nitrogen up front. As they face increasingly volatile weather andWe want that plant to get from the vegetative stage temperatures, lower water supplies, and industry- to reproductive as quickly as possible, because in wide pressure to maximize yields, it is time to re- Manitoba we dont have a long growing season. evaluate. Striving for higher yields means growersIts really important that we try to get our set and are pushing fertility rates to achieve the new targets.keep that set early, says Mark. He is optimistic This led Mark to wonder if they were applying tooabout the initial results. The Owen Potato Company much nitrogen prior to emergence and if that mightis also trialing different varieties with the goal of be reducing their first set in Russet Burbank, actuallyidentifying earlier-growing potatoes to split up the leading to lower yields. harvest and mitigate the risk.So the Owens are testing new approachesandThe yield potential of some of these varieties is really they are finding that working to obtain higherexciting, said Mark. With Caribou Russets size, and yields from their fields may indeed require lessthe storability of King Russets, we are interested in intervention. Mark is working with the McCainlearning more. We have a few Dakota Russets this year Foods Regenerative Agriculture Framework,and they look very good. I heard that the claim for King which targets reduced agro-chemical impact. HeRusset was 20% higher yield, with 20% less nitrogen, is specifically examining his farms inputs and isand its supposed to be able to store all season long. using decision support systems and technology forThats very appealing.precise application. In effect, Mark is investing in his future operations while trying to optimize theThe collaboration between Owen and McCain has current ones. also involved technology and analysis. Mark says, Were getting a lot more information than we The Owen Potato Company is one ofwould have if wed attempted this trial without many Innovation Hubs in NorthMcCains support. The biggest part of it has been America. These farms documentactually seeing tangible results from the trial as the results of their test fieldsopposed to just anecdotal information and a few to share findings with localtruck weights. Were documenting with yield potato growers with themapping; were going to take 10-foot digs and goal of integrating thosewe secured drone imagery throughout the year, practices into broaderthanks to McCain. Its a really positive collaboration. farm operations. As BartIts all geared towards what everybody loves Witherspoon, FieldSUSTAINABILITY.We are McCainBF24_JH0019_US_Spud_Smart_Article_7.875x10.75inches_V3_2023.indd 1 2023-09-29 5:09 PM'