Peter, left, and Juston Schmidt receive the Peak of the Market Grower of the Year award from Peak chief executive officer Pamela Kolochuk.
A commitment to food safety and meeting top grading standards are paying off for the Schmidt family. Peter Schmidt and son Juston were recently recognized by Peak of the Market and received the Grower of the Year award. Peak of the Market chief executive officer Pamela Kolochuk said the award is given annually to a Manitoba potato grower who supplies produce to the not-for-profit vegetable wholesaler.
“There are four factors we consider — co-operation, food safety, returns and reductions, and grade out,” she said.
Co-operation reflects the year-round dealings that the grower has with Peak staff. Food safety is rated according to current federal farm safety standards. Returns and reductions and grade out pertain to the overall quality and cleanliness of product delivered to Peak including the amount of dockage. Kolochuk said eight growers were vying for the award, which was based on the 2020 crop and presented at Peak’s annual general meeting.
“All growers have high grading standards,” Kolochuk said. “The Schmidts had 100 percent on food safety and no returns or reductions. They’ve been working to improve in these areas and it paid off.” Juston Schmidt said he and his family are honoured. “They’re a great company to supply. They have high standards.”
He credited the people they employ, including agronomists with KR Crop Check, and Heartland Fresh Pak that sorts and washes their potatoes, with helping his family win the award. The Schmidts’ farm, located near Winkler, Man., was started by Juston’s grandfather, then passed to his father and uncles. His mother, Hannah, and his wife, Stacey, now work with his father and himself.
They follow a three- to four-year rotation of corn, beans and wheat but their main crop during the past 10 years has been potatoes. They grow 10 different varieties with red-skinned Norland and Sangre and yellow-skinned Musica being the top three. About 80 percent of their harvest goes to Peak with the remainder to Simplot Canada and McCain Foods.
In 2020 they grew about 12.7 tonnes of potatoes thanks to good weather conditions. Juston said the Schmidts rely on spring run-off as a moisture source and don’t irrigate. “In 2020, we had more rain and favourable weather with moisture in the ground. It was a better yielding year,” he said. “It was one of our best crops.” He added that the hot, dry conditions throughout the 2021 growing season resulted in a 10 to 25 percent yield decrease.
- Peak of the Market is a “not for profit” company driven by a dedicated group of growers and staff, with the goal of providing our customers with the best quality and service available. We are PEAK! Peak of the Market has grown quality produce for 78 years and supplies over 100 different varieties of vegetables. We are year round suppliers of various vegetables as Manitoba growers have one of the most technologically advanced storage programs anywhere in North America. Many vegetables can be stored for long periods in controlled environment storage facilities.
- In these storage facilities, the temperature, humidity and air movement are carefully monitored to ensure the vegetables are maintained in optimum condition to provide excellent quality and value to consumers. Some of the vegetables that can be stored for long periods are Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Parsnips, Cabbage and Shallots.
- Peak of the Market vegetables have the well-deserved reputation for excellent quality. Our quality standards exceed the national standards and we stand behind the produce we grow. Peak of the Market was one of the first produce suppliers in North America to have a toll free consumer response line to address any consumer concerns.
- Peak of the Market, along with the growers, employs over 1,000 Manitobans and injects over 130 million dollars a year into the economy. In addition to shipping vegetables in Canada, we also ship throughout the United States, and occasionally into Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Peak of the Market’s last 5 years have proven to be the highest sales years in the company’s 78-year history with 2019/20 being the highest sales year ever. These record-breaking sales were accomplished by obtaining sales in markets across North America including California, Florida, Texas and Washington. These areas also produce a large supply of vegetables but they recognize the quality and taste difference that Peak of the Market vegetables provide.
