There were five locations across the province, including:

• G. Visser & Sons, Orwell Cove
• R.A. Rose and Sons Ltd., Northlake Harbour Rd., Souris
• Blue Bay Farms, Buntain Rd., Rustico
• Vanco Farms, Oyster Bed
• W.P. Griffin, Route 145, Tyne Valley West

The event welcomed over 5,000 guests and gave away over 150,000 lbs. of potatoes. There was also a total of $8,350 received in donations for local food banks.

Charlottetown, February 11, 2022 – “This is a devastating week for potato farmers in Prince Edward Island. The worst-case scenario for any farmer is happening across the province – the destruction of safe and healthy food.

The closure of the U.S. border to PEI tablestock potatoes and restriction of movement of all seed potato by the Canadian Minister of Agriculture has left PEI growers with more than 300 million pounds of potatoes with nowhere to go, and farmers with no other options.

Over the last three months, our industry has worked tirelessly to move as much food as possible to new markets and those who need it including food banks and shelters across the country.

While we appreciate the efforts of everyone working to get the border open, 12 weeks ago we warned this was coming, and now it is here. It is a gut wrenching, traumatic experience for any farmer, and made worse knowing it was completely avoidable.

Unfortunately, this does not mark the end of the turmoil. Our industry is just weeks away from planting for next season and without a U.S. market that could mean tougher decisions and times ahead for Island potato farmers and the whole industry across the country.”

For more information on the PEI Potato situation visit: isupportpeipotatoes.ca/news-and-media-resources/

Colton Griffin

Colton Griffin, the 28-year-old, third generation farmer who has been farming for 10 years at W.P. Griffin farm, said the situation makes him wonder about the future.

“I never really turned back. You have to really enjoy what you do and I do enjoy farming. But now this whole situation makes me wonder if there were easier things that could have happened in my life. There are a lot of things you can’t control like what we are experiencing right now and it definitely makes me wonder if it’s all worth it.”

The W.P. Griffin farm normally employs some 60 staff working two shifts a day for six days a week. Now, they are down to 25-30 staff, including office staff, and only one shift a day for a couple of days per week. Griffin noted that many of the staff have worked on the farm since before he was born.
They have already been destroying potatoes – about half of the crop.

Robin Steijn:

Robin Stejin, a 24-year-old, ninth generation potato farmer who has worked at the Stejin Potato farm since 2002, said he is now concerned about his future.

“It’s probably one of the things that’s on my mind pretty much all the time. I’m just wondering if this is what I really want to go into. What if this type of situation is going to happen every 20 years? That doesn’t work.”

As a result, the Stejin Potato farm will have to destroy at least three million pounds of potatoes. The potato destruction is planned for this Saturday, Feb. 12.

Charlottetown, PEI, Monday, December 20, 2021 – A convoy of almost 40 trucks, including 16 potato trucks carrying half a million pounds of fresh potatoes, made its way through the streets of Charlottetown today along with series of heartfelt messages directed at the federal government.

“The last four weeks have been horrible for Island farmers, but we’re not giving up,” said John Visser, Prince Edward Island farmer and Chairman of the PEI Potato Board. “We are here to show the federal government, who walked us into this situation, how we’re feeling and the impact their ineffective action is having.”

On November 22, despite the fact that no potato wart has ever left the Island in the 20 years it’s been managed, and finding it in an area of far less than one acre in total, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency placed a ban on the export of fresh PEI Potatoes to the United States with the approval of Canadian Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau.

Charlottetown, P.E.I., December 8, 2021 – A small group of PEI potato industry representatives, joined by Island Premier Dennis King, gathered today on Parliament Hill to distribute fresh PEI potatoes to some 6,000 passerby. Part of ongoing efforts to reverse a sudden ban on exports of Island potatoes to the U.S., the group, with its many supporters, continues to search and call for a way to lift the ban. The PEI Potato Board, one of the organizers of today’s grassroots initiative, estimates some 16 million pounds of potatoes worth more than $4.8 million have been lost to date due to the inaccessibility of U.S. fresh potato markets usually serviced by the province’s potato farmers. The United States market represents a value of $120 million annually to the Prince Edward Island potato industry. The ban is also having a negative effect on other export and domestic markets.

“Losing a large part of your loyal and regular customer base, so suddently and at this time of the year, is a huge defeat and, quite frankly, a catsrophe for our family farmers,” says Greg Donald, general manager of the PEI Potato Board, an organization that represents more than 175 potato farmers in PEI “If there’s any consolation it’s that people on both sides of the border seem to care deeply about our wellbeing and would like to see a return to normal and friendly trade relations. People appreciate our potatoes and don’t see a reason to penalize our farmers in this way.”

