With the harvest season underway, the impact of summer’s drought-like conditions is being unearthed in New Brunswick. Due to a lack of rainfall during the growing season, potato farmers say their yields are down significantly for fall 2020. reports Brandon Young, writer for CTVNewsAtlantic.ca.
Like many industries, the potato industry has been hit hard during a most unusual year. The first blow came earlier in the year – caused by COVID-19 and restaurant shutdowns; the second came from Mother Nature with arid weather during the summer months.
With the growing season come and gone, potatoes farmers aren’t seeing as bountiful a harvest as previous years.
“Unfortunately, most producers saw about one-tenth of the precipitation they needed to have a successful growing season,” says Potatoes New Brunswick executive director, Matt Hemphill. “What that translates to is about a 25-50 per cent yield reduction throughout the province – that quickly adds up to $45M-$50M in revenue loss.”
Source: CTV News. Full report and a video here
Photo: CTV News
