Manitoba potato industry fears big losses as companies cut orders
Producers say orders from big companies down anywhere from 10% to 100%: farm owner
The Manitoba potato industry — from seed producers to those who grow the main crops — is scrambling to adjust to news that the companies they supply are slashing orders, leaving them facing potentially huge losses.
"I know there's some seed growers that are gonna get hurt a lot worse than others," said Mark Peters, who owns Spruce Drive Farms just north of Portage la Prairie, where he grows around 80 hectares (200 acres) of seed potatoes, but calls himself "pretty small" in comparison to other farms in the province.
"Definitely some of the larger seed growers, they're going to be probably losing at least $1 million, maybe more, [worth] of seed that they have in storage that might not have a home."
A seed potato is one that can be replanted to produce a potato crop. Peters sells his to potato growers, who use them to create their yields.
"It was a shock to me, because I was under the impression everything was good. With the weather warming up, we're able to start shipping our seed to the growers," he said.
But just as the wheels were set into motion, they stopped.
"That started here last week on Thursday. [We] got a call Friday saying, 'yeah, we're gonna have to cut our contract with you by half because we got cut by half from McCains," Peters said.
McCain Foods Limited and J.R. Simplot Company are the two biggest buyers of potatoes in the province, using them for a variety of frozen potato products that are supplied to grocery stores.
In 2024, Alberta produced 23.7 per cent of Canadian potatoes, followed by Manitoba (21.6 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (20.4 per cent), according to Statistics Canada.
"It's a big part of our economy. There's a lot of money involved in the potato industry," Peters said.
'Trying to figure out what exactly is going on'
Producers he has spoken to said the cuts in orders range from 10 per cent to 100 per cent, which creates a trickle-down effect.
"As a seed grower, that means that now you're going to be stuck with seed that you grew, and that's another pill to swallow," Peters said.
"So it's pretty frustrating as a seed grower to try and grow for these [producers] that have promised they want this seed, but then when spring comes and it's time to take it now they can't.
"Their hands are tied too, so it is kind of a messy situation."
It's unclear why the cuts are happening, and whether they're related to the ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S., said Peters.
CBC News reached out to a number of potato growers in the Portage la Prairie and Carberry areas, all of whom declined to speak.
Seed producers in the province have started meeting to discuss their options, Peters said.
"We're trying to sort out what to do with the extra … where to ship it, or do we just toss it, or what we're going to do," he said.
"There's not very many seed growers in the province and we're all on the same team. We don't want to undercut anyone else. So we have to stick to our prices … and we're just gonna see where the chips fall."
Tariff contingency not enough: PCs
Jeff Bereza, the Progressive Conservative agriculture critic and MLA for Portage la Prairie, told reporters Tuesday he's heard from many growers who are worried about the situation and "talking about very heavy cuts."
Companies like McCain and Simplot "have to look at market conditions, and the market conditions they're looking … at right now have tariffs," Bereza said.
"The trickle-down effect there is, what's it going to do to the staff in those plants? What's it going to do to those people that supply agronomic services?"
Bereza said the $100 million the NDP government has set aside for the agriculture sector as part of the tariff response contingency in its latest budget won't go far enough to support potato or canola growers, who also face tariffs from China.
"We've known about these tariffs … since before [U.S.] President Trump was elected," he said.
"It's something that we should have been working on months ago to make sure that we were not at this situation that we're in right now."
Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said he's set up a meeting with Keystone Agricultural Producers for Friday.
In a statement, the minister accused the PCs of "playing politics" and said the provincial government is committed to using a "Team Canada" approach to tackling the issue.
"We will continue to work with the federal minister to develop exceptional changes to ag programs, and we will work with all producers facing market uncertainty," Kostyshyn said.
Keystone said in an email Tuesday it won't comment at this time because it's currently in negotiations with the processors.
WATCH | Tories call for help for Manitoba potato producers:
Peters said he hopes seed producers have a better idea of their situation in a couple of weeks, once the growers figure out what varieties they want and how much they intend to plant this year.
"I hope things get figured out here sooner than later. Spring is just around the corner, so it's going to hit us really quick here," Peters said. "It would be nice to know what we're doing."
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With files from Meaghan Ketcheson and Ian Froese