News

Mar 27, 2023

'It's grim': P.E.I. seed potato growers worry restrictions may shutter markets for good

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS Terry Curley believes it’s gone for

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS

Terry Curley believes it's gone for good.

The co-owner of Monaghan Farms in Summerfield had built a successful seed potato operation, growing as many as 60 per cent of the varieties used in Canada by the Frito-Lay chip company.

However, he worries the province's seed potato sector could be a casualty of the 2021 bruising stoppage of potato shipments to the U.S., following a handful of detections of potato wart.

"The bottom line is seed sales have been reduced substantially off of P.E.I. And my opinion is that's not coming back," Curley said.

P.E.I. Potato Board's attempt to lift seed potato export ban fails in federal court

P.E.I. party leaders discuss land use, beef during agricultural debate

A ministerial order barring the export of fresh potatoes to the U.S. was lifted just over one year ago. But restrictions on seed potatoes, grown to be planted for future crops, remain in place, effectively barring shipments off-Island.

There is no clear end date in sight for the lifting of these federal restrictions.

Today, Curley grows half the amount of seed potatoes that he would have two years ago. Most are destined for P.E.I. markets.

"We were poised to do significantly more into other Canadian provinces. We were building up the seed for that market," Curley said. "That's all dead now. They just said, ‘We don't want it at any price.’"

"We were poised to do significantly more into other Canadian provinces. We were building up the seed for that market. That's all dead now. They just said, ‘We don't want it at any price.’" – Terry Curley

Other farmers are questioning whether there is a future in producing seed in P.E.I.

Prior to 2021, Barry Cudmore developed a specialized market, growing seed potatoes for garden centres throughout the Maritimes. Thousands of market gardeners would have bought potatoes he grew from his farm in Brackley Beach.

Cudmore wonders whether he should switch to crops with more stable markets.

"I'm 72 years old. How much longer do I want to continue growing potatoes anyway?" he said. "It's grim. I feel for gardeners who look forward to getting potatoes from our farm."

Wayne Townshend, who farms potatoes in Fortune Bridge, does not ship seed potatoes outside of P.E.I. But he said off-Island seed potato suppliers have begun giving P.E.I. a wide berth.

"A lot of our earlier generation seed, that we brought in to grow seed for the local growers, a lot of it came out of Alberta. And Alberta's real clever, they're not going to get caught in the CFIA shit-show," Townshend said, referring to the federal regulator that oversees the seed potato export restrictions.

Curley confirmed he has heard of Alberta producers who have stopped shipping seed to P.E.I., out of fear of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) investigation of their own farms in Alberta.

"The kindest way I could say of the mishandling of the whole file is they got everybody spooked to buy P.E.I. potatoes," Curley said, referring to the CFIA.

SaltWire attempted to reach the Potato Growers of Alberta but did not receive a response.

Seed potatoes account for roughly 10 per cent of potatoes grown in P.E.I. Of those, only 20 per cent would have been destined for off-Island markets. Exports of P.E.I. seed to the U.S. were worth about $3 million, according to the CFIA.

Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, says the seed potato sector can yield good returns for farmers. But growing seed is difficult, requiring different tools and storage than processing or table stock.

"You have to babysit them pretty well," he said. "They're literally the foundation of our entire industry. And, so, if those small numbers are weak, then it weakens our entire industry."

The restrictions on seed potato exports come at a time of shortage due to a weak crop in New Brunswick, Maine and elsewhere.

"We have good seed and we can't sell it," Donald said.

The CFIA says seed potatoes carry a higher risk of spreading potato wart because they are planted in soil.

In recent decades, the only jurisdictions in North America where potato wart has been discovered are Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I. The soil-borne pest poses no harm to humans but produces a cauliflower-like growth that can make potatoes unmarketable.

CFIA is continuing to investigate the degree of spread of potato wart following the initial finds in October 2021.

In late 2022, a panel of international experts found most potato fields in the province carry a "low risk" of spread of potato wart. The panel recommended establishing a control zone over two clusters of fields where the pathogen has been detected recently, allowing trade to resume elsewhere on the Island.

In an email, a representative of CFIA acknowledged the panel had recommended most of the province be considered a "pest-free area," but did not set a timeline for the resumption of the seed potatoes trade.

The email said this would require measures accepted by "potential importers, including other Canadian provinces receiving crops from P.E.I., and our international trading partners, including the United States."

"The CFIA must be confident in the criteria to establish and maintain PFAs before proposing PFAs to domestic and international trading partners," the email added.

Donald believes the establishment of pest-free areas could help restore the trust that existing potato wart management efforts have successfully contained the pest.

"It can't happen quick enough, but we're committed to making sure it's done in a way that our customers are happy with as well," he said.

Stu Neatby is a political reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @stu_neatby.