High Water Levels, Heat Trouble Potato Growers in Manitoba

The combination of high temperatures and high water levels is causing concern for potato growers.

"Farmers are right now moving into irrigation mode,"explains Brian Wilson, potato specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. "With the hot weather we're having, they want to get their irrigation system up and going as soon as they can."

He says high river levels are making that difficult for many producers.

"Anybody that's irrigating along the Assiniboine River, or the diversion, or even where the Assiniboine River supplies other sources, it's a real challenge because they're dealing with really high water levels where they normally out of. Intakes are flooded and currents are really strong,"he says. "A lot are doing just what they can to get them operational."

He says the yield potential of the crop will be affected if producers cannot meet the crop's water requirements.