Spring planting mostly on track
<a href=www.journalpioneer.com>Journal Pioneer Jun. 2, 2003 by JIM BROWN, Journal Pioneer
CHARLOTTETOWN — Ivan Noonan, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, says the spring planting season appears to be more or less on track so far this season, with an estimated 100,000 to 105,000 acres expected to be planted with spuds.
That's down slightly from last year's 107,000 harvested acres.
In Eastern P.E.I. where soils are lighter, several growers have reported finishing their planting, with others expected to be finished within a day or so.
Still others, in the west especially, will likely be behind by a week to 10 days. But that's nothing to be concerned about, said Noonan.
The potatoes will still be planted and harvested in time for shipment to markets in the rest of Canada, the U.S. and overseas.
This year, however, will bring some complications to the age-old rhythms of planting.
For instance, the province's new buffer zone, headlands and three-year crop rotation legislation will take some land out of production, and those regulations, in addition to new sloping requirements, have left many growers frustrated and confused.
Meetings with provincial officials have helped dispel some of those concerns, said Noonan.
Noonan said markets overseas remain poor, especially in Venezuela, Brazil and other South American countries.
Many growers are probably thinking twice about planting varieties traditionally geared for the export market, he said.
But other markets are holding up well over the past year, including those for seed potatoes, he said. "Our seed shipments are up quite nicely over a couple of years ago."
Overall sales to the U.S. have been holding up well, according to the Potato Board and Agriculture Minister Mitch Murphy.
Growers are anticipating an excellent crop this year, rivalling that of 2002, said Noonan.
The potato board's general manager says the recent spate of wet weather comes after more than 10 days of dry, sunny weather, in which many growers made considerable progress getting acreage planted.
Meanwhile, J.P. Hendricken, who owns a family farm with three other sons in Mount Stewart, says he expects to cut his production by up to 20 per cent, from the current 800 acres.
He estimates at least 40,000 hundredweight of Yukon Golds, many destined for U.S. markets, are in storage.
That represents up to 30 per cent of his farm's 2002 harvest. That compares to virtually none in storage for the same period the previous year.
Composting appears to be the only option, said Hendricken. Overseas markets are drying up and there's fierce competition from other North American suppliers for scarce shelf space, he said.
Hendricken believes there are just too many potatoes chasing too few buyers, and Island growers, to get decent prices on this year's crop, should slash production by 10,000 acres.
Hendricken estimated overseas sales slumped from 2.5 million hundredweight in recent years to as little as 700,000 hundredweight in the past year.