News on Potato Cultivation from Northern America

Pressure from the tiny, winged insects that spread zebra chip disease in potatoes has been light in Idaho this season, emboldening some Idaho farmers to scale back on their pesticide programs.

After a month of good growing conditions and positive reports amid sporadic news on disease potential, word from one of Ontario’s potato-growing regions is that roughly 1,000 acres of potatoes have been lost due to flooding.

The Maine Potato Board has selected the Steve and Fred Whited family of Bridgewater as the 2017 Farm Family of the Year.

UMaine scientists say farmers could try to protect their potato crop by utilizing agricultural practices — including crop rotations and push-pull strategies — to create field conditions that favor Colorado potato beetle cannibalism.

Simplot Plant Sciences will not commercially launch its Innate GMO potatoes in Canada this year, despite regulatory approval and interest among potato farmers to grow these new potatoes

Potandon Produce L.L.C., the exclusive marketing agent for Pinto Creek Co., LLC in Eloy, Arizona, announced Monday that its fresh potato season has begun in Arizona.

The potato disease Dickeya can be detected by laboratory testing — but is there enough of it present to justify the higher costs? That is the question facing Canadian Seed Potato Growers exporting to the United States who are increasingly asked for the test.

Soybean producers are gearing up to plant soybeans that are tolerant to both glyphosate and dicamba herbicides. Potato growers should be aware that both glyphosate and dicamba drift can cause irreparable damage in neighbouring potato crops

Potato Farmers on Prince Edward Island, Canada are gearing up for another planting season.

Jay LaJoie of Van Buren, Maine and Jason Davenport of Arvin, California were appointed to the Potatoes USA Executive Committee on March 16, 2017 and will co-chair the Industry Outreach Committee.

The potato industry may be losing a mainstay in the battle against psyllids, according to a recent Texas A&M AgriLife Research study.

French Fry manufacturer McCain Foods has started trials examining soil fumigation with several of its potato growers in Maine (United States) and New Brunswick (Canada).

In the search for a third rotation crop for potatoes, trials at the Aroostook Research Farm in Presque Isle are showing some promise for field peas, a crop that once had a successful run in the region until the 1970s.

Pineland Farms Potato Company, Inc. (PFPC), located in Mars Hill, Maine confirmed the signing of a Stock Purchase Agreement with Bob Evans Foods (BEF)

Boyd Foster of Vista Valley Ag in Ririe, Idaho, received the prestigious 2016 Environmental Stewardship Award during the National Potato Council’s (NPC) 2017 Annual Meeting

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced that at a special meeting of shareowners held on December 13, shareowners of the company approved the merger of Monsanto with a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer Aktiengesellschaft.

Dewulf - Miedema has appointed Banga’s Equipment from Taber, Alberta, as new fullservice dealer to ensure optimum service and support for its customers in Alberta and Western Canada.

Swansfleet Alliance of Treherne and Bruxelles was named the Top Potato Grower for the McCain Foods Manitoba plants during the annual Growers’ Banquet held in November in Carberry MB, Canada