With the announcement of a compensation package from the federal government, Island farmers are now in a race against spring. The cost of destroying most of the Island's unsold crop will skyrocket as soon as the weather gets mild.

Under Tuesday's compensation plan, P.E.I. will be given $12.6 million to get rid of 300-million pounds of spuds.

It took more than 150 days for the federal government to make a decision on compensation.

Who will get how much hasn't been worked out.

It leaves farmers in a spot.

The cheapest way to dispose of the potatoes is to spread them on top of the snow, where frost helps them break down and kills any viruses.

However, once temperatures head back above freezing the P.E.I. Plant Health Act kicks in and stops farmers from using the method to destroy the potatoes.

"What you have then is a whole series of what we call 'volunteers' which are potatoes that are not planted which are a potential source of disease," says Richard Veinot of the Island's agriculture department. "All kinds of insects and diseases can grow from there onto other cultivated fields."

It would mean Island farmers, already battered by low sale prices and an American import ban, would have to compost their potatoes.

It involves laying the potatoes out in rows, mixing them with sawdust and other materials, and turning the piles with special equipment.

"That's a very expensive ordeal," says potato board manager Ivan Noonan. "Probably another $8 million would have to be added in order to pull that off."