Cavendish Farms withdraws from negotiations with Minn-Dak potato growers

After long negotiations to reach a price agreement for potato growers represented by the Minn-Dak Bargaining Co-op, the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association in East Grand Forks announced Wednesday that Cavendish Farms of Jamestown, N.D., did not reach an approved agreement Minn-Dak growers in 2009. An agreement was reached with J.R. Simplot Co. in Grand Forks.

The Minn-Dak negotiating team met with Cavendish in April and was assured that “Cavendish would be competitive,” Keller says. However, Cavendish later informed the growers and Minn-Dak that it would not match the 30 percent stipulated in the Simplot agreement.

Minn-Dak responded with a proposal it thought “provided some relief to Cavendish while still maintaining a similar contract value compared to the Simplot agreement,” Keller says. But Cavendish refused to agree.