PEI Potatoes Are Moving To Puerto Rico Once Again

Feb 09, 2022

Shipments of PEI potatoes to Puerto Rico resumed this morning.

It's seen as the first step in resuming normal trade of the island spuds to the US, nearly 3 months after the Trudeau government imposed an export ban. The ban was issued by Ottawa after two more cases of potato wart fungus were found in fields on the island back in October. Both cases of the fungus, which isn't harmful to humans, were found in fields that were already tagged for the disease and potatoes grown in that soil were not part of exports to the US.

Earlier this month, following a meeting with her US counterpart, federal ag minister Marie Claude Bibeau was confident that shipments of potatoes from PEI would soon be returning to Puerto Rico and soon after, the US mainland.

Last week, the federal government announced a compensation package for PEI potato growers forced to destroy part of the record harvest, because it had nowhere to go. It's believed growers were forced to destroy the equivalent of 700 semi loads of table-ready potatoes.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.