b'Custom Hauling Becoming More Common for Processed PotatoesFinally, when it comes to processing potatoes in Manitoba, most shipping is done by processors with shipping included in the contract between the grower and the processor. Because everything is contracted, the processor will decide what kind of product they need to run, Dan Sawatzky, general manager of the Keystone Potato Producers Association, explains in a phone interview with Spud Smart. So really, its the plant that will dictate according to their needs, what theyre trying to put out to the marketplace and have prepared to be able to ship.Because of that, plants need to have an idea of what the processing potato growers havethat means sometimes theyll do a test load. Test loads help processing plants find out if a growers profile data and quality is what theyre looking for.Once they feel that the growers product is appropriate for their needs, they line up custom hauling with the grower, he says. Specifically, when it comes to McCain Foods, this is a new change for this growing season. While J.R. Simplot Company has used custom haulers for a few years, McCain Foods is just starting to use the service. Prior to that, growers would use their own trucks to ship potatoes. Custom haulers are trucking companies hired to ship spuds. Once the driver gets the call that theyre supposed to haul, they will also line that up with the custom hauler, Sawatzky adds. Sawatzky says there was a mixed reaction to the move to custom hauling. Some growers were fine with it and others felt that they wouldnt mind continuing to haul their own potatoes, but they didnt have that choice when McCain Foods made the switch, hePotatoes being sorted before storage on North Paddock Farms near says. It was all or nothing. Taber, Alta.PHOTO: NORTH PADDOCK FARMSSawatzky says hes seen responses where some growers thought they could make an additional profit by shipping theirThough growers arent having to pay for freight anymore, the own, as there was always a schedule or chart that detailed whatincrease in fuel prices still contributes to the cost of growing the payment per mile was for growers. However, some felt thatpotatoes.it wasnt enough. When trying to negotiate a higher price for theIts not just the trucking from the shed to the plant, its transportation costs this year, McCain Foods thought it would betrucking from the field to the shedsits all the fuel and the better to look after freight themselves. tractors use to do harvest and planting, Sawatzky explains. So, theyve moved to now picking up the potatoes from theSome fuel also is used for irrigation, but theres always concerns grower shed at their own cost rather than having a schedule thatwhen the cost of fuel goes up.would reimburse the grower for doing it themselves, he explains. That means, the only cost growers have to front themselves isMoving Toward the Futuremoving potatoes from the field to their storage shed. ShippingAs growers start to prepare for shipping this winter, its important from storage to the company processing plant, is looked after byto be prepared for what shipping will look like. Though it varies the company.both in province and potato type, keeping up to date in terms of In addition, custom hauling is more equipped to deal withcosts, contracts and logistics makes for a better start to the year.the change in shipping patterns over the past few years. PriorAt the end of the day, Stamper says ensuring that as a grower to that shipping was spread over the winter, but lately, shippingyoure asking questions to prep for shipping will keep you ahead has changed as companies are drawing in a larger amount ofof the game.potatoes in a shorter time from growers.When it comes to whos paying; is it the grower, is it the It wasnt a constant kind of daily shipping throughout thebuyer? And does it depend on whether its a retailer buyer for winter anymore. It was confined to a month or two, and thenfresh, a grower for seed or a plant for processing potatoes? Is it in they were finished, Sawatzky says. Growers struggled tothe contract? she asks. Then of course, there is the availability have enough trucking power and labour when the demand forof trucking to consider, and can a better deal me made using trucking was becoming 18-24 hours to get potatoes to the plantbrokers?in time. Keeping questions like these in mind will make the shipping process smoother. 12SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2022'