Alberta potato farmers challenge P.E.I. for spud king crown

Alberta potato farmers have nearly tied Prince Edward Island growers for the title as the country's top spud producer.

Better yields in West push harvest totals close to eastern region that suffered rainy, chilly fall

Rachel Ward · CBC News · Posted: Dec 18, 2018 4:30 PM EST | Last Updated: December 18, 2018

A sample of their fall harvest. — Alberta farmers are finding success in growing potatoes. The dry, arid climate makes for starchy tubers that are good for processing into chips and fries. (Kirsten Murphy/CBC)

Alberta potato farmers are challenging Prince Edward Island growers for the title as the country's top spud producer.

The western province has nearly tied the eastern one for the largest potato harvest in Canada for the 2018 season.

Alberta grew 22.3 billion pounds (10.1 billion kilograms) of potatoes, while P.E.I. harvested 22.6 billion pounds (10.3 billion kilograms).

That's 21.5 per cent of the Canadian harvest for Alberta and 21.8 per cent for P.E.I., new data from Statistics Canada shows.

The tight race for the potato title comes as no surprise to farmer Harold Perry in Chin, Alta. He works just east of the McCain's french fry plant in Coaldale.

"The way I look at it, for the Alberta economy, instead of trying to do one thing 100 per cent better, you do 100 things one per cent better," Perry told the Calgary Eyeopener on Tuesday. "I think potatoes are falling in that category right now."

Potato industry shows strong growth in Alberta

Potato harvest down, but P.E.I. still led the country, StatsCan numbers show

Part of Alberta's success can be attributed to a difficult season for P.E.I. producers.

Alberta farmers planted fewer hectares with potatoes than P.E.I. growers but they were able to harvest 97 per cent of their crop, pushing the yield up, Statistics Canada found through its survey of Canadian farming organizations.

The Island, however, was hit with wet, cold weather, resulting in 8.3 per cent of seeded harvest being left in the ground to freeze. The situation was so bad, farmers helped each other race the weather to dig up as many spuds as they could.

Manitoba, also a top potato producer, has reduced production this year, with 7.9 per cent of seeded area left unharvested.

A pile of potatoes left in a field — After struggling to get all their potatoes out of the ground this fall, it's expected many P.E.I. potato farmers will be making crop insurance claims. (Submitted by Bryan Maynard)

The dry, arid climate of southern Alberta makes for a good french fry potato, Perry said. The warm days and cool evenings make for a starchier tuber, which helps with processing to make chips or fries.

Proof of that, he said, is in the Cavendish Farms plant set to open next year in Lethbridge.

Cavendish, owned by J.D. Irving Ltd., has potato processing plants in the potato-producing provinces of P.E.I. and New Brunswick, among others.

Statistics Canada collects potato harvest yield information from industry associations in each province. This year, the collection and consultations concluded at the end of November.