Little Lake Farm

About our Farm

For Little Lake Farm, sustainability isn’t small potatoes, and a big reason the Canadian operation carved out a successful niche growing them.

Since 2014, the Lamberts family has produced creamer potatoes for the Little Potato Co. – a partnership that began with 132 acres and untapped potential.

“When we started out, there wasn’t much opportunity in the area to grow specialty crops,” says Niek Lamberts. “We were one of the first operations to grow creamer potatoes in southern Alberta.” Niek, his brother, Ton, and their parents, emigrated from the Netherlands in 2004. They settled in Burdett, Alberta, in the southern portion of the province, about 90 minutes from the Montana border.

Little Lake Farm was also one of the first in the area to plant potatoes with closer row spacing. Growing a smaller potato allows them to push planting populations and maximize every acre of growing space.

“We are quality-focused,” Lamberts says. “That’s important for any potato producer, but especially with creamers because skin finish, scabbing and silver scurf are critical quality checks that impact production.”

Today, the family farms 650 acres and has established a cycle of sustainability with initiative-taking water conservation, cover cropping and nutrient management practices.

Reinforcing Soil Resilience

Farming a variety of soil types, from sandy clay loam to lighter texture, the Lamberts need to provide the best growing environment for their potatoes. Red varieties thrive in higher-clay content soil, whereas purple and yellow creamer varieties prefer sandy soils.

Regenerating and protecting soil is essential to a profitable creamer crop. The farm prioritizes cover crops as a sustainable way to organically rebuild soil health and minimize erosion.

Since 2015, they’ve experimented with mixes and seeding methods following fall potato harvest. Triticale, winter wheat, oats and barley have all been part of the farm’s soil protection plan.

“We have a disc drill with a tillage tool on the front, which allows us to get a cereal cover crop seeded in one pass on the sandier soils,” Lamberts says. “We need to take care of our soil because that’s what is going to feed our crops for years to come.”

While a living cover crop preserves soil structure, the Lamberts also look to maximize the biological benefits of crop residue to build organic matter content and prevent disease.

Excess residue can lead to potato scabbing, which can devastate a crop.

“After top-kill, we need additional time to reach skin set, usually 20-30 days, depending on the variety,” Lamberts says. “We want those potatoes to develop a thicker skin in the ground to improve quality throughout the storage season.”

When harvesting their creamer crop, the Lamberts aim for warmer soil temperatures. The warmer soil helps reduce the risk of bruising, and the potatoes gradually cool in storage.

The farm started out with smaller bulk bins, then expanded, and built a box storage facility. Eventually, Lamberts plans to have all of their creamer potatoes in box storage, which provides a safer environment than bulk bins.

“Pressure bruising is a problem in bulk storage, which alternative storage practices drastically reduce,” Lamberts says. “Managing air flow and keeping humidity at 96% or higher is essential to prevent dehydration, which can lead to pressure bruising. We’re seeing less dehydration with box storage and better quality potatoes.”

Natural Nutrient Management

Although creamer potatoes don’t annually deplete soils to the same extent as traditional varieties, the Lamberts look to preserve as many natural nutrients as possible.

Commercial canola has proven to be a beneficial crop to rotate in ahead of potatoes.

The farm is in its second year mowing standing canola stalks down before winter. Then ahead of spring potato planting, they cultivate the stalks about 10 inches into the soil.

“Hopefully, we’ll get some volunteer canola to emerge as well for additional cover,” Lamberts says. “When we re-hill right before potato emergence, we’ll take care of early weeds, remove any volunteer crop and then incorporate our in-crop herbicide.”

As part of the farm’s annual soil maintenance, they apply dry phosphorus to balance phosphate levels. They’re also experimenting with in-furrow application of different liquid starter fertilizers.

“Some are readily available for the tubers to take up immediately,” Lamberts says. “These can get plants off to a good start, lead to quicker emergence, stronger roots and an overall healthier plant.”

Moisture Management

Burdett is home to Canada’s first pivot irrigation system in 1962 – a fitting historical footnote given the region’s current emphasis on water management.

Historically, water availability hasn’t been a concern in the area. But with Alberta in Stage 4 of a five-stage Drought Response Plan, municipal water restrictions could reduce annual allocations by half.

“In a normal year, we could have used up to 16 inches of water per acre, which we never did,” Lamberts says. “In 2023, we were told the limits were being reduced to 12 inches and in 2024, we could be starting the growing season with 8 inches.”

Fortunately, the farm has measures already in place to maximize every inch of water. About 90% of Little Lake Farm is under center pivot irrigation with drop tube sprinklers.

The farm has also experimented with in-field moisture sensors to measure and prioritize irrigation application. In 2023, they placed five CropX sensors in potato fields to provide snapshots of soil type, water holding capacity and moisture levels at specific depths.

“We can look at the sensor app to see if a field is more depleted than another one and make irrigation decisions,” Lamberts says. “It’s a valuable tool and I see potential for us to get better at spoon feeding the crop and avoiding under- or over-irrigating fields.”

In the future, he sees moisture sensors being integrated directly into irrigation systems to determine when sprinklers need to speed up or slow down.

“Another advantage we have in terms of moisture management with creamer potatoes is that 65% of our acres are shorter season varieties,” Lamberts says. “This should help us grow a successful crop with those 8 inches.”

Future Focus

As Little Lake Farm grows its creamer potato business, Lamberts says the ability to push production will come through adoption of sustainable practices – both now and into the future.

“As a farmer, I always want to take care of my soil because it is going to perpetually feed our crops for years to come,” he says. “My brother and I are young farmers, and we want the practices our family puts into place to shape the future of the farm.”