Representatives from national organizations such as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Ontario Potato Board also attended to show their support.

“Even with the cold and snow, the good people of Ottawa that we met were all smiles, which is what we like to see when we’re trading in potatoes,” said John Visser, a third-generation farmer from Victoria, Prince Edward Island who joined the group. “We know there can be a great deal of complex topics when it comes to trade, but open markers for potatoes shouldn’t be one of them. We are here today to express to our federal officials how urgent it is to end this ban so we can deliver our potatoes to the plates and people that are expecting them this winter.”

Over the past two weeks, the PEI Potato Board has been working around the clock with farmers, Island government representatives and The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and her team, as well as other partners and experts to come to amicable and fruitful terms with partners south of the border.

The P.E.I. Potato Board has compiled a small sampling of the activities they have documented on the island over the past 10 days.

Starting December 2, , Northumberland Ferries is distributing 1,000 bags of potatoes – one bag to every passenger, until they’re gone.

Paul Llewellyn from Remax Charlottetown set up a truckload of 20 lb potato bags and handed them out to Islanders on November 28.

Birt’s Furniture, a Charlottetown-based furniture store is providing a 10lb bag of P.E.I. Potatoes with every purchase.

Maritime Junior A Hockey League team, Summerside Capitals, donned P.E.I. Potato logo stickers on their helmets.

Bogside Brewery in Montague, P.E.I., picked up a load of potatoes and is offering them to Islanders as “Pay-What-You-Can” with donations going to local food banks.

Crafters Smokehouse, also in Montague, is highlighting the “Mighty PEI Potato” with three unique poutine dishes, dubbing it “Poutine-A-Palooza”.

Famous Peppers in Charlottetown is giving away a 5 lb bag of potatoes with every purchase of its famous “Spud Islander” Potato Pizza.

21 Breakwater Restaurant in Souris, P.E.I., is running a potato skin special appetizer. Chef Paul LaPierre created the dish and invites Islanders to come and enjoy the “Best potatoes in the world, and support your local farmers.”

Water’s Edge Restaurant in Charlottetown is offering a complimentary side of Chef’s Choice P.E.I. Potatoes with every meal.

Jacqueline Sorensen Young Piano Studio, an independent music teacher in Charlottetown, is sending home a bag of potatoes with her students at the end of every lesson.

“Potatoes are very important to our Island, our history and our economy,” says Brian Gallant, sales associate at Birt’s Furniture. “Supporting P.E.I. Potatoes is very, very important to us.”

“The potato industry on P.E.I. is #1,” says Paul Llewellyn from Remax Charlottetown. “There’s nothing else that contributes to this society like potatoes. I’m really hopeful that things will turn around for them. We’ll do everything we can to support them as Islanders.”

“On P.E.I., supporting local means everything,” says Brad Campbell of Bogside Brewery, Crafters and Famous Peppers. “Being a small island, we need to band together and help each other out.”

Charlottetown, P.E.I., November 25, 2021 – The Prince Edward Island Potato Board, on behalf of its more than 175 members, urges all Canadians to work together to protect potato farmers in the wake of the decision earlier this week by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to suspend potato exports from the island to its longstanding U.S. customers and partners.

“Each year, our hard-working farmers, supported by their network of partners, deliver more than 270 million pounds of fresh and wholesome potatoes to the U.S.,” says Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board. “Over the past 20 years, there has not been a single incidence of potato wart – in any market – attributable to Prince Edward Island potatoes. We have faith in our potatoes, and so does everyone, even the minister of agriculture herself.”

The P.E.I. potato industry is worth more than $1.3 billion to the island’s economy annually. It employs more than 5,000 people directly or indirectly. The U.S. market represents a value of $120 million to the Prince Edward Island potato industry, also annually.

“Our potatoes feed an estimated nine million people each year in the U.S.,” says Donald. “At a time when consumers are already facing rising food costs and food bank use has increased, trade restrictions with no scientific rationale are not good for anyone – farmers, retailers or consumers. Our message to the CFIA and our U.S. trade partner is ‘let our potatoes go.’”

The P.E.I. Potato Board is calling for an immediate reversal of government-imposed restrictions on the movement of fresh potatoes. It calls on representatives on both sides of the border to resolve this issue promptly.