Potato Harvest Wrapping Up

Sep 30, 2020

Manitoba's potato harvest is nearly complete.

Dan Sawatzky is manager of Keystone Potato Producers Association.

"Harvest conditions have been excellent this year," he said. "Many growers probably finished in record time. There's still a few potatoes left but I would say we're probably close to 95 per cent complete."

Sawatzky says yields are down a bit this year.

"Yields are off a little bit. We had a bit later start and some heat during when potatoes were setting. We lost some of the sets and then also later on, third week of August we had some heat as well and potatoes just don't do very well when it's too hot. They shut down and consequently we are a little bit down in yield."

He notes the quality of the potato crop is looking good, noting the size of the potatoes is better than expected. Sawatzky says most of the processing producers have irrigation, adding storability should also be good. The early September frost did impact some of the plants, and prevented some extra yield that might have occurred during that time.

There were no reported cases of late blight in Manitoba.

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.