Dr. Bernie Zebarth of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada explores drone use during the 2018 Manitoba Potato Production Days in Brandon earlier this year.

Mapping a new frontier: Potatoes and precision agriculture

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

Potatoes may, in many ways, be the perfect candidate for precision agriculture. They’re a high-volume, high-value and high-input crop and the industry has already invested more than other sectors in soil and drainage mapping, variable rate technology and management zones, according to one agronomist who works closely with potato growers. Trevor Thornton’s Crop Care Consulting

(Dave Bedard photo)

Simplot to supersize Portage la Prairie fry plant

U.S. agrifood giant J.R. Simplot plans to bulk up its potato processing footprint in southern Manitoba with a $460 million plant expansion. The company and the provincial government on Wednesday announced construction will begin this spring on a 280,000-square foot expansion at its 180,000-square foot french fry processing plant at Portage la Prairie. The expansion,


At least two killed in potato farmer protests in Peru

Lima | Reuters — At least two people have been killed in clashes at protests by potato farmers across the Peruvian Andes, police said on Thursday, as demonstrators demanded the government make good on promises to buy excess potatoes after a sharp price drop. Thousands of farmers took part in the protests on Wednesday and

Mark and Yanara Peters say a community potato giveaway has been fun and fulfilling.

Building their community one potato at a time

Mark and Yanara Peters are turning a potato giveaway into an annual event in Portage la Prairie and beyond

How does it feel to give away 35,000 lbs. of potatoes in just under five hours? “It was awesome… a lot of fun,” recalls farmer Mark Peters with a wide smile. Peters and his wife Yanara, of Spruce Drive Farms, grow certified seed potatoes 12 miles northwest of Portage la Prairie. On Saturday, October 14,


It was a tough growing season and potato harvest but in the end, growers saw good yields.

Good potato yields despite challenging year

A dry summer required a lot of irrigation 
and was followed by a dry fall that 
delayed digging

Many Manitoba potato growers faced nail-biting times this autumn as they struggled to get the crop off. In the end, however, yields are expected to be similar to last year. Dave Sawatzky, manager of Keystone Potato Producers Association, said he predicts yields will roughly be on par or slightly better than 2016’s harvest, when Manitoba

Late-season verticillium in canola appears as black peppering beneath the flaking outer surface of the stem.

Fall field scouting can highlight diseases

Verticillium and Goss’s wilt are both easily spotted near or after harvest

Field scouting doesn’t stop with the combine, but it does become more specific, according to Dr. Vikram Bisht, pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture. “Usually, to scout for soil-borne pathogens is not an easy thing because you have to do a lot of laboratory work, but if you have the pathogens which survive in the crop residue


Officials break ground for Cavendish Farms’ new potatp plant at Lethbridge on Sept. 18. (Alberta.ca)

Alberta, feds back Lethbridge potato processing plant

The federal and Alberta governments are set to cover over $22 million in costs related to the construction of Cavendish Farms’ new potato processing plant at Lethbridge. The two levels of government on Monday announced $20 million for the City of Lethbridge for related municipal infrastructure developments, through the federal/provincial Clean Water and Wastewater Fund

Eugenia Banks, a consultant with the Ontario Potato Board, has test plots featuring Spartan Chipper (pictured) and AAC Glossy, a fresh market potato. (Photo courtesy Eugenia Banks)

Pearce: Tests negative, weather positive for late blight in Ont. potatoes

Aside from concerns regarding drier conditions in different potato-growing regions of Ontario, some growers are testing for late blight. Spore traps near Delhi came back negative recently — but did indicate an increase at the end of the experiment. Eugenia Banks, a consultant for the Ontario Potato Board, stated such a “signal” might indicate an


Earl (l) and Derek McLaren, seen here with their grandfather’s original potato harvester, have launched a new potato-derived human health product.

New potato-derived health product hits store shelves

Two Carberry brothers are hopeful results from newly published clinical trials will spur growth of their company MSPrebiotics Inc.

A Carberry business that successfully launched a natural health product for the hog sector has now released a second-generation product aimed at the human market. It’s a product clinical trials show can significantly improve the digestive health of humans, particularly seniors. Earl and Derek McLaren, the Carberry-based brothers who own the company, recently saw their

Frontal view of a Colorado potato beetle.

What’s the future of Colorado potato beetle control?

Neonics may be losing the beetle battle. What are the alternatives?

An old pest is becoming a new problem, according to Tracy Shinners-Carnelley, director of research and quality enhancement for Peak of the Market. Shinners-Carnelley was at Manitoba Potato Production Days in January to discuss Colorado potato beetle (CPB) control options as neonicotinoid seed treatments begin to lose effectiveness against the potato’s ancient enemy. Since the