Potato farmers in Alberta enjoyed a strong harvest in 2023, after back-to-back, record-breaking production years. This year, the province produced 32,063,000 hundredweight (CWT) potatoes, more than Prince Edward Island's 25,813,000 CWT total. Last year marked just the second time this century that Alberta surpassed P.E.I., famous for its spuds, as Canada's largest potato-producing province.
Terence Hochstein, executive director of the Potato Growers of Alberta: "The industry is starting to shift, and it's not just Alberta. Manitoba is growing. Washington is growing. Idaho continues to grow. The production is starting to shift from the east to the west."
Hochstein said higher yield numbers in western North America are largely because of increased planting, not consistently strong growing conditions. Growers planted 80,100 acres of potatoes in Alberta this year, up from last year's total of 73,080 acres.
Source: theweathernetwork.com