Building resiliency in P.E.I.’s potato sector

Nov 10, 2023

Victoria, Prince Edward Island · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)

In the fall of 2021, the detection of potato wart disrupted sales of P.E.I. potatoes to the United States, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of Islanders. The Government of Canada launched the Prince Edward Island Potato Stabilization and Innovation Initiative (PSII) to help the industry recover.

The PSII is a two-year $16 million initiative that is helping small and medium-sized enterprises modernize, diversify and adapt to meet changing market conditions. The initiative supports investments in a range of areas including digitalization and automation, improved storage, development of value-added products, and diversification.

Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA, announced a combined contribution of over $12.5 million for 27 businesses across P.E.I.

Today’s announcement further demonstrates the Government of Canada’s commitment to work with the P.E.I. potato sector to ensure that producers, and the businesses that support them, are positioned for long-term sustainable growth.

For a full list of projects, please see the backgrounder.

Source : Canada.ca

Video: Running a Farm Store + Starting No-Till Gardens w/Blue Goose Farm

We cover: today we are chatting with Keenan McVey of Blue Goose Farm in Ontario Canada. Keenan, along with his wife Ashley, run this small farm and along with it a really interesting, in-town Farm Store that is a little different from what you might think of as a farm store and has proved to be an invaluable marketing option for them. Keenan’s roots are in the culinary world, and the farm was also started with another chef from the area some of you may know, named Matty Matheson (of the excellent show The Bear). Keenan tells us that story as well as helps detail the technical stuff about how the gardens were created and how they are maintained.