Reading Time: 4 minutes An intensively farmed crop such as potatoes always demands diligence in production. In addition to irrigation and finding suitable rotation crops, growers are constantly looking for an upper hand in dealing with nutrient issues and measures aimed at improving soil health and overall production. That might be where there’s an intriguing fit for a relatively […] Read more
Mycorrhizal fungi a potential yield booster in potatoes
Potato Guide: A relative newcomer to the fields, the benefits are hard to ignore
Signs of a recovery in the french-fry business
Potato Guide: While the rest of the agriculture sector nervously eyes the oil melt-down, the potato industry might actually be poised for a comeback
Reading Time: 4 minutes Just one simple fact helps you understand the Canadian potato industry, and that’s just how big our crop is relative to domestic consumption. We Canucks consume just under 26 pounds of potatoes a year, but we produce about 10.2 billion pounds a year — 310 pounds for every man, woman and child in the country. […] Read more
Man. potato acres expected to top previous year’s
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Manitoba’s potato acres are expected to be up from last year, despite some light reseeding, according to two people involved in the industry. Dan Sawatzky, manager with the Keystone Potato Producers Association, said most growers are ahead in terms of crop stage development so far this year. “I know in the process […] Read more
Soil bacteria may offer weapon against late blight in potatoes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Potato producers may soon have a new ally in their battle against late blight, and it’s right under their feet. Researchers have discovered bacterial strains in the soil that show promise as disease controls. Some bacteria suppress or inhibit late blight by over 90 per cent, according to an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) release. […] Read more
Potato ‘fields’ clarified for cross-border trade
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian and U.S. food inspectors have agreed on what they mean by a “field” in any restrictions they place on potato trade on account of potato cyst nematodes. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Tuesday announced new revisions to their Guidelines on Surveillance and Phytosanitary […] Read more
P.E.I. farms and fisheries ministries merge
Reading Time: 2 minutes A reorganization of Prince Edward Island’s government departments will see agriculture split from forestry and instead paired with fisheries. Having returned to office in the May 4 election, Premier Wade MacLauchlan on Wednesday announced his new cabinet, appointing former education and transportation minister Alan McIsaac as minister of agriculture and fisheries. As the agriculture and […] Read more
Drought prompts cuts to farm irrigation in California, Oregon
Reading Time: 2 minutes Portland | Reuters –– The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will cut the amount of federal irrigation water available to farmers along the Oregon-California border to half the annual norm as it grapples with a fourth year of regional drought, the agency said on Friday. Though the roughly 1,200 affected farms in the Klamath Basin had […] Read more
P.E.I. Liberals in need of ag minister after win
Reading Time: 2 minutes Wade MacLauchlan’s Liberals scored another majority in the Prince Edward Island legislature in Monday’s election, but will need to find a new agriculture minister. George Webster — who’d held the post from 2009 until Monday, stepping down temporarily in 2009 to recover from a mild heart attack — opted not to run again in his riding […] Read more
McDonald’s reset to change structure, cut costs, boost franchises
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — McDonald’s Corp.’s new CEO said on Monday he would reorganize business units, sell restaurants to franchisees and cut costs in a bid to turn the fast-food chain into a “modern, progressive burger company.” The anticipated video announcement by CEO Steve Easterbrook left investors hungry for specific details on how the world’s biggest restaurant […] Read more
Look north for fruits and vegetables
These Saskatchewan farm projects are winning converts in some surprising places
Reading Time: 6 minutes The northern village of Cumberland House seems an unlikely place to find a farm or a farmer. For starters, it’s remote — 450 kilometres north east of Saskatoon at the end of Highway 123, a notoriously bad road that spring can turn into one long mud-hole. The village, established by the Hudson Bay Company in […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
