P.E.I. weighs fewer acres for potatoes

SUMMERSIDE, Prince Edward Island – A committee has been formed by the Prince Edward Island Potato Board to consider permanently reducing potato acreage in the province.

The board implemented one-year voluntary buydowns over the past two years, but now a number of growers wants to make the reductions permanent.

Ivan Noonan, the board’s general manager, said a series of information sessions will be held across the island in mid-January to discuss how or if that should be done.

Growers slashed their production by approximately 8,500 acres last year and 9,500 acres the year before to shore up prices and reduce oversupply.

Their efforts were coordinated with other potato-producing states and provinces across North America.

The Maine Potato Board says potatoes were planted on 59,000 acres in the state in 2006, an increase of about 3 percent over 2005.

There are nearly 400 potato growers in Maine.