From the Ground Up - McCain Foods Limited

A Russian potato field in the
black soil region.
“If you don’t get the agronomy right,” Harrison McCain once said, “nothing else matters.”
The reason is obvious: you can’t make a good french fry from a bad potato. No
potato-processing company works harder on agronomy than McCain. The company
employs one hundred agronomists in various parts of the world to maintain and improve
the quality of the potatoes its growers produce.
An important issue for McCain in Europe was that its big customer, McDonald’s,
wanted potatoes of the same variety, Russet Burbank, that it used at home in the
United States. The Russet Burbank is not grown at all in the Netherlands, and growers
in other parts of Europe avoid it because of the risk of disease and the higher fungicide
requirements than other varieties. The other problem with Russet Burbanks in
Europe is that a russet-skinned potato isn’t a popular table potato, as it is in North
Growing potatoes
Harrison McCain used to say, “If you don’t measure it, you do not
manage it.” McCain’s agronomists apply this principle when helping
growers make the right decisions to maximize quality and yield.
The agronomists pass on the knowledge gained from trials carried
out in various parts of the world so that growers everywhere may
implement and benefit from the best practices in growing potatoes
for processing.
3. This planter plants two rows of
potatoes at a time.
7. Fields are scouted for diseases
as part of the integrated pest
management program to minimize
use of artificial chemicals.
11. The windrower lifts potatoes and
puts them in between the rows for
the harvester to collect.
4. Good soil preparation and good
seed assure that the potato plants
emerge from the soil evenly.
8. Sampling during the growing
period provides a preview of the
quality and yield of the coming crop.
12. The harvester’s movable belt
carefully deposits the potatoes into
an accompanying truck.
1. Plowing is usually done in the fall,
to minimize weeds and to incorporate
remainders of the previous crop.
5. After the plants have fully emerged,
the cultivator destroys weeds and
enhances the ridges on which the
potato plants grow.
9. Potatoes may be harvested
while still green if they are used
immediately for processing.
13. A grader removes excessive
soil and foreign matter before the
potatoes are put into storage.
92 From the Ground up
Across the chA nnel 93
2. French fry processors want varieties
with large, long potatoes. In many
regions, large seed potatoes are cut in
two or more seed pieces.
6. Hilling further builds a ridge to
retain moisture and maintain the right
soil temperature while protecting
tubers from direct sunlight.
10. Harvesting crews wait in the early
morning for the soil to warm up.
Harvesting when the soil is cold can
damage potatoes.
14. Potatoes are transferred to a
ventilated storage building, where
they are piled over ducts emitting
forced air to dry and cool them.