With the Canadian Spud Congress coming up on March 22 and 23, we’re highlighting the sessions happening at it on Spud Smart. In this story we’re taking a closer look at the “What’s Happening in the Canadian Potato Industry?” session.
Coast-to-coast, Canadian potato growers are facing a variety of issues from disease management, export issues to weather, there’s a lot happening in the industry. In this panel we’ll talk with three growers from across the country about how they’re managing on their own farms and what they’re paying attention to heading into the 2022 growing season.
Moderator: Marc Zienkiewicz, Spud Smart Canadian correspondent
Time: 2:15 p.m. CDT on March 23
Panelists
Chad Robertson is a sixth-generation farmer at his family’s farm Marvyn’s Garden Inc. They grow potatoes and grains alongside his brother and father. Marvyn’s Garden is located in the East Point area of Prince Edward Island. He’s also a partner at East Point Potato, where they pack potatoes for retail sale.
Shawn Paget operates Riverview Farms in Saint John River valley in Simonds, N.B., with his wife Natalie and son Oliver. They grow potatoes for processing and corn, soybeans and oats for rotation crops. Paget is currently the president of the New Brunswick Seed Growers’ Co-op and chair of New Brunswick Grain Commission.
Sheldon Wiebe of J.P. Wiebe Ltd farms at MacGregor, Man. His family built their first potato storage unite at 90,000 cwt the year Wiebe was born. The family started to grow potatoes in 1968. Wiebe farms with his wife Jennifer and three sons Ryan, Evan and Jason. They grow 2,600 acres of processing potatoes for Simplot Canada in Portage la Prairie, Man. along with 6,000 acres of cereal and oil seed crops. They also grow 700 acres of mustard green manure biofumigants.
