b'EYE ON THE NATION ALBERTA BRITISH COLUMBIATerence Hochstein, executive director ofHugh Reynolds with Reynalda FarmsPotato Growers of Alberta in Delta, B.C.With the calendar now reading 2024 its time to reflect back on theBritish Columbia has a good supply of regular potatoes to last us past year. 2023 turned out to be Albertas largest crop on record.into the summer. This hasnt been a normal year. Variety trials have For the first time, over 80,000 acres were planted in the spring.been held annually with continued improvements in the quality of Despite the drought that plagued the southern prairies, the provinceappearance, yield and combined with season long good weather. harvested an excellent crop. An open fall and excellent weatherThe scientific analysis of variety testing is done over the winter allowed growers to store one of the best crops that many had everand presented to growers in the early spring. Attendance at these experienced.meetings is critical to the yearly insights that can be incorporated Crop year 2023 returned to a more normal weather pattern for theinto plans for the upcoming year. The meetings are followed by a seed industry with necessary rains throughout the season, includingsocial evaluation of the presentations. leading up to harvest. This resulted in an excellent seed crop goingThere will always be some provincial cross border traffic of into storage. The demand for the Alberta seed continues to growpotatoes with a local retail chain routinely carrying Prince Edward with some early season seed having already been delivered in the fall.Island stock. Our main advantage is to normally plant Warbas in Shipping will resume early in 2024 to some of the export customers. March and lift in May before most Canadian potatoes emerge.With the announcement last spring of the McCain FoodsThe weather in B.C. remains odd with mild temperatures and the processing plant expansion in Coaldale, Alta. the Alberta industrymountains without snow. Our Mediterranean climate is dependent will continue to grow over the next couple of years. With this growthon snow melt as it seldom rains for us in the summer. comes an opportunity for new farms to enter the potato industry. As of right now, the planned start-up of the new plant is still on target for June 2025.The storage crop so far is storing well and all processors haveMANITOBAindicated that they have more than enough crop to get them throughSusan Ainsworth, general manager of the to the crop year 2024 harvest. Keystone Potato Producers AssociationWith spring on the horizon, the process of contract negotiations has begun in earnest across North America. The long and arduous process takes many hours and days but, in the end, is a veryDespite a later spring and below average rainfall, the above necessary process that keeps this industry moving forward. temperatures in May and June coupled with nearly ideal growing conditions in July resulted in excellent yields that surpassed many growers expectations. The increased production in 2023 is a welcome change compared to the last few years. Digging conditions were favourable with only a few minor storage issues reported during the early storage season. A larger size profile coupled with a mature, high gravity crop has resulted in some challenges with bruising in certain instances, however quality and storability on a whole look very good at this time. Seed potatoes are showing excellent quality and are storing well with no issues. A grading workshop hosted by the Keystone Potato Producers Association (KPPA), including Ag World demonstrations, was held in late November and was well attended. Additionally, the KPPA annual general meeting was held on Dec. 12, 2023. Negotiations for the 2024 crop were planned to begin in late January/early February. Manitoba Potato Production Days happened Jan. 23 to 25, 2024. There were over 85 exhibitors on the tradeshow floor and a speaker schedule filled with interesting topics.52SPUDSMART.COMWinter 2024'