Genetic Seed Breeding / Potato Seed Growing / Regenerative Farming / Sustainable Storage & Packing / Loss-Preventive Processing
Explore our integrated closed loop.
In nature, growing happens when every input works together in a sustainable eco-system.
We’ve done the exact same thing. Our integrated and closed
eco-system lets us control and continuously re-think each step and the whole approach.The result? More potatoes, produce, and seed potato innovation. Less water, chemicals, waste, emissions, and energy. Your customers and our planet deserve no less.
Genetic Seed Breeding
Through our genetic improvement program that specializes in developing new potato varieties, and research into fertilization, storage and more, we’re creating new potato varieties, keeping existing varieties healthy, maintaining the genetic stock for the future. We’re securing food supplies by developing new varieties for taste, appearance, higher yield and disease resistance. We’re also creating exclusive, tailor-made varieties with growers, while helping them maintain peak seed potato quality in their warehouses, for less disease and waste.
We took a little break from our breeding and research activities to snap a few photos of how we do it.
Key Benefits
Preserving today’s varieties for the future
Securing tomorrow’s food supply
Using less water
Using less inputs
Reducing our carbon footprint
Key Benefits
Bio-isolation ensures unparalleled seed health
Reduced needs for imports
Peatland & forest create extensive natural carbon capture
Potato Seed Growing
It’s not just what but where: we grow disease-free, high-growth potatoes of several varieties in a perfect spot for bio-isolation. Production begins in growth chambers, then moves to greenhouses to grow the nuclear class mini tubers, which are field-grown and distributed to growers. Our growers influence many of our choices, like growing varieties that use less fertilizer and water or can better resist disease. We are also able to bring local specialty potatoes to market early, reducing imports.
This video may initially appear to be a lovely tour through quiet Quebec farmlands, but it’s actually a look at some of the most state-of-the-art seed potato production anywhere.
Regenerative Farming
Our loop runs on poop. Our regenerative farms have both crops and animals: the crops feed the animals whose manure feeds the soil. This, and the fact that no organic waste is removed, makes the soil so healthy it needs less water and chemicals. In fact, whatever we don’t use goes into a bio-digester and is turned into fertilizer that goes back on the fields.
We also help the soil by minimizing tillage and rotating crops on four-year cycles, which lowers disease establishment, too. Some growers even put solar farms on sheep pastures: they provide shade for the sheep, whose manure goes on the fields.
Don Lewis of Lewis Land & Stock is one of our growing partners. He’s such an articulate champion of regenerative agriculture that he’s the perfect person to tell you about it in this video.
Key Benefits
Everything is recycled, nothing is wasted
Soil remains healthy organically
Much lower chemical and water use
Key Benefits
Year-round fresh potato availability reduces imports
Environmentally-friendly natural cooling system boosts long-term storage
Up to 80% of water used to wash potatoes is recycled
Strategic location minimized transport impacts
Sustainable Storage & Packaging
Every step in our storage and packing has been sustainably re-thought. Our state-of-the-art facility uses fresh air cooling to maintain the best temperature for storing potatoes longer, which reduces loss as well as reliance on imports. It’s also close to the growing fields, decreasing transport emissions.
Farms use a lot of water, so reducing its use is a big part of sustainability. We’ve implemented a water recycling system that lets us re-use up to 80% of the water needed for washing our potatoes.
Even removing the mesh from our bags was transformative: they’re now 100% recyclable and compostable.
In this video, Josh Bester of Downey Farms takes you deep inside one of Ontario’s biggest – and most modern – sorting and storage operations.
Loss-Preventive Processing
Here’s where the eco-loop comes full circle. If a potato’s not a “#1,” we make it one by processing it into fries, peeled potatoes and cubed potatoes. Peelings and waste go back to the farm as feed, or go into the biodigester to make electricity and fertilizer. We introduced waterless peelers to Canada, our peeled potatoes save customers labour and waste, and we only use local potatoes, reducing carbon emissions.
We asked Keith Cohn of Cohn Farms to share just some of the waste-reduction and re-use strategies they employ. There’s way too many for a short video, but you get the idea.
Key Benefits
95% of all farmed produce used and re-used
Waste biodigested into biogas (energy generation) and fertilizer
Mountains of organic waste diverted from landfills