Potatoes in Canada

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Surplus of potatoes donated to Charlottetown food bank from Harrington Research Farm

February 24, 2023  By Potatoes in Canada


In the past, most of the potatoes grown at the Harrington Research Farm in central P.E.I. would be composted. Some would be turned into animal feed, and the rest would become potato starch.

But now, as the CBC reports, they have a new purpose — feeding hungry Islanders.

“Since we’re in Prince Edward Island, obviously potatoes are what we grow a lot of and they’re in our rotation crops all the time,” said Chris Kirby, acting associate director of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Charlottetown Research and Development Centre, which operates the farm.

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“We never want to compete with a farmer, but we also want to feed the Canadian public.”

The farm grows produce for a variety of reasons, including improving best practices, testing pest resistance, and as rotational crops to keep soil healthy.

“We have to keep things going under the standard conditions that are used in Prince Edward Island,” said Kirby.

Crops that are experimented on will still be directed away from human consumption, but the spuds grown in typical farm conditions will now end up at Charlottetown’s Upper Room Hospitality Ministry.

Visit here to read the full story from CBC.


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