News on The Potato Supply Chain from Northern America

Potatoes are America’s number one vegetable crop. Per capita, Americans consume about 130 pounds annually.

In Manitoba, the potato crop is off to a record start - over half the potato acreage has been planted -, but that does not mean potato growers are pleased with how the spring has progressed. Growers of processing potatoes are still without price cont...

Miembros de la Junta de Papa de Estados Unidos (USPB, por sus siglas en inglés) expresaron sus dudas sobre la salud de la industria de producción, comercialización y consumo de papas. Esperan que la industria sufra las consecuencias disminución de dem...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will buy $18 million in fresh and frozen potatoes from the U.S. market. The announcement was part of a move by the federal government to purchase $161.4 million worth of  12 commodities for federal food and nutritio...

Conventional potato growers can topdress commercial fertilizer to meet a growing potato crop's need for nitrogen, but certified organic growers don't have that option. Meeting the crop's nitrogen needs during the transition period from conventional to...

Two more products have been recalled due to the possibility that they may contain salmonella-tainted hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) from Basic Food Flavors – but fears of a large-scale recall have proved unfounded.At the beginning of March, Food an...

The Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) 19th Annual Potato Lover’s Month Retail Display Contest triggerred retailers to pull out all the stops: Floor-to-ceiling, head-turning displays and increased retailer participation demonstrated that this retail promo...

The Potato Gene Repository at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Potato Research Centre in Fredericton is about to enter a new era with a $500,000 lab expansion.   What is a potato gene repository?   Think of it as a bank where more than 150 variet...

The last couple of years have been tough on our potato industry. With a high supply and a low demand, it's been a farmer's nightmare. But this year, farmers say things should turn around.Last year the potato industry was hit with the perfect storm. &qu...

Walker Brothers has received one of two Environmental Stewardship Awards from the National Potato Council.  Along with a farm in Washington State, Walker Brothers farm was praised for their leadership in habitat conservation for wildlife as well as pro...

Many readers are no doubt aware of last summer's late-blight infestation, in which a fungus, Phytophthora infestans, decimated local tomato and potato plantings. The fungus overwinters in southeastern United States but does not generally overwinter in ...

Idaho potato growers are taking to the field this spring without a collective agreement with major processors. The collective bargaining process broke down in Idaho last year following a dispute with ConAgra Foods. Growers blamed ConAgra, and the compa...

Production of winter and spring potatoes is estimated at 25.6 million hundredweight(cwt) in 2010, a 3-percent increase over 2009 and the highest level since 2004. (As of 2010, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service includes California winter ...

U.S. sales of organic products continued to grow during 2009 despite the distressed state of the economy, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) revealed today in releasing findings from its 2010 Organic Industry Survey. In fact, organic product sales in...

Irish potato, one of the world's major food crops, is increasingly grown and processed for use in various products;consider the popularity of consumer favorites like French fries and potato chips. In the closely scrutinized food production industry, pr...

Prince Edward Island potato farmers have rejected a contract offered by McCain Foods, arguing the proposal was less than one accepted last week from a rival company.The farmers voted Tuesday night against what they called a disappointing price offered ...

According to PMMI’s Quarterly Economic Outlook, the U.S. is in the early stages of a mild recovery. The Industrial Production Index reached a low point in October, ending its worst economic downturn since 1946. Most industries are showing increasing a...

Al Reser, CEO and chairman of Reser's Fionefood, a philanthropist and "Beaver Believer,"died Monday night at the age of 74.According to a statement issued by his family on Tuesday, Reser passed away in his sleep at his Sarasota, Fla., vacatio...