Next to eastern Ontario in a beautiful Laurentian Mountain valley is a pocket of level sandy soils, lots of irrigation water and totally isolated for growing excellent seed potatoes. Here we find the Desjardins family farm of 1500 acres with 17 center pivots growing seed potatoes along with non gmo rotation crops of soybeans, maize, wheat and a mixture of green manure crops in a 4-year crop rotation, writes Dr. Peter VanderZaag in an article published by the Ontario Seed Potato Growers Association (OSPGA).
Bernard, from New Brunswick and his wife Ginette Cardinal, from southern Quebec, set out to start a potato farm and found just what they could afford here in Notre Dame de La Paix in 1996. In 2000 they registered as seed potato growers.
They were also blessed with 2 sons, Tommy and Vincent. Now the family of 4 grow just over 300 acres annually of high-quality seed of all generations from Nuclear to E3 on their farm.
Ginette wanted to learn to do tissue culture herself and set up their own nuclear seed potato production greenhouse. Arrangements were made for her to come to SPUD in New Liskeard in 2016 to learn how it was done. After her study time there and due to circumstances back home, she decided that why would I do that if SPUD can do it for us with the excellent work and protocol that they do in New Liskeard.
That is how the cooperation with OSPGA developed and they are now one of our [OSPGA] stronger members!
Pomme de Terre Laurentiennes Inc grows seed potatoes for the french fry, chip and table sectors of the market with a strong connection to growers in Ontario for all their seed potatoes. Their most widely grown varieties are Colomba, Pomerelle Russet and 11 other varieties including Lamoka and Waneta.
The business not only gets their nuclear seed from SPUD but also from few other suppliers in eastern Canada and the western USA.
Source: Ontario Seed Potato Growers Association (OSPGA). Read the full article here
Cover image: Pomme de Terre Laurentiennes Inc nuclear seed plots.
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