Reading Time: 2 minutes Lima | Reuters — At least two people have been killed in clashes at protests by potato farmers across the Peruvian Andes, police said on Thursday, as demonstrators demanded the government make good on promises to buy excess potatoes after a sharp price drop. Thousands of farmers took part in the protests on Wednesday and […] Read more
At least two killed in potato farmer protests in Peru
Alberta, feds back Lethbridge potato processing plant
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal and Alberta governments are set to cover over $22 million in costs related to the construction of Cavendish Farms’ new potato processing plant at Lethbridge. The two levels of government on Monday announced $20 million for the City of Lethbridge for related municipal infrastructure developments, through the federal/provincial Clean Water and Wastewater Fund […] Read more
Pearce: Tests negative, weather positive for late blight in Ont. potatoes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Aside from concerns regarding drier conditions in different potato-growing regions of Ontario, some growers are testing for late blight. Spore traps near Delhi came back negative recently — but did indicate an increase at the end of the experiment. Eugenia Banks, a consultant for the Ontario Potato Board, stated such a “signal” might indicate an […] Read more
Maritime potato harvest a pleasant surprise
Late-season rains gave the crop a lift, but access to irrigation remains a concern for Island growers
Reading Time: 4 minutes The 2016 harvest in the country’s largest potato-producing province proved to be a pleasant surprise. By mid-August, many growers in Prince Edward Island were starting to brace for a below-average harvest. A dry summer saw much of the crop, especially in the central part of the province, slow to size up and problems with both […] Read more
Pearce: Rain expected to stall Ontario potato planting progress
Reading Time: 2 minutes Rainfall expected for much of southern Ontario is expected to narrow what’s been a relatively early planting window for Ontario’s potato growers. Two weeks ago, the reports from the Ontario Potato Board were full of warm temperatures and dry soils, and growers, particularly around Leamington and Delhi, took full advantage. One farmer in the Delhi […] Read more
Pesticide review a huge issue for horticulture sector
Time of worker re-entry after application and use of protective equipment are stumbling blocks
Reading Time: 5 minutes Canada’s horticultural growers say they’re concerned about a review of many of the broad-spectrum crop protection chemistries they’ve relied on for years. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is conducting the review, with a final outcome due in 2018. That gives growers and other industry stakeholders the rest of 2017 to strengthen their arguments and […] Read more
Alberta potatoes mostly escape the deluge of 2016
A bit of luck, combined with tile drainage, helped Alberta potato growers survive the province’s wet 2016 season
Reading Time: 5 minutes For Alberta potato growers, the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons could not have been more different — hot and dry followed by cold and wet. Despite that, 2016 yields were more or less consistent with the past several years. “Our acres are flat — they have been for the past couple of years,” says Terence […] Read more
The challenge of optimism
A look inside a modern Ontario hort operation finds a farm family wrestling with issues that may soon dominate the farm agenda coast to coast
Reading Time: 8 minutes Some days, farming is more fun than others. Although he’s driven by a belief in agriculture, and although he’s working hard to keep building their farm enterprise, Shawn Brenn, president of Brenn B Farms Ltd. at Waterdown, Ont., admits there are also days when the frustrations can make him wonder. Every farmer knows the feeling. […] Read more
Keeping out the invaders
Biosecurity: Provincial organizations encouraged to promote a national on-farm biosecurity standard
Reading Time: 2 minutes This growing season, potato producers in Canada will be on the lookout for dickeya, an emerging blackleg pathogen in the U.S. that caused significant crop losses in the country’s northeastern region in 2015. Preventing new diseases like dickeya and keeping old adversaries like late blight in check are important reasons why growers subscribe to farm […] Read more
U.S. looks to gain back potato market share
Reading Time: 2 minutes A big factor influencing potato demand in the past decade or two has been low-carb diets that eschewed potatoes. But those negative views are changing, according to Blair Richardson, president of Potatoes USA. “The research we’ve been conducting in the last couple of years (shows) that consumer perception of the potato is actually improving quite […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
