Morgan & Karissa Smallman

Morgan considers being raised on his family farm in Knutsford, Prince Edward Island a gift. He credit’s his father with instilling a strong work ethic, and says ‘there is nothing like the sense of accomplishment when you start the harvest, and see those first few bright white potatoes come out of the red dirt.’ Morgan’s dream job was to be a “smart farmer”. He attended Nova Scotia Agriculture College and obtained a degree in Economics. Morgan returned to the sixth-generation J & J Farms Ltd in 2014 after working as an Agronomist.

During that first year, Morgan was looking for something that would generate cash flow and create more year round work for their employees, and started the trucking side of the business. Early on, plans were to increase the acreage size of the farm, but after a learning experience in 2017, he realized that ‘bigger is not always better.’ Since then, the farm has moved out of rotational grains, and now focuses on soil health and plant soil building crops such as Sudan Sorghum and Alfalfa to ensure optimal soil health for their 400 acre chip stock potato crop.

Morgan believes that conversations are the key, and uses his optimistic nature to promote the industry by sharing his farming story on social media. He is a Board of Director at the Canadian Potato Museum & shares his ‘potato passion’ through hosting many farm tours. Morgan also sits on the National Program Advisory Committee that is currently working on the next Agricultural Policy Framework; work that will help direct the future of the industry.

Morgan is grateful for all of Karissa’s support, who is a Medical Laboratory Assistant at the O’Leary and Western Hospital’s. Together, they take great pride when their family- Cameron (14), Madeline (10), Cody (7) and Kylee (2) are enjoying a delicious bag of Lays Potato Chips and they remind them that those chips could be from their farm.

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