Jeff Douglas, the founder of our affiliate Douglas Ag and exclusive Canadian distributor of the soil fumigant Strike, has a simple model: one grower, one trial, one success at a time. Growers are hesitant at first about Strike, but once they try it, can’t imagine farming without it. As an example, one road in New […]
This month I wrote an article for SpudSmart titled: What Global Lessons Have we Learned About the Suppression of Black Dot? Working closely with potato growers around the world, I’ve seen firsthand how much yield and quality can be lost to diseases that go unnoticed or unmanaged. One of the most underestimated culprits is black […]
Back in May, Spud Smart published an article I wrote on verticillium management and it has been one of our most read articles so far this year. I hope you find it useful. Trapped in a Circular Discussion on Verticillium Management I just stepped out of a meeting between several university agronomy faculty members and […]
During my interview with Joy Youwakim, an agroecology scientist at Biome Makers, she defined some key differences between organic and regenerative agriculture that bears repeating. Joy: “There’s a difference between regenerative and organic agriculture. In organic, there are rules about what you can and what you cannot use. With regenerative ag, there is nuance: there […]
Potato Wart was discovered in the United States in Pennsylvania in 1918, and then later in Maryland and West Virginia. It was eradicated in 1994 and has not been detected since. But for our neighbors to the north and around the world, certain regions wrestle and worry about this disease that can lead to the destruction […]
I’ve been busy writing up some of the great work being done to support farmers with disease suppression, yield increases, and soil health restoration. Read on for more information that we hope will be useful on your farm… What’s Biting into Your Farm’s Economic and Environmental Sustainability? In this article, I discuss the hidden yield […]
I recently had the pleasure of authoring three articles for SpudSmart. I hope you enjoy them!
Sustainability is something that takes time to appreciate. Sustainability is part of wisdom. You believe that the gifts the land provides your family are not a given. Your grandfather used to say, “Take care of the soil and it will take care of you”.
Soil Health is a relatively new phrase in agriculture that describes the important role soil plays in the long-term sustainability of crop land. Soil health involves a productive balance of soil chemistry (nutrients), soil physics (structure), and soil biology (soil microorganisms). The potato industry needs productive, healthy soils to remain competitive. Therefore, it is good to […]
Farming has always been a business that succeeds through innovation. Farming innovations over the years have allowed farms to increasingly produce more potatoes per acre staying ahead of cost of production. As potato production costs increase, one has to sell more potatoes to cover the higher cost of production. Production efficiency is a term that can be […]
