Newly elected National Potato Council president Roger Mix names priorities 2010

At the National Potato Council’s (NPC) 2010 Annual Meeting Roger Mix of Center, Colo., was elected to lead the NPC as president in 2010.  The meeting was held January 3-4, 2010, in Orlando, Fla. 

Roger Mix is a fourth generation potato grower with Mix Farms, a family-owned business.  He brings a wealth of experience to the job of representing potato growers from all the major production areas. During 2007, Mix was named NPC’s vice president of Environmental Affairs, serving in that position until his recent selection as president. From 2005-2006 he served as the NPC’s vice president of Finance and Office Procedures.

As a potato grower in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, Mix has been actively involved with the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, which represents the potato farmers of one of the oldest potato growing regions in the United States. The region ships 95 percent of its crop to the nation’s fresh market, making it the second largest fresh potato shipper in the country.

Mix’s top legislative priorities for the NPC over the year include addressing food safety, sustainability and climate change.  “The federal government is moving toward national standards in the area of food safety, and NPC is urging legislators to adopt risk-based, commodity-specific food safety standards,” stated Mix. “Food safety must be commodity specific.  Any required audits should be standardized, good across-the-board and accepted up and down the supply chain.”

Mix also wants to build on the progress to date developing the NPC’s Data Collection Project, getting buy-in from grower groups and gathering supply data so the project can be published.  Another top priority for Mix is working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and registrants to maintain crop inputs and explore new uses and active ingredients that would benefit potato production.  “We have to make sure we have accurate data for EPA,” Mix indicated.  “Our goal is to ensure that potato growers have the best possible products available to them.  NPC’s Data Collection Project will ensure that we have the data needed by EPA to make sound, science-based decisions when analyzing data that affects our business practices.”

In addition, the NPC Delegates approved Justin Dagen of Karlstad, Minn., to serve as vice president of Legislative &Regulatory Affairs and as First Vice President, Randy Hardy of Oakley, Idaho, to serve as the vice president of Trade Affairs, Steve Crane of Exeter, Maine, to serve as the vice president of Finance &Office Procedures, Doug Hank of St. Anthony, Idaho serve as the vice president of Environmental Affairs, and Randy Mullen of Pasco, Wash., to serve as the vice president of Grower &Public Relations.  Ed Schneider of Pasco, Wash., who served as the president in 2009, will continue to serve on the Executive Committee as the immediate past president.

The Delegates also elected the 2010 Board of Directors.  The Board members include Ed Staunton (CA), Byron Kunugi  (CO), Sherrel Mix (CO), C.J. Robinson (CO), Harry Strohauer (CO), Danny Johns (FL), R.J. Andrus (ID), Dean Gibson (ID), Boyd Foster (ID), Klaren Koompin (ID), Clen Atchley (ID), Ryan Cranney (ID), Steve Theobald (ID), Todd Gerratt (ID), Jeff Harper (ID), Fred Flewelling (ME), Gaylen Flewelling (ME), Brent Buck (ME), Howard Viegelahn (MI), Jason Walther (MI), Justin Dagen (MN), Jerry Larson (MN), Sid Schutter (MT), Chris Hopkins (NC), Joe Thompson (NE), Bill Brooks, Jr. (NJ), Ralph Child (NY), Steve Kasowski  (ND), Mark Thompson (ND), Todd Michael (OH), Tony Amstad (OR), Jim Carlson (OR), Nels Iverson (OR), Bryan Beck (PA), Milt Carter (SD), Jared Balcom (WA), Ellie Charvet (WA), Nelson Cox (WA), Cully Easterday (WA), Bob Halvorson (WA), Darrin Morrison (WA), Ted Tschirky (WA), Jim Bacon (WI), Mike Finnessy (WI), and Jeremie Pavelski (WI).

Each member of the Board of Directors serves as a representative from their respective state and serves on at least one of NPC’s six committees, which include Environmental Affairs, Finance &Office Procedures, Grower &Public Relations, Legislative &Government Affairs, Trade Affairs and Long Range Planning.