Panellists at last winter’s Potato Production Days discussed options for handling the excess rain of recent years
Any farmer will tell you that flooding is a major hassle and cost to any farm when it happens — but just how big that bill can be has always been a bit of a guess. A recent report by BMO Economics (Bank of Montreal) put a figure on it though, says Dr. Ranjan SriWater management — drainage is expensive, but so is flooding
Industry official fights the image of potatoes as fattening
There’s no denying the impact of the image. A morbidly obese woman struggles up a short flight of stairs, while in the forefront of the advertisement are three servings of french fries, growing from modest to mammoth. “Portion sizes have grown, and so has obesity, which leads to many health problems,” reads the headline of
Canadian potato industry faces new challenges: McCain exec
The 1990s were the Good Old Days for Canadian potato industry. The U.S. economy was growing, providing strong markets just to the south — markets that were suddenly available as never before due to NAFTA. The Canadian dollar was in the tank, so you could sell in greenbacks and get 30 per cent more in
Shifting sands: Late blight populations changing quickly
The symptoms of late blight don’t vary much from strain to strain, but recent evidence suggests that these strains are changing more quickly than ever before, setting growers up for an even bigger control challenges. Rick Peters, a Charlottetown, P.E.I.-based research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), told growers at this winter’s Manitoba Potato
New products must pass the “smell” test
Jeff Schoenau gets a variation of the same questions several times a year — on the phone, over coffee, via email or somewhere on the winter meeting circuit. “They basically all want to know, ‘What do you think of product XYZ?’” the University of Saskatchewan soil fertility specialist says. That can be a tough question
The rise of iFarmer
Three generations ago Canadian farmers got their market information from the local elevator and their weekly farm paper. A generation on, they shushed the kids and strained to hear the markets on the CBC’s noon-hour farm report. Just a generation ago, a handful took the electronic plunge and bought a DTN system that gave them
Potatoes — Variable Results In 2010 Underlined Grower Challenges
When the books closed on Manitoba’s potato industry for 2010 it went down as the year of the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly. There were bumper crops for some growers with good drainage and the chance to max out yields with irrigation. For others, especially those on heavier soils with poor drainage, it
Phosphoric Acid Helps In Late Blight Fight
Manitoba potato producers are looking forward to phosphoric acid being registered for both pre-and post-harvest application for control of late blight. The product, registered under the trade name Confine in Canada, is a promising post-harvest application that prevents the spread of late blight infections in storage to healthy tubers. It’s also showing promise as a
Scary Bug Likely Headed Our Way
Edible bean growers are being warned the western bean cutworm is headed their way. “You’ve never heard of it, and I hope you never do,” agronomist Chris Gillard told attendees at the recent Manitoba Special Crops Symposium. “But I think it’s coming.” The cutworm, an ongoing pest problem in the southeast corner of Nebraska for
Edible Bean “Desiccants” A Residue Challenge
Edible bean growers love their desiccants, and for good reason. The products let them dry their crops down and even them out prior to harvest, make the harvest operation much more manageable and even give a bit of a weed control boost. So what’s the problem? Residues in a word – likely something that’s being
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
