Reading Time: 2 minutes The company behind about a quarter of the world’s frozen French fries plans to ramp up demand from New Brunswick potato growers with a line capacity upgrade at its recently expanded plant there. McCain Foods announced Aug. 27 it will put up another $12 million to add capacity to its Florenceville, N.B. plant’s French fry […] Read more
McCain to dial up fry production in New Brunswick
EU set to halt imports of Canadian cherries, other fruits
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — The European Union will halt imports of Canadian cherries and other fresh fruits starting Sept. 1 as it enforces new import requirements related to pests, according to a Canadian government document sent to industry on Thursday. In the notice, which was seen by Reuters, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the […] Read more
Target Trump’s base if trade spat worsens, Mexican farm lobby says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — The Mexican government should target agricultural goods produced in states that have voted for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party if the trade conflict between the two neighbours worsens, the head of Mexico’s main farm lobby said on Friday. Bosco de la Vega, head of Mexico’s national farm council CNA, […] Read more
McCain Foods buys stake in Brazilian potato processor Serya
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — McCain Foods, the world’s largest producer of frozen fries, has agreed to buy 70 per cent of Brazilian firm Serya for an undisclosed amount, in a deal that will allow the Canadian company to expand its footprint in Latin America’s largest market. The remaining shares of Serya are held by […] Read more
Land at $75,000 per acre
Balancing the need for high yields and sustainability — farming a Dutch polder
Reading Time: 8 minutes The newest province of the Netherlands, Flevoland, is flatter than the Canadian Prairies. There isn’t a tree, building or windmill older than 40 years. And while in Canada our farmland was won from the bush, here in the Netherlands it’s wrung from the sea and called polders. Fabulously fertile, furiously high priced and fragile, this […] Read more
Prairie potatoes not expected to hit record yields again
Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada – The potato acreage may have increased this year in Western Canada, but it doesn’t look like it will be the same story for yields. “I think overall it’s too early to tell because we haven’t started the main harvest, but we are not expecting as big of yield as the last couple […] Read more
2 covers — 25 species
P.E.I. potato growers are exploring diverse approaches to solve their low organic matter levels with cover crops
Reading Time: 6 minutes Soil organic matter has become a popular topic of discussion in the past year. In Ontario, a report from late 2016 indicated soil organic matter (SOM) levels in many parts of the province are at 15-year lows, coinciding with increasing interest in the use of cover crops, reduced- or no-till management and longer rotations in […] Read more
Prairie potato planting slightly behind schedule
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — After a delayed start due to the long winter and spring flooding, western Canadian potato growers are out in the fields. “We’re probably only a couple of days behind… we had farmers out on the fields last week and I think quite a few more will be moving along this week,” said […] Read more
Growing potatoes without chemicals
Organic potato production on a commercial scale is a challenge, but one Ontario grower is meeting it
Reading Time: 4 minutes Isaiah Swidersky offers a careful answer when asked if organic potato production is a risk worth taking. “To some degree it is, but there’s a reason I haven’t expanded it to 200 or 300 acres,” Swidersky says. “It’s a challenge to grow organic potatoes. But I’m optimistic. It’s a good challenge.” Swidersky’s operation, Rose Mountain […] Read more
Simplot to supersize Portage la Prairie fry plant
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. agrifood giant J.R. Simplot plans to bulk up its potato processing footprint in southern Manitoba with a $460 million plant expansion. The company and the provincial government on Wednesday announced construction will begin this spring on a 280,000-square foot expansion at its 180,000-square foot french fry processing plant at Portage la Prairie. The expansion, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
