b"Scorching of emerged sprouts is still being reported in someAdding once the plants are emerged and established, theyll need 25 fields, especially those which had not been irrigated yet. Theremillimetres of water a week, all season long.have been spotty and scattered showers mostly in western parts ofFor the most part, growers across the country are optimistic about Manitoba in the last week, Bisht noted.the growing season, and with months still to go the resounding Potato planting wrapped up in Manitoba on June 810 daysconsensus is that anything can happen. ahead of last year. Planting went fast across the province due to a dryGrowers are just basically saying right now the plants are doing spring allowing for easy field access, Bisht said in a crop report. welleverything's up, Stamper says. Adding to that, Dale Lathim In Ontario, spring planting went smoothly with good conditions.said during the Crop Transition Conference in Bloomington, Minn. There was sufficient moisture at the beginning of spring, but not tooon June 16,We don't sell plants, we sell what's underneath. So, we much, allowing growers to get their spuds in the ground fast.have still a ways to go to get that.By then we were ready for some rain, and we didn't get it. We'veLooking towards acreage, Stamper says nationally the industry been extremely dry since the end of planting. Its put stress on theis expecting areas to remain relatively flat with a few regions adding potatoes, on the plants in the ground for sure, Kevin Brubacher,production, while others reduce. general manager of the Ontario Potato Board, says in a phoneYou expect after a year of really good pricing, and the demand interview on June 13, 2023. Thankfully, we just got, I'd say, an inchcontinues, that we would expand, but there's still a lot of barriers for to two inches for most growing areas over the weekend. So that'speople, she explains. There are water issues in certain placesgoing to help, but we need more consistent rain for the next month. Manitoba is very tight for water. And the costs of borrowing are still In the Maritimes, the spring planting story has followed a similarhigh, land costs, availability of land to expand.storyline. Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board,In Alberta, acreage is expected to be higher as processing growers says planting conditions have been excellent with growers ahead ofhave been contracted to fill contract shortages in other regions where where they normally are for the year as of June 13P.E.I. is usuallyfry plants are located, Hochstein says. Ontario on the other hand, the last region in Canada to finish potato planting. April and Mayexpects acreage to be on par with their usual average at around the were some of the driest on record, which helped growers get into the37,000 acres mark, Brubacher says.field planting faster. Potato acreage in P.E.I. is expected to be status quo with changes Potatoes don't need a whole lot of moisture until they getonly seen in what varieties are grown. Donald says in the fresh emerged and established, till they come through the ground andmarket theyve been seeing a shift from red to yellow potatoes while then they have foliage. And so, a lot of our crop has yet to emergeon the processing side Russet Burbank acres have been falling as even yet, Donald explains in a phone interview.growers have started to plant more sustainable varieties which While the spuds dont need much water yet, temperatures on therequire less fertilizer and other crop inputs.Island have been creeping to the high 20 C range, which could cause issues for the freshly emerged plants.The tank was empty, like the soil moisture profile. Literally, we had several days of overcast and rain last week, so it filled itBelow: A grower plants potatoes in a field at G Visser and Sons in right back up. And we're sitting in pretty good right now, he says.Orwell, P.E.I.PHOTO: LUCAS MACCORMACKSPUDSMART.COMSummer 202317"