The Prince Edward Island Potato Board, Cavendish Farms, and the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Fisheries recently announced the creation of the Enhanced Agronomy Initiative. This initiative has a goal of improving marketable yields of processing potatoes and profitability of potato growers in P.E.I. while also improving the environmental sustainability of the industry.
To meet these goals, three working groups have been established, with membership of growers and industry resource personnel. These working groups will look at priorities in the key areas of soil health, seed management, and science and technology. They will work to establish both research and extension projects that address these priorities.
Coordinating these efforts as project lead is Ryan Barrett, who has most recently worked as communications officer and research coordinator for the P.E.I. Potato Board, positions he will continue to fill.
“This initiative is focused on listening to growers and working with them to enhance the productivity and profitability of their farms,” says Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board. “We plan to access the latest information in agricultural research and technology and to find new and better ways to provide this information to our growers. Through collaboration, we feel that there is significant potential for improvement.”
The Enhanced Agronomy Initiative is a collaborative program that will be jointly funded by Cavendish processing potato growers, Cavendish Farms and the provincial Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Growers are contributing via a special check-off on their processing contracts. These partners, together with representatives from Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and the Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture, are represented on a steering committee for the initiative.
The initiative began work in early May, and P.E.I. processing potato growers were consulted through the spring and early summer to solicit their ideas and needs in agronomy and research extension. Some research and extension projects are already under way; others will be developed later this year.
Source: Fresh Plaza