Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand March/April 2020 | Page 26

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FACTS
Possible French Fry Shortage After Poor Harvest
After cold wet weather damaged potato crops for key producers in the US
and Canada, potato processors were scrambling to find potatoes in order
to keep french fry production numbers up. As the wild weather hurt crops,
an increase in fry-processing capacity in Canada has boosted demand. The
combination will lead to tight supplies, and it’s likely potato prices could climb
this year across North America, says Stephen Nicholson, a senior grains and
oilseeds analyst at Rabobank. International costs may also rise as the US won’t
be able to export as much. “French fry demand has just been outstanding lately,
and so supplies can’t meet the demand,” says Travis Blacker, industry-relations
director with the Idaho Potato Commission. The United Potato Growers of Canada
estimates about 18 per cent of Manitoba’s planted area was left unharvested, while the
USDA forecasts drop of 6.1 per cent in the US this year.
— bloomberg.com
Hardest Plant to Grow? Wasabi
Most horticultural experts will tell you wasabi is the hardest plant to grow commercially.
That’s probably why it fetches $550 per pound on the market. There are several reasons
why it’s so hard to cultivate. First is the difficulty in finding seeds. One farmer said it
took nearly six years to source viable seeds. Wasabi is also very finicky and too much
humidity or the wrong nutrient composition can destroy an entire crop. While
needing plenty of water, wasabi can’t be submerged like a water lily and it’s
very prone to disease when planted on a large scale. Wasabi takes more
than a year to mature, so cultivators need a lot of patience before seeing
returns on their investment. And that wasabi at your local sushi
restaurant? It’s not wasabi at all; rather it’s a mix of horseradish,
mustard, and food colouring. Only five per cent of restaurants
in the world serve real wasabi.
— spoon-tomago.com
Report Details How EPA Is Promoting ‘Worst of the Worst Pesticides’
A new review into approved pesticide products in the US from 2017-18 shows the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowed 69 new products containing an
ingredient the EPA recognises as a “known” or “likely” carcinogen. The review, Toxic
Hangover: How the EPA Is Approving New Products With Dangerous Pesticides It
Committed to Phasing Out, slams the EPA for knowingly approving new pesticides
with dangerous chemicals. “It’s disgusting that rather than do the right thing
and phase out the worst of the worst pesticides, the EPA is quietly encouraging
their ongoing use,” says Nathan Donley, a scientist at the Center for Biological
Diversity, which released the report. Recently approved pesticides included
15 new products containing neurotoxic carbamates or organophosphates (OPs),
including chlorpyrifos. The EPA also green-lighted six new products containing
paraquat, which is so lethal that one spoonful can kill a full-grown adult.
— commondreams.org
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