McDonald’s officials visit PVMI to talk about new potato varieties for French Fries.

Jeanne Debons, executive director of the Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI), is meeting McDonald’s officials and other officials from within the potato industry in Caldwell, Idaho, Tuesday.

Debons hopes the meeting leads to McDonald’s considering new varieties of potatoes for its French fries. She believes her organization has promising new varieties that will satisfy the fast food restaurant chain’s needs.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to McDonald’s for three years,” Debons said. “It’s very exciting. I really want to make this meeting count.”

The meeting was organized by the Idaho Potato Commission. In addition to officials from McDonald’s, there will be a representative from each of the potato commissions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho and four breeding researchers and scientists from the Tri-State Potato Breeding Program, which is supported by the PVMI.

If McDonald’s were to end up liking a variety developed by the Tri-State Breeding Program, demand for the variety would go up dramatically. That would change the fortunes of the Pacific Northwest potato industry in a big way. Growers would be able to get greater production on fewer acres with fewer inputs.

“There are new varieties that can yield double the Russet Burbank,” Debons said.