In pictures: Back to the fields for P.E.I.'s potato farmers
After a difficult year in which perfectly edible potatoes were destroyed because of a ban on exports to the United States, farmers on P.E.I. are back in the fields for planting season.
Planting season begins after difficult year for farmers
CBC News ·
G Visser and Sons started in 1954 when the Vissers immigrated from Holland. Gerrit Visser passed along his love and respect for the land to his sons William and Randy Visser, who with other family members farm the land today. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
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After a difficult year in which perfectly edible potatoes were destroyed because of a ban on exports to the United States, farmers on P.E.I. are back in the fields for planting season.
The ban, imposed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency after potato wart was discovered in two fields on P.E.I., lasted from November to April, costing farmers millions of dollars in lost revenue.
And now, another season is underway.
CBC drone pilot Shane Hennessey shot these photos from a G Visser & Sons potato field in Roseberry, P.E.I., last week.
The Vissers plant a field in potatoes six rows at a time with this planter. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
Many P.E.I. potato farmers, including Vissers, had a rough shipping season this winter, destroying millions of pounds of potatoes in February because the U.S. border was closed. The ban was lifted on April 1 and farmers are hoping for smoother sailing this season. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
Tractors with GPS technology make planting straight rows easier than ever. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
Planting is always a time of great hope on Island farms as growers begin the work of growing crops to feed not only locals, but thousands of families across North America. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
For Randy Visser and his nephew, Ben Visser, it was a relief to be able to plan for this season, knowing that exports to the U.S. had resumed. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
