News on The Potato Supply Chain from Idaho

The US federal government has given the final OK to three more types of potatoes genetically engineered by Boise’s J.R. Simplot Co. to resist Phytophthora - the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine.

University of Idaho has hired a new director for its nuclear seed potato program and plans to build additional facilities to help her expand production.

Following an online potato recipe contest ('Fully-Loaded Idaho Potato Cook-off'), Kenmore awarded Crystal Schlueter’s unique and easy-to-make recipe for Mashed-Up Kimchi Reuben Tater Bombs with Sweet Onion & Gochujang Aioli the grand prize.

Boyd Foster of Vista Valley Ag in Ririe, Idaho, received the prestigious 2016 Environmental Stewardship Award during the National Potato Council’s (NPC) 2017 Annual Meeting

Do you know the Top 6 potato varieties grown in the United States? We created an overview based on the USDA data for the 2016 fall potato crop.

The Idaho Potato Commission is on a roll! Tomorrow they start airing the latest installment in their series of commercials starring the Big Idaho® Potato Truck, now in its sixth(!) year.

The Idaho Potato Commission recently appointed Ritchey Toevs of Toevs Farm as Chairman and Lynn Wilcox of Wilcox, Floyd & Sons as Vice Chairman.

When reviewing the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) website analytics for the past year (August 2015-August 2016), IPC staff wasn’t surprised to find that Dr. Potato (alias Don Odiorne, Vice President-Foodservice) had garnered 959,328 page views, nearly 50% of all www.idahopotato.com views.

The University of Idaho is negotiating a partnership with the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru, involving the sharing of scientific expertise and providing UI’s potato program better access to a vast gene bank.

In the United States, the 13 major potato producing states held 52.2 million cwt of potatoes in storage June 1, 2016, down 7 percent from June 1, 2015.

The University of Idaho is leading a $3.2 million project to combat microscopic worms (nematodes) that threaten potato production.

Sources say the 2016 Southern Idaho Potato Cooperative contract will include new langcode mandating a minimum of two years of alternate crops between potatoes.

Idaho® potatoes are a significant source of potassium - an essential nutrient that many Americans do not get enough of on a daily basis.

Idaho State University researchers have found high-tech cameras mounted on drones flying 60 meters above potato fields can effectively detect individual diseased and stressed plants.

The Food and Drug Administration has completed its food and feed safety assessment of the J.R. Simplot Company’s second generation of Innate® potatoes. Simplot will still need to complete its registration with the Environmental Protection Agency for these potatoes before introducing them for sale in the U.S. marketplace.

En una carta dirigida el martes a J.R. Simplot Co., con sede en Idaho, la FDA dijo que la papa no es sustancialmente diferente en composición o seguridad a otros productos que ya están en el mercado, y no suscita ningún cuestionamiento por el que la agencia tuviera que realizar exámenes más rigurosos antes de que sea comercializada.

The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) announced the recent appointment of James Hoff as a new Commissioner who will serve a three-year term. James Hoff of Hoff Farms in Idaho Falls will be formally sworn in at the IPC’s October meeting.

With digging season just around the corner, eastern Idaho potato farmers say they are optimistic they will improve on a middling 2014 harvest this year.