Idaho Potato Farmers file lawsuit over PCN regulation

A group of 18 Idaho Potato farmers that say they have been negatively affected by the Pale Cyst Nematode (PCN) program filed an administrative lawsuit against the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture on Tuesday.

The group, comprised of farmers, ranchers, landlords and a potato packaging shed from the Shelley area, says it filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boise.

The group believes that federal and state governments have developed a program that is “unworkable, unnecessary and overly burdensome” to a small group of growers, and it wants to see changes made, according to a news release.

“Hopefully, as a result of this lawsuit, a program will be developed that will better serve the needs of the farmers and ranchers in the Shelley, Idaho, area and the Idaho potato industry as a whole,” according to the news release.

Members of the group say they tried to bring about the changes without filing a lawsuit but decided to move forward when those attempts failed. They say that the program and its subsequent regulations were implemented without proper notice to or input from stakeholders, and now they are suffering the affects.

“Many farmers and ranchers have worked for generations to build and develop their family farms only to find that with the discovery of a single PCN, their entire operation is thrown into turmoil and the value of their property significantly reduced,” according to the news release.

“These landowners and farmers still have to bear all the costs associated with their ground, such as mortgage payments, taxes, water assessments, etc., but can’t plant cash crops to offset those expenses.”