Powering Predictions for Potato Farmers

Nov 06, 2025

By Addy Hatch

Potato growers in Washington have a powerful new tool to help them make decisions about their crops, one that’s saving the industry in the state nearly $10 million each year.

Washington State University is the lead partner in the Potato Decision Aid System, introduced in 2021. It uses weather information from WSU’s AgWeatherNet system and regular monitoring of fields to create computer models and risk maps.

“We tell producers, consultants, suppliers when things are going to happen on a farm,” said David Crowder, a professor in the WSU Department of Entomology and director of the Decision Aid System.

Things like when to plant, how long it will take plants to progress through life stages, and when certain insects will be active. The site also has a wealth of information in a searchable format that once might have only been available as paper documents, all accessible via computer or mobile device.

Source : wsu.edu

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.