News on The Potato Supply Chain from Washington

Future Co-CEOs Cathy Burns of Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and Tom Stenzel of United Fresh have named the Executive Committee that will serve as officers for the new association.

Jake Blauer is the newly hired post-harvest potato physiologist at Washington State University.

Launching new research in support of Washington potato growers, Washington State University is partnering with industry leaders to study healthier, more sustainable, and productive soils.

A WSU study has estimated the 2020 economic losses from potato production and processing in Washington. The demand shocks of COVID-19 resulted in a hit of roughly $1 billion dollars in gross state product.

This year, this is a season when dreams die. Due to an epic potato glut that imploded his market, he has decided to do what was once unthinkable — destroy part of his crop rather than sink more dollars into cultivation.

Negotiations are underway for next year’s potato grower contracts in Washington.

The National Potato Council cheered the passage of the U.S.- Japan Agreement on Agricultural Trade by Japan’s Upper House.

US Farmer cooperative NORPAC Foods filed a motion in bankruptcy court Friday afternoon to sell its Quincy, Washington, plant for USD 93.5 million to Oregon Potato Company.

As potato harvest starts to wrap up across the Northwest, how does the 2019 crop look?

Its harvest time for many in the potato industry, and those not quite to that point, harvest will be here before you know it. Washington State University’s Tim Waters said growers need to continue to watch for pests.

WSU plant pathologists Kiwamu Tanaka and Cynthia Gleason are exploring novel approaches to protect the potato crops against nematodes and scab - mobilizing nature itself.

Heat-related illness is one of the most common maladies to befall outdoor workers, particularly in agricultural settings.

Mark Pavek, professor and potato specialist at Washington State University, at one of the research potato fields in Othello.

The National Potato Council joined with over 950 farm groups and agricultural
organizations in a letter urging Congress to immediately ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada
Agreement (USMCA).

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has expanded the drought emergency declaration to cover nearly half of Washington state due to worsened, poor water supply conditions around the state and warmer and drier weather predictions through the summer.

Spring is just now beginning to shine in much of eastern Oregon and Washington. A winter of record snowfall left the ground frozen or flooded much later than normal. As a result, farmers are getting a late start on their crops.

In the latest addition to his blog (https://www.gatesnotes.com), Bill Gates highlights that in order to fight climate change, we need to look beyond decarbonizing the way we generate electricity. We need to look at agriculture for example...

Oregon Potato Commission CEO Bill Brewer told the Washington-Oregon Potato Conference in Kennewick, Washington, that US industry leaders hope negotiations will open China to fresh potatoes.