PEI growers will get underway with their potato crops starting this week.
“Things are right on time this year, maybe a bit early,” says Jennifer Harris of Mid Isle Farms in Albany, PEI. “There’s been a small amount of shipment already but the only thing harvested so far, for the most part, would be early crop.”
Most PEI growers start harvest the first week of October but there will be some that start this week. “And if everything goes well, you hope to be done by the end of the month. If there are really good conditions, you could be done in about three weeks depending,” says Harris.
Managing crops during harvest
Generally, PEI has seen a good season of growing conditions. “We had sun, heat and some bouts of rain. There were a few heavy rains, but conditions were dry at the time. It will just be something we will manage when storing to make sure the product goes in clean,” says Harris. That said, that sun and rain throughout the growing season has brought on yields and size profiles that growers are looking for, she adds.
Overall, the crop will be bigger for PEI potatoes this season. “Last year we had drought conditions which caused hardships for a lot of growers. I saw some crops down 30-50 percent on yield,” Harris says. “We will definitely have a better crop than last year - the truth of the yield is always at digging time when the potatoes are actually going into storage.”
In terms of other growing regions, Harris notes that New Brunswick also has strong yields and will be up considerably over last year, realizing that that province was also impacted by drought in 2020. “Ontario and Quebec have also had favorable growing and harvest conditions. But the area that had misfortune this year is Idaho, Washington and the Western provinces which all saw drought conditions,” she says.
Demand’s ebb and flow
In terms of demand, it’s trying to find its pace currently. “Summer demand was slow due to warm weather and possibly COVID because people were tired of cooking at home and wanted to eat out,” Harris says. “And it’s still warm out so we hope demand comes along. I believe there will be supply early in the season, especially with higher yields. But if we have patience until the end of the season, we may see some stronger pricing. It has been strong.”
Foodservice demand is also not back up to full strength for potatoes. “We’ve heard the size profile isn’t as strong in Idaho so that could send a bit of demand our way,” says Harris. “But at the same time, foodservice isn’t fully back. Restaurants aren’t open to full capacity and other extra-curricular events still aren’t back to 100 percent of what they were pre-pandemic. All those COVID-19 shut downs are adding up and still playing a part in demand for foodservice.”
For more information:
Jennifer Harris
Mid Isle Farms
Tel: +1 (902) 855-2009
[email protected]
www.midisle.com