Reading Time: 2 minutes The Quebec company billed as Canada’s largest producer of strawberry plants has picked up new ownership after nearly 70 years. Production Lareault, based on just over 450 acres at Lavaltrie, Que. — about 40 km northeast of Montreal, in the province’s Lanaudiere region — has been acquired by investors Antoine Casimir and Andrea Borodenko for […] Read more
Major strawberry plant producer changes hands
New owners get funding to buy Lareault business
McCain launches new predictive ag firm
Reading Time: 2 minutes McCain Foods has formed a new digital agriculture subsidiary, Presia Ag Insights. The move builds on McCain’s 2022 acquisition of a “predictive crop portfolio” from Resson, a Fredricton, New Brunswick firm that uses artificial intelligence to advise farmers on crop management decisions. McCain, in a media release, said the Presia launch is “the result of […] Read more
Major U.S. peach producer files for bankruptcy to pursue sale
Setbacks have included salmonella, fires, heavy debts
Reading Time: < 1 minute New York | Reuters — Prima, a private-equity backed farmer that is the largest producer of peaches and other stone fruit in North America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Friday. The company, owned by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, has about $679 million in debt, and plans to sell its […] Read more
P.E.I. potato growers, CFIA to draft plan for ‘pest-free places’
Plan would support movement of seed potatoes, feds say
Reading Time: 2 minutes A system of “pest-free places of production” (PFPP) is now on the drawing board for Prince Edward Island’s potato sector, following a meeting between federal and industry officials. Federal Agriculture Minister and P.E.I. MP Lawrence MacAulay on Friday reported meeting with staff and representatives of the P.E.I. Potato Board, to discuss next steps in the […] Read more
Orange juice prices near all-time high as storm hits Florida
Crop was already expected to be small
Reading Time: < 1 minute New York | Reuters — Orange juice prices at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) rose more than three per cent on Wednesday, heading back toward an all-time high hit earlier this month, as storm Idalia slammed parts of main U.S. orange producer Florida. Contracts for frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) at ICE hit a high of […] Read more
Australian wine industry faces hangover from China’s tariffs
Over two billion litres of wine in storage
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s wine industry faces severe oversupply problems that will need years to resolve, experts say, pointing to Chinese tariffs, high production and export bottlenecks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vineyards nationwide have enough wine in domestic storage to fill 859 Olympic swimming pools, Rabobank said this week in its third-quarter wine report. […] Read more
Alberta potatoes chip in $2.9 billion for Canadian economy
New report verifies what many in industry suspected
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s potato industry is making a big impact — not just on that province but the entire country. A new report — dubbed a “landmark study” by the Potato Growers of Alberta — revealed the sector drove a total contribution of $2.87 billion to Canada’s economy in 2022. It also notes the nationwide creation of […] Read more
A potato producer’s commitment to change
Embracing soil health and new technologies helped Peter VanderZaag build a successful potato business. Like most farmers these days, he’s faced with having to do more with less
Reading Time: 4 minutes Every farmer knows that change is inevitable. New markets beckon, new technologies emerge, end-user tastes, preferences and opportunities shift, and it’s often the primary producer who’s one of the first to react. Peter VanderZaag has spent much of his farming career investing wisely in new equipment, securing contracts and growing his Sunrise Potato Storage business […] Read more
Breaking down barriers to sustainability in potato production
McCain Foods teams up with Farm Credit Canada and McDonald’s Canada to provide financial incentives for farmers who adopt regenerative agricultural practices
Reading Time: 4 minutes McCain Foods pledged two years ago to implement regenerative agricultural practices across 100 per cent of its potato acreage worldwide by 2030. To help reach that goal, the company is now offering up financial solutions to make sustainable farming more affordable for Canadian potato producers. McCain Foods announced in November it was teaming up with […] Read more
New fungicides for potato producers in 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes Gavel Zoxamide and mancozeb are the active ingredients for Gavel, a new fungicide from Gowan, which says they work in synergy to protect crops from major diseases. Zoxamide kills fungal zoospores before they are released and attempt to penetrate leaf surfaces. Mancozeb inhibits spore germination and disrupts enzyme activity. Gowan says Gavel provides excellent control […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
