KWS Seeds Canada has welcomed Dan Bolton as its new Manitoba sales representative. Dan Bolton Dan graduated with a degree in agriculture at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. He gained experience in sales within agriculture his whole career with working in B2B and B2C. With quinoa he brought a new crop to the Canadian market and opened those for his customers. Dan joins KWS focused on hybrid rye sales.   Read More: KWS and J.R. Simplot Company Establish Joint Venture for Hybrid Potato Breeding The post KWS Welcomes New Manitoba Sales Rep appeared first on Spud Smart ..read more

The first sprayable insecticide based on dsRNA technology has been approved in the U.S. and could be coming soon to Canada. A new weapon could soon be available to assist battle-weary potato farmers in Canada in their relentless war against the Colorado potato beetle (CPB). It’s called Calantha, a foliar applied, contact biopesticide that utilizes a ribonucleic acid (RNA) technology that has just been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) south of the border. The product’s maker, GreenLight Biosciences based in Medford, Massachusetts, is also seeking regulatory approval fo ..read more

The potato industry is at an all-time high for innovation. Incredible new technologies and products are being launched across the potato value chain. We requested nominations for innovative products leading the Canadian potato industry forward and received excellent submissions from across the industry. With the help of our Editorial Board, we selected winners based on their industry impact, market potential, and scalability. Stay tuned as we highlight these innovations alphabetically over the next few weeks. AZteroid FC Vive Crop Protection www.vivecrop.ca/ Launched in Canada: April 2023 Man ..read more

IN 1849, a man by the name of Pieter Vansteenkiste founded a forge in Roeselare, Belgium, where he and his family manufactured agricultural and horticulture tools like shovels and garden hoes. For 175 years, that same company, based out of that same town and still wholly family-owned and operated, has serviced the needs of farmers — especially (and now exclusively) potato farmers. Belgian and Dutch farmers have trusted AVR for decades as their go-to source of potato harvesters, which is why it was Belgian and Dutch immigrants to Canada who introduced AVR to this side of the Atlantic. Over the ..read more

We have had a busy few months at the PEI Potato Board as we experienced what we like to call ‘meeting season’. We had some very timely information sessions with presenters from across Canada and Great Britain for all Island growers put on by our AIM research group. Meetings focused on decreasing fertilizer use, new technologies for increased farm efficiency, and environmental impacts for reduced tillage practices. We had a great participation rate in these sessions across the Island. Our seed industry is alive and well and our post-harvest virus testing has been extremely positive, with most o ..read more

The Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA) released their 2023 North American Potato Sustainability Report. The report outlines sustainability results and insights from the annual on-farm assessment of the PSA Program in North America. It offers PSA members and participating growers a significant benchmark to assess their own progress. “In 2023, a total of 420 growers, representing 589,120 potato acres across the U.S. and Canada participated in the PSA Program by completing the Sustainable Outcomes in Agriculture (SOA) Standard through the CropwiseTM Sustainability (CWS) app and selecting PSA as ..read more

The potato industry is at an all-time high for innovation. Incredible new technologies and products are being launched across the potato value chain. That’s great news for the potato industry, but it’s also huge for all of society. That’s because the potato industry is front and center on tackling the biggest challenges our world faces, from food security to how we responsibly use our land, water and air resources. We put a call out requesting nominations for the most innovative products leading the Canadian potato industry into the future. Our team received multiple excellent nominations from ..read more

Media reports say the potato could soon be classified as a grain in the United States dietary guidelines. Fourteen U.S. senators have written a letter to the heads of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) regarding their position against “recent press reports concerning the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs)… and the possible reclassification of potatoes as a grain, instead of a vegetable.” The letter, dated March 26, received bipartisan support from 14 senators, and declares that since the inception of the USDA, the pot ..read more

In 2021 a strategic partnership was formed, with McCain investing $55 million USD in Strong Roots. McCain Foods announced they have increased its investment with Strong Roots, a Dublin-based plant-based frozen food company, according to a press release. This development underscores McCain’s steadfast dedication to “fix the freezer aisle”. By further expanding the Strong Roots brand into additional territories, McCain aims to deliver an expanded array of eco-conscious, vegetable-centric products. The release notes that this initiative caters to the growing cohort of consumers seeking nutri ..read more

There are people who are passionate about their projects, and then there are people who take passion for their projects to a whole different level. Our product manager, Deron Beck, is the second type of person. I visited with him recently to finalize our trial plans for the year. Like always, he wants to do one more trial, expand to one more area, or maybe add “just one more” strip. I love when people are enthusiastic about trials — especially our trials — so we do everything we can say yes as often as possible. Since that’s not always economically feasible, we prioritize. Here’s a quick snaps ..read more