.jpg)
Company works with the Farming Smarter Association as it searches for options other than the century-old Russet Burbank variety
Russet Burbank has been the go to potato variety for Canadian farmers and consumers.
This year, McCain Foods in Chin, Alta., has entered a corporate partnership with the Farming Smarter Association to explore the viability of other varieties in its food processing plant for farmers to consider.
Farming Smarter is using one of its commercial plots to do a research trial growing four varieties using six treatments.
“We were really excited when (they) came to us expressing interest in getting into the potato research that they’re doing,” Amanda Crook, lead agronomist at McCain Foods, said during a Farming Smarter field school day.
McCain Foods is one of 32 companies that have research contracts with the association.
“Our core principle is not research, it’s growing the world’s best french fries,” she said.
“I would say that there’s been a (research) gap in Alberta. We are often looking to other regions to help fill our knowledge gap here because the research is not happening locally.”
McCain has been investing in the potato variety pipeline for the last five years because previous North American research has been primarily focused on Russet Burbank. However, the variety is more than 100 years old.
“It does the trick, but I think there’s opportunity for us to discover varieties that are improved, that have better efficiencies, water fertility, better pest and disease tolerances,” said Crook.
“(What) we’re trying to do is discover which which ones they are, and how can we integrate them into our system. Work with our our customers so that they can accept these new fries we’re bringing into the pipeline.”
Russett Burbank currently makes up most of the acreage contracts that McCain’s has with local farmers.
However, it is hoping that will no longer be the case by 2030 as new varieties are introduced.
When new varieties are launched, McCain wants commercial growers to have full confidence in them with a detailed agronomic package and best management practices.
“As as a producer, there’s a lot of you who get confidence when you get third-party data. It’s not McCain telling you that this is the best variety,” said Crook.
“It’s validated, non-biased, third-party research that’s going to give us the data straight as it is. We’re excited to see what the trial results are, and how we can continue to build our relationship going forward and be able to provide our producers, our growers, with the best economic information to kind of set them off on the right track when they do onboard a new variety on their farm.”