b'and Washington as well as Idaho. But he ships to almost every province in Canada, stretching from Prince Edward Island to Vancouver Island. The majority of our seed gets sold in tote bags with 2,500 pounds in each bag, he explains in a phone interview with Spud Smart. Anything that goes through southern Alberta and some of Manitoba will go in bulk loads.Ten years prior, Hoogland says shipping looked a little different. I might have only done 800 tote bags, he says. Right now, were up to 3,000.Dale Lathim, executive director of the Potato Growers of Washington Similar to fresh potatoes, most seed potatoes ship on trucks, but when shipping to New Brunswick and P.E.I., the seed ships by rail. However, a major challenge for seed potatoes is ensuring the seed isnt wrecked by the elements during transportation to longer distances. I prefer to ship at a temperature thats two degrees higher than what the potatoes are, he says. If its really coldwe ship up to -25 Cwe typically get the trucks a little bit warmer when they arrive. If the weather down south is already a few degrees warmer, well have the targets dial the temperature down.Shipping in containers, though, proves more challenging. Typically, seed potatoes stay in a container somewhere between four to eight dayssometimes even 10 days. We do put a recorder in containers typically to make sure that Victoria Stamper, generalBrian DuPlessis, manager of thewe know what has happened to them, Hoogland says. manager of United PotatoNew Brunswick Potato ShippersBut, Hoogland says shipping by rail is the trickiest way to ship. Growers of Canada AssociationTiming is everything, he says. You never know what the weathers like. By rail, we just dont know if that train sits there for three or four daysit can be a bit scary.Shipping for seed potatoes typically starts in October and can last all the way up to the last-minute planting in May. Typically, though, Hoogland says a majority of their shipments travel throughout March and April.To help maintain and manage the contracts, Hoogland explains they ship their seed potatoes through the Edmonton Potato Growersthe organization has their own logistics Measures flow rate & controls pump person to manage shipping. Optimizes application rateReduces waste and labour He takes care of the paperwork, and all weve got to do is NEW!! Printer option for lot and load tickets fill it out and get sent to the border, he says. Nine out of the Allows for remote data access with cloud10 times theres no problems. Most of the times, the biggest server optionsproblems we face will be if a trucker loses it.Though, like all shipping, cost is becoming more of a burden. Our potatoes get sold FOB, so freight is typically on the buyer, he says. But our logistics person is always trying to find the best way to serve our customers. In the end, it still affects us. Last year, we were lucky to release shipments before the big price hike, but then, weve ran into some major hikes.As time progresses further into this years harvest, Hoogland says fortunately, they seem to be on the right course for early shipping.I think we have enough trucks, and they seem to get decent ratesstill a lot higher than normal, but its only a couple of loads a week, he adds. It makes me a little bit nervous for the March and April shipping. We did pull it off last year, so theres no doubt in my mind: were going to pull it off again.10SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2022'