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Agriculture
Variety Development
One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four
Although hundreds of potato varieties exist, only a few have what it takes to grow well and make our top quality potato products. Our team of approximately 200 agriculturalists and agronomists are always looking to improve our products by researching and identifying the best potatoes for the job and for the region.
Once a new variety is created, it takes years of field experiments to find the best ways to grow it. Varieties that do well in one region may not perform as well in others. Only when the best management practices are perfected and the variety’s food quality is verified is the new introduction recommended for production.
In 2008 in Tasmania, Australia, we expanded the introduction of a new potato variety that is providing similar yields to our traditional varieties, but requires irrigation only eight times per season versus 10 times for the traditional variety, and also needs less fertilizer and fewer fungicides. While environmental impact varies among regions based on weather patterns, soil structure and more, this variety now represents a significant proportion of our potato volume in Argentina, Continental Europe and Poland and increasing volumes in Canada and the U.S.
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Globally the percentage of our total raw material supplied by new or non-standard varieties is approximately 13%.
McDonald’s Global Best of Sustainable Supply:
McCain has been recognized by McDonald’s for improving irrigation practices with local growers in India, resulting in greater potato yields, while using less water and electricity, as well as breeding more sustainable potatoes varieties globally
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