PEI Potato Farmers Upset On Export Restrictions

Nov 25, 2021

Potato growers in PEI say the province's biggest industry is at risk, thanks to a decision by the federal government this week.

The CFIA issued a temporary ban on the export of fresh PEI potatoes to the US, a more than 1.3-billion-dollar industry to that province every year. It's because two additional cases of the potato wart fungus showed up in fields in PEI last month. But the fungus has been present in potato fields in PEI for more than 2 decades.

Federal Ag Minister Marie Claude-Bibeau said this week, the temporary ban was necessary because the White House was threatening to issue its own ban, something she says would have been more difficult to remove. The issue came up during question period in Ottawa on Wednesday.

The PEI potato board is calling for an immediate reversal of the ban and the resumption of fresh potato exports to the US. Dennis King, the premier of PEI told CTV News this week, he has trouble believing the White House issued a warning.

King says the province has exported potatoes to many nations over the past 2 decades and never had an issue with potato wart being spread to any of those countries.

The temporary ban does not affect potatoes grown in other parts of the country.

Our sister station in Charlottetown, Ocean 100, showed their solidarity with PEI potato farmers by playing Stompin' Tom Connors hit "Bud The Spud" non stop on Thursday morning until they received 10,000 online signatures for their petition of support for the farmers. "It's big news here. It crushes a lot of folks and we decided we wanted to show our support for the PEI potato farmers and all the work in the industry," shares Scott Chapman News Director for Ocean 100. "There's no more iconic Prince Edward Island song than 'Bud The Spud' Stompin' Tom Connors. We thought we would give Islanders a chance to show their support.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.