From the Ground Up - McCain Foods Limited

Just as McCain Foods had little expertise in food-processing technology when it
started operations in 1957, so it possessed minimal expertise in agronomy. But it
quickly became evident that the better the raw materials, the better the product, and
the McCain brothers made it company policy to build up expertise in agronomy.
The potato is far more complex than it looks. The quality of the potato that arrives
on the processing line depends on many factors, including good seed, climate, soil
chemistry, pests and viruses, and the conditions in which it is stored before processing.
McCain conducts agricultural research and development at its various operations.
In Canada, research is carried out at the McCain Research Farm at Florenceville.
McCain Foods has a global virtual breeding program for developing new potato varieties.
Its specialists look at hundreds of potential new varieties each year from breeders
around the world. They also do contract breeding with specialized institutes.
“If we were to start over again and travel the world to decide where we were
going to start with a factory, I don’t think Florenceville would be high on the list,”
says Ghislain Pelletier, vice-president of corporate agriculture. New Brunswick
has a short growing season, which makes it difficult to grow Russet Burbanks,
the potato of choice for french fries in North America. Moreover, the shorter season
results in smaller yields than can be obtained in regions with longer seasons.
134 f rom the Ground up
the home front 135
TOP LEFT: Trial field in
Maine of organically grown
potatoes.
TOP rIGhT: Don Young,
creator of the Shepody
variety, and grower Pablo
Serra in a field of elite-grade
Panda potatoes near Temuco,
Chile.
FACING PAGE: A field of
Shepody potatoes.