It has been a couple months since I last posted, but one of our recent articles on SpudSmart.com is garnering a lot of views. People are curious about soil and soil health. I’m a soil guy myself: I am fascinated by the life that exists below our feet, and how we can promote and support […]
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 […]
In this second segment of our blog aimed at potato seed growers, let me throw a shocking finding at you: A recent scientific research paper stated that up to 68% of all seed potatoes sold in the Pacific Northwest are infected with verticillium. If you are one of the very lucky few who don’t currently […]
Are you a potato seed farmer? Then this will be of interest to you. We conducted a two-year trial comparing potatoes grown in soil where disease was managed with the soil fumigant Strike (active ingredient: chloropicrin) versus potatoes grown in soil that was not treated with Strike. Based on what we observed in the field […]
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 […]
You may have recently read the 3-part series in SpudSmart telling of how Strike soil fumigant is fast becoming the potato industry’s worst-kept secret (links to those articles). The campaign idea came from a call with our sales team. Our account manager Jason brought up how his growers may not be eager to provide testimonials. […]
WHEN — Tue, Dec. 13, 2022 at 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ESTVisit https://strikefumigants.com/potato-school-2022/ to sign up before Dec. 13. WHAT — Potato School is a half day, free-to-all virtual learning event hosted by TriCal Group for anyone in the potato business. Since soil-borne disease is our passion, Potato School focuses mostly on best practices, new research, and notable findings around […]
Recently, SpudSmart published the first article in a 3-part series titled, “Ontario Potato Farmer Notches 100% Yield Increase”. You can access the article here: https://spudsmart.com/ontario-potato-farmer-notches-100-yield-increase/ or read on! PART I: Ontario Potato Farmer Notches 100% Yield Increase Four years ago at a farm show, I happened to cross paths with a long-time, forward-thinking potato grower […]
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 […]
