Timely Rains Benefit Manitoba Potato Crop

Jul 30, 2020

Manitoba's potato crop is in good condition heading into August.

Vikram Bisht with Manitoba Agriculture says timely rains have benefited the crop, however there are some farmers who have had to irrigate. Most of the crop is at the bulking stage.

He talked about one concern that farmers are dealing with.

"In some places we have heat runner issues, which basically means that when temperatures are over 28 or 29 degrees Celsius, the potatoes are stressed and they then start producing sprouts from the already formed tubers, or they will form chains."

Bisht says there have been no signs of late blight. He adds instances of European corn borer have been very low and the aphid population on seed potatoes is also very low.

Potato acres are higher than last year, according to Bisht, who says that processors were comfortable in their market assessment which led to an increase in acres.

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Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.