b'SURVEY RESULTSThe first year of the survey, which was the 2019/2020 growing season, yielded answers from 211 farmers with about 50 per cent of them hailing from Mani-toba, and 25 per cent each from Saskatchewan and Alberta. We have responses from literally dozens of farmers who grow dozens of different types of cash crops. We were all expecting annual grains to be at the top, but then all of the sudden, were having far more niche crops, Morrison says.Potatoes were listed as the 10th most commonly grown cash crop before a cover a crop, with nine respondents from Manitoba and Alberta being potato growers. All respondents who grew potatoes as a cash crop grew a shorter season cover crop, with 56 per cent growing a full season cover crop, the survey results note.The survey results also found all potato growers had previously grown cover crops before, with 56 per cent having grown them for three to five years and 44 per cent for more than five years."It appears potato farmers have been growing cover crops for a lot longerAn oat, canary seed than other farmers. Every single potato farmer who responded had grown cov- and flax cover crop in Rosenfeld, Man. er crops before, Morrison explains. When you compare that to all the PrairiePHOTO: CHAMARA cover crop growers, its a stark contrast. WEERASEKARAIt was found from the survey that all potato growers who responded grew cover crops for erosion control, 89 per cent grew them to build soil health, 78 per cent to keep roots in the soil and 78 per cent for weed suppression. The 32 SPUDSMART.COM WINTER 2021'