BC potato growers optimistic

Poor weather across Canada in 2018 led to strong demand for BC potatoes as the 2019 crop rolled in, members of the BC Potato and Vegetable Growers Association heard this week.

“It had a good crop and was able to take advantage of an industry that was ready for a new crop early in the season last fall,” Kevin MacIsaac, general manager of the United Potato Growers of Canada, told growers meeting in Delta this week.

BC growers tend approximately 6,700 acres of potatoes, the majority of it in the Lower Mainland. Despite challenging rains last September, just 100 acres were left in the ground for a total harvest of 2.1 million hundredweight (cwt) in 2019. Average yield was 325 cwt per acre.

Production in BC compared favourably to the rest of the country, which saw 20,296 acres unharvested in 2019 led by Manitoba (13,000 acres) and Alberta (4,385 acres). MacIsaac said the shortfall was surprising, as 2018 was considered to be a benchmark year for losses with 18,049 acres unharvested. The back-to-back years put growers on the Prairies in a difficult position, he noted, and helped push down BC stocks.

BC had 526 cwt of potatoes in storage as of February 1, down from 654 cwt a year earlier. Of these, 388 cwt were table stock, down 16% from a year earlier. However, storage stocks of fresh potatoes were in line with the province’s five-year average.

The industry’s strong position in BC, coupled with ongoing funding for variety trials and an annual field day that holds nationwide interest, is buoying optimism among growers. A key challenge, however, are inputs.

MacIsaac noted that the coronavirus outbreak could impact the supply of products manufactured in Asia, though the exact impact has yet to be sketched out. Restrictions on the use of certain pesticides coupled with decisions in several regulatory reviews have also raised fears concerning the elimination of additional crop management tools.

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.

The annual potato variety trial in Delta on August 27 attracted more than 300 people from across Canada, with Bill Zylmans of the BC Potato and Vegetable Growers Association declaring it a gathering of "the extended potato family." With the expansion of BCPVGA's mandate to a host of field vegetable growers, the field day was a chance to network, learn and understand issues across the vegetable sector. BC agriculture minister Lana Popham and Delta South MLA Ian Paton were on hand for the event at Lundstrum Farms on Westham Island, with both applauding efforts to restore bridge access to the island earlier this year to ensure production was unimpeded. Results of the trials will be published in the new year once seasonal data has been collated and analyzed.

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Lana Popham is the hardest working MLA in the province, I don’t agree with the NDP policies, however I do recognize a hard working MLA…thanks for what you do