Fields to Forks: Five generations of potatoes in Azilda
It’s the "Pride of Azilda" just like it says on the bag. Don Poulin Potatoes has been a business that has seen five generations of farmers grow crops in the Greater Sudbury community of Azilda.
"At one time we were mixed farming like in the old times -- vegetables, cows and all that -- and all of a sudden, my grandpa and dad decided to go to potatoes. We used to grow 20 then 40 then 80 and now we’re up to 400 acres of potatoes," Dan Poulin said.
Poulin and his sister, Louise Mullally, took over the family business from their father. Now Poulin is currently working towards handing over the business to his son.
"So I got to pass the torch someday, so hopefully he’ll continue. He’s really involved. He’s doing a great job. So hopefully the grandsons are going to pick up after their dad," he said.
The potatoes can be found at several local restaurants and chip trucks in the Sudbury area as well as local grocery stores but they can also be found outside the nickel city.
"We go up north to Timmins, in the Sault, in Toronto. We have customers out in Toronto, Kingston, so yep they do travel all over in the Ontario region for sure, but mostly though in the Sudbury region locally," Mullally said.
The siblings said without community support and the evolution of technology, the company would not be in the position it is today. Poulin has been able to introduce GPS satellite fertilization into the operation, something he said not many farmers have, but he and his sister will never forget where it all started.
"It was all manual. We’d open a window in the basement, there’d be this wooden slide, and the employees would just slide the 75-pound jute bag in there," Mullally said.
Poulin Potatoes is currently working towards creating its own packing plant. And while Dan said he’d like to grow even more potatoes, the acres just aren’t there.
"The availability of our land is hard because there’s not too many. You need proper drainage for the potatoes, so sandy soil is the best and now it’s getting hard to purchase those lands," he said.
The family is in the midst of harvesting something they say will last until Thanksgiving, weather permitting. They will quickly fill six storage buildings and may even have to ship potatoes out right away if they run out of room. Mullally said it’s been a very successful year for the crops thanks to lots of rain over the summer months.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.