FOCUS: POTATO PRODUCTION Soil health is the mantra for McCain Foods’ Farm of the Future

Downward trend of average potato yields and yet higher costs per ton

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The farm manager performs a quick thinning of the remaining biomass –severing the roots from stems – and leaving the roots to dry on the soil surface. This minimal tillage disrupts only the top two inches of topsoil. Fall bedding then follows so that the field is ready to plant come spring. Soil temperatures tend to warm up faster in the beds in the spring, allowing an earlier seeding.

The choice of cover crop should be left up to the individual farm operator depending on local conditions. As Leclerc points out, the considerations vary from whether the grower wants to fix more nitrogen, suppress nematodes or address early dying complex. No one recipe fits all.

Armour soils with plants by covering soil with green vegetation for 181 days which helps to prevent soil erosion and increase organic matter over time.

Minimize soil disturbance through controlled-traffic farming on potato fields. This means farm equipment should follow set paths for all field operations, reducing soil compaction.

Reduce agro-chemical impacts by selecting pesticides that are less toxic to humans and the environment and reducing fertilizer application by nearly 17 per cent compared to a typical McCain grower’s farm in the area, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately two per cent compared to grower historical average, while maintaining yields.

Integrate organic and livestock elements by ensuring 28 acres of cattle pasture on the Farm of the Future Canada and developing a rotational grazing schedule with livestock from a neighbouring farm.

To date, total yields from Farm of the Future New Brunswick are averaging between 360-390 cwt/acre depending on varieties and are competitive with other Canadian jurisdictions.

The objective of improving soil organic matter is, admittedly, a long-term goal accomplished over many years. McCain Foods is working closely with Dr. Paul Hebert, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Biodiversity at the University of Guelph. He’s known globally as the father of DNA barcoding, a system that classifies every biological species on earth.

“The next revolution will be understanding soil biodiversity,” says Leclerc, “and that means understanding the biology of the soil.”

Other partners include the Soil Health Institute in North Carolina and Living Labs, managed by Agriculture and AgriFood Canada. Leclerc expects Innovation Hubs to be set up on U.S. farms in 2023 to help share learnings to date.

The 2023 growing season at the Farm of the Future New Brunswick will represent the third season of tracking results in regenerative practices. Driving all of this ambition is to demonstrate not only environmental benefits but economic gains for farmers.

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