Ian Petrie on Potatoes

Ian Petrie’s recent post on the “potato shortage” on Prince Edward Island, Mashed Potatoes, is a worthwhile read. He writes, in part:

What’s really at play is a kind of psychological warfare:  once one of the hundreds of potato sellers agrees to a price, then everyone else is expected to match it, and it’s hard to say no to sale. Producers constantly live with the anxiety that they won’t sell their potatoes and will end up feeding them to cattle in the Spring. And it’s THESE producer/dealers that the United officials were really trying to talk to this past week: “There’s no over supply, don’t worry about moving your crop, and make sure you’re getting as much money as possible” Industry watchers know this kind of market situation doesn’t come along very often, and farmers can’t squander it.

We’re all lucky to have Ian’s deep knowledge of the primary industries still available to us; and it’s even better now that it’s not cloaked in the limitations of the CBC.