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A hot potato in New Brunswick

Broadcast Date: Dec. 1, 1975

The humble spud is big business in New Brunswick. In the Saint John River valley, the potato is the primary crop for hundreds of small farmers and one very big corporation: McCain's. Besides processing potatoes for the global frozen french-fry market, McCain's sells fertilizer and farm machinery and grows more than a few tubers, too. With pressure to buy supplies from McCain's and sell potatoes to them only, small farmers are feeling the pinch.

According to this CBC Radio documentary, McCain's is virtually the only potato buyer in the region. Unless farmers sign a pre-season contract with McCain's, they can't be sure of selling their crop. They must then accept the McCain's price, even if market prices are higher. But a McCain's representative says that in 11 of the previous 15 years, the contract price was higher than the market rate, favouring the farmer over McCain's.

A hot potato in New Brunswick

• By definition, a corporate farm is any agricultural operation owned and managed by a corporation. Many such farms are large operations owned by a family that chooses to incorporate to gain certain tax advantages and ease the farm's transition to the next generation.
• The farm corporation then rents land from other farmers and pays them to farm it. These farmers retain ownership of their land while earning a steady salary without assuming many of the financial risks inherent to farming.

• Because potatoes are heavy, with a water content of about 80 per cent, they are expensive to transport and therefore must be grown close to their market or processing plant.
• Unlike other farmers, potato growers can't stockpile their crop until a better price comes along. Potatoes will keep for only about nine months, and they must be stored and transported carefully to maintain their quality.

• McCain's is a private, family-owned multinational food processor that sells more frozen french fries than any other company in the world.
• The company began producing frozen french fries at a plant in Florenceville, N.B., in 1957. In the decades since, it has built or acquired plants all around the world, including the United States, Argentina, several European countries, South Africa, China and Australia.
• See a CBC Archives clip about the potato's journey from humble spud to crisp potato chip.

A hot potato in New Brunswick

Medium: Radio

Program: Five Nights

Broadcast Date: Dec. 1, 1975

Guest(s): David Malcolm, Harrison McCain

Reporter: David Folster

Duration: 13:00

Last updated:
June 8, 2005