News on The Potato Supply Chain from the United States

With little fanfare, the Maine Board of Pesticides Control unanimously approved on Friday morning the registration of three new types of genetically engineered potatoes that have been developed by Simplot Plant Sciences.

Potandon Produce L.L.C., the exclusive marketing agent for Pinto Creek Co., LLC in Eloy, Arizona, announced Monday that its fresh potato season has begun in Arizona.

Washington potato producers will vote from June 9–23, 2017, on whether to continue the federal marketing order regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Washington.

The Northwest Potato Research Consortium recently approved a combined $1.5 million in grant funding to 37 research projects.

Years before that french fry landed on your plate, the plant that would eventually give rise to the spud your fry was cut from was sealed away deep in a secure-access building, growing slowly in a test tube inside a locked growth chamber.

A partnership between Idaho State University and Boise State University has been awarded an Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) grant to research the application of the Humigator in potato storage.

McCain Foods USA has announced it will invest more than USD 200 million into expanding its Burley, Idaho potato processing plant, creating 180 jobs and increasing potato production throughout the state.

The 13 major potato States held 133 million cwt of potatoes in storage April 1, 2017, up 6 percent from April 1, 2016.

Steve Gangwish of Watertown, South Dakota and Dan Moss of Declo, Idaho were appointed to the Potatoes USA Executive Committee on March 16, 2017

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathology team intentionally infected potato plants with psyllids positive with the bacterium that causes zebra chip disease, in order to identify promising germplasm in the battle against the disease plaguing the US potato industry for the past 15 years.

Progress is being made eradicating the microscopic potato cyst nematodes that have been threatening Idaho’s $900 million potato industry the last decade, according to the latest update by USDA-APHIS.

The Big Idaho® Potato Truck has been making heads turn for six years. The splash it made in NYC in August 2016 was so big it earned the 6-ton spud the prestigious Bulldog Reporter's Silver Award for Best Special Event.

The National Potato Council (NPC) has sent a letter to President Trump with suggestions how the NAFTA agreement can be improved to benefit the potato trade.

Powdery scab is a potato disease that is difficult to manage and under certain environmental conditions powdery scab can be potentially devastating to susceptible potato varieties.

Tasteful Selections™, a specialty potato brand from RPE Inc., adds a new flavor to their Tasteful Selections Take & Shake™ line: Cheddar Cheese.

Jay LaJoie of Van Buren, Maine and Jason Davenport of Arvin, California were appointed to the Potatoes USA Executive Committee on March 16, 2017 and will co-chair the Industry Outreach Committee.

The Potatoes USA international marketing committee met prior to the Annual Meeting in Denver March 15 & 16. The committee heard how U.S. potato exports have grown 183% in the past 20 years and now account for close to 20% of production.

The potato industry may be losing a mainstay in the battle against psyllids, according to a recent Texas A&M AgriLife Research study.