Sunnyside Farms Ltd. in Coaldale contributes to region’s success along agri-food corridor

Sunny South News Photo by Kristine Jean. COALDALE'S NEWEST POTATO STORAGE FACILITY: Sunnyside Farms Ltd. is a partnership consisting of Perry Farms, east of Coaldale, and two local cattle feedlot producers in Lethbridge County, Kasko Cattle Ltd. and KCL Cattle.

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

Coaldale’s newest potato storage facility is the result of innovation, collaboration and a passion for high quality potatoes.

Sunnyside Farms Ltd. is a partnership consisting of Perry Farms, east of Coaldale, owned by potato farmer Chris Perry, and two local cattle feedlot producers in Lethbridge County, Kasko Cattle Ltd. and KCL Cattle.  

The facility grows and harvests Russet Burbank potatoes, the most popular potato variety for french fry production in Alberta. Most of the facility’s potato production is in the Sunnyside area – located between Coaldale and Lethbridge, north of Highway 3.  

“Lots of our production is there, but we put our storage facility here (in Coaldale)  for good access to the highway systems so we can ship our potatoes conveniently to the processors we work with,” said Brody Curtis, general manager at Sunnyside Farms Ltd.  

Curtis noted how the partnership between the three local farms came together and pointed out the opportunity for increased potato production for the french fry market, with McCain Foods Canada, after they recently completed an expansion of their french fry plant, east of Coaldale.  

“Our two feedlot partners, at Kasko’s and KCL, have land in Lethbridge County – to the northwest of where we built our site,” said Curtis. “So that availability of land, combined with their previous farming experience and access to organic fertilizer from their (cattle) manure has really set Sunnyside Farms up for success.” 

Sunnyside Farms Ltd. is a member of Canada GAP (Good Agricultural Practices), a food safety body that all potato growers for the french fry, the table market or the chip market have to subscribe to and meet GAP program standards.  

“At Sunnyside Farms we’re proud to be members of Canada GAP and comply with their food safety standards,” said Curtis, noting at the moment, they are growing potatoes only for McCain Foods Canada.      

Curtis highlighted McCain’s role in regenerative agriculture – from growing potatoes sustainably and ensuring environmental sustainability, to doing the right thing for their customer base. 

 “We’re very fortunate to be able to capitalize on the manure from the (cattle) feedlots so we have organic fertilizers being used to help grow our potatoes and reduce our input costs and our carbon footprint,” explained Curtis. 

The 78,000 square foot potato storage facility is designed to hold 18,000 tonnes of potatoes. It began operating last fall and stores potato crops from harvest time until processors are ready to take the product and turn them into french fries.   

“We broke ground in the fall of 2024 and then our facility came online as fully operational to store potatoes in September of 2025,” said Curtis, adding the company has five full-time staff, that include skilled operators for running harvesting and planting equipment. 

They also have truck drivers and maintenance personnel to maintain their equipment fleet and during the busy seasons – in the spring during planting and in the fall at harvest – they can have upwards of 25 people working at Sunnyside Farms Ltd in Coaldale, including truck drivers, skilled labourers and general labourers “to help us grade those potatoes and make sure what we’re harvesting and storing in our bins is top quality,” said Curtis. 

When it comes to harvesting, they use a specialized harvester that pulls potatoes from hills in the field and that machine also sieves out a lot of dirt that potatoes are grown in. They also use other specialized cleaning machines that removes dirt in the field and at the storage facility, and human graders are used to ensure a clean, high quality product. 

In the right conditions, potatoes can be stored at the facility for up to one year, noted Curtis.  

“The three big variables we control to store our potatoes at top quality for as long as we can, are temperature, humidity and CO2 concentration,” said Curtis. “We keep them at about 46 degrees Fahrenheit, 98 to 99 per cent relative humidity, and we try and keep our C02 under 3,500 parts per million.”              

Curtis noted the one factor that continues to impact potatoes and other crops in Southern Alberta, and the role it plays in Canada’s agri-food corridor.  

“I think the biggest driver behind it all is the water. We’re so blessed to be where we are in southern Alberta here that we have the irrigation infrastructure and it really enables everything we do,” said Curtis. “From livestock operations, to high value crops like potatoes, sugar beets, and seed canola. I think a lot of the investment you see along the agri-food corridor is entirely a result of having that available water.”