If drought conditions continue to persist, it may be a good idea to look into market opportunities for foods with a low water footprint should consumer interests swing in that direction.

Water use: agriculture’s next public relations battleground?

With drought still in the headlines, will water become the next area where ag needs to defend its image?

It’s been a long stretch of dry years for Canadian producers, and they’ve been using more irrigation water as a result. Statistics Canada reports that farmers in Canada used 23 per cent more water in 2022 compared to 2020. At the same time, Canadians name water is their most important environmental pillar, according to the



Fertigation aims to maximize tuber production over vegetative growth.

Setting up fertigation in potato crops for success

Manitoba farmers show how they’ve made the irrigation-fertilization marriage work

Potato producer Sheldon Wiebe, who farms near MacGregor, can wax poetic about how production has evolved on his operation, J.P. Wiebe Ltd., since its inception in the mid 1960s. Like other Manitoba potato farmers, the introduction of irrigation is part of that story, but today the practice is about more than just water. Today, the

Photo: Thinkstock

Canadian potato output rises in 2023 

Alberta vaults to first place in provincial potato production

At 32.063 million hundredweight of potatoes this year, Alberta vaulted from third to first place as it improved on the previous year’s crop of 26.813 million. Manitoba moved into second spot from third with its harvest of 29.760 million cwt. following last year’s 26.139 million. Prince Edward Island saw its output reduced in 2023 to 25.813 million cwt. from 27.789 million. In 2023, the trio combined for 68 per cent of Canada’s total potato harvest of 128,801 million cwt. 


A flooded field in St. Andrews, Manitoba. A new paper says Canada’s water policies, management and research efforts are under-developed and uncoordinated.

CAPI pitches national agri-food water strategy

Think tank says farmers have been let down by lack of a national plan

Glacier FarmMedia – Canada should use its enormous water resources to become a sustainable food powerhouse and a global water research superpower, says a new paper from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. The country’s water policies, management and research efforts are under-developed and uncoordinated, it said, which leaves water resources and challenges largely unaddressed. That’s something a national plan should fix, says the report written

“Early emergence was the one thing that stood out. The potatoes were up and out of the ground quicker than they normally would be because we had some warmer weather in the spring.” – Susan Ainsworth.

Manitoba potato harvest expected to hit records

After a string of hard years, 2023 looks decidedly friendlier to the potato sector

After several years of below-average to poor harvests, Manitoba potato growers have finally caught a break. “There have been some challenging years, so it’s nice to have a strong, good-quality crop,” said Susan Ainsworth, general manager of the Keystone Potato Producers Association. “They were due for a good crop.” Why it matters: Potato yields were

Chad Berry of Under the Hill Farms speaks at a 2020 field tour of his potato operation.

Potatoes see big benefits from water stewardship project

Farmers studied the benefits of in-field and field edge projects for themselves and the community

Improved water stewardship on potato fields in the Lake Winnipeg basin could provide a surprising amount of community benefits, a recent project showed. “Those numbers were way bigger than I would ever expect,” said farmer Chad Berry. Berry, who owns Under the Hill Farms near Cypress River, was one of four farms (covering 34,000 acres)


Kelsey Sunaert speaks with a tour group beside a now-empty irrigation reservoir built on his Deloraine-area farm.

Tile recycling opens path to water Goldilocks zone

Tile drainage, capture and recycling system shows promise in face of increasing wet and dry extremes

A system to recycle tile drainage discharge is helping Kelsey Sunaert keep his field moisture levels just right. The system, installed on Sunaert’s Deloraine-area farm, uses tile to reclaim flooded fields, but that water doesn’t disappear downstream. Instead, it is retained and used for irrigation later in the season. “Not only do we get to farm those acres, but we

File photo of a potato field in Alberta’s Lacombe County. (COrthner/iStock/Getty Images)

Alberta potatoes chip in $2.9 billion for Canadian economy

New report verifies what many in industry suspected

Alberta’s potato industry is making a big impact — not just on that province but the entire country. A new report — dubbed a “landmark study” by the Potato Growers of Alberta — revealed the sector drove a total contribution of $2.87 billion to Canada’s economy in 2022. It also notes the nationwide creation of