P.E.I. potatoes go to compost heap

Potato farmers in Prince Edward Island have waited as long as they can for Ottawa to get the U.S. border opened up for their product. Now, their crops are gone to waste.

Klaas Nieuwhof says running over tonnes of potatoes with a snowblower and blowing the chunks into his field is heartbreaking.

"You spend the last 10 months of the year trying to get the best potatoes," he said, "then you end up having to dump them on the field."

Nieuwhof's potatoes are among 135 million kilograms of P.E.I. spuds gone bad because the U.S. banned imports after potato wart was found in one field.

There are about 500 farmers in the potato industry in the province and they say they've lost $31 million in exports since the ban.

And while the fungus which makes potatoes unmarketable has been isolated, and other potatoes are clean, Ottawa has been unable to convince Washington to lift the ban.

Some, like Nieuwhof, believe the federal government hasn't tried very hard.

"It's politics that's wrong with these potatoes," said Nieuwhof.

He thinks the P.E.I. potatoes are being sacrificed in favour of other trade issues.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief says his department is working on a compensation package for the farmers, but won't talk about the details.

Discussions are ongoing, Vanclief says. Meanwhile, millions of perfectly good potatoes are going to compost.