Canadian farmer harvests potatoes near Arctic Circle

In the far North of Canada, one man in Norman Wells is transforming his town into the potato capital of the North West Territories, harvesting 30,000 pounds of the vegetable this year from his farm about 130 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle.

For seven years Doug Whiteman has experimented with fertilizers, frost, top soil and timing on three acres bordering a grass airstrip.

The short growing season and cold temperatures make growing vegetables a challenge. Government grants have covered three quarters of the cost of the seeds and harvesting equipment but he’s spent thousands out of his own pocket and may finally make a profit this year.

“The main thing is to show it is possible,” he said. “You always think of moose, caribou, berries — this is food from the land also.”