News on The Potato Supply Chain from Manitoba

Frost last week ended Manitoba’s potato harvest, leaving thousands of acres undug.
It’s the second year wet soils prevented potato farmers from getting all the crop off before heavy frost ruined it.

Manitoba potato growers are hoping the 2019 harvest isn’t a repeat of 2018. Harvest has been delayed in many areas after 50 to 125 millimetres of rain has fallen since Sept. 20.

This Year's Lack Of Potatoes Is Described As An Anomaly

Manitoba’s potato sector is gearing up to supply an expanding industry but seed supplies will be tight after a tough harvest last season. A number of producers are planning capital upgrades to keep up with the rise in demand.

McCain Foods (Canada) announced Bailey Farms as 2017 Crop Year Champion Potato Grower for the McCain Manitoba plants during the annual Growers’ Appreciation Banquet.

Manitoba, the second largest potato growing province in Canada, has a potato shortage as 8 percent of its acreage goes unharvested.

This year has been a difficult one for potato producers in the Portage region. Shifting weather extremes have made both growing and harvesting difficult at times.

Potato cultivation has a number of quirks that make it both a prime candidate for precision agriculture and a little different than other crops

Fiskel Farms of Carberry, Manitoba was named the McCain 2016 Crop Year Champion Potato Grower for the McCain Manitoba plants during the annual Growers’ Appreciation Banquet held at Canad Inns in Portage la Prairie.

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

The Canadian Horticultural Council has received over $274,000 in Growing Forward 2 funding to help expand markets for Canadian potatoes.

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

The Governments of Canada and Manitoba have invested more than $210,000 in a new vegetable research site near Winkler, focused on improving yields, developing new varieties and creating opportunities for potato, sweet potato and carrot growers.

Manitoba's first case of late blight for the year was found in a western Manitoba field over the weekend.

Potato acres are expected to fall in Manitoba this spring, as french fry companies cut back on process potato contracts.

Ron Offutt, founder and Chairman Emeritus of the R. D. Offutt Company, the United States’ largest producer of potatoes, spoke about his business success on the final day of Manitoba Potato Production Days in Brandon on January 28.

While the rest of the agriculture sector nervously eyes the oil melt-down, the french fry industry in Canada might actually be poised for a comeback

Potato Producers Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick all have reached a deal with the French Fry manufacturers.