News on The Potato Supply Chain from Northern America

August 18, 2009

Lamb Weston Sweet Potato plant will impact the region

The announcement of plans for a sweet potato processing in nearby Richland Parish earlier this month, set the wheels of opportunity turning for Franklin Parish interest.Franklin Parish is home to the LSU AgCenter Sweet Potato Research Station, which h...

August 11, 2009

U.S. Potato Board holds annual meeting in Bangor

Bangor played host last week to the U.S. Potato Board during the organization’s annual summer meeting. About 100 people attended the gathering from all around the country, according to Tom Qualey, a potato grower in Sherman who chairs the national grou...

August 11, 2009

More than half of Americans pay attention to Sodium

Americans love sodium and most of us consume considerably more than we should on a daily basis. Mintel’s recent data shows consumers are starting to pay more attention to their intake as more than half (52%) are monitoring the amount of sodium in their...

August 10, 2009

World's potato experts meet in Fredericton at PAA annual meeting

Fredericton is in the eye of the potato world this week with more than 200 delegates from Canada, the United States and 10 other countries attending the 93rd annual meeting of the Potato Association of America. The potato virus Y, which can affect cro...

August 07, 2009

Klamath Basin Fresh Direct picks up rights of Purple Pelisse and plans name change

Klamath Basin Fresh Direct (KBFD), an association of potato farmers along the Oregon-California border, has been awarded exclusive rights to grow and market a new purple fingerling developed by the USDA and three Northwest universities. The potato is...

August 05, 2009

Procter and Gamble sold less Pringles in Q4

The Procter &Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), manufacturer of consumer products in the personal care and household cleaning segments AND manufacturer of PRINGLES, reported financial results for Q4 and its fiscal year ending June 30. P&G announced dil...

August 05, 2009

The Queen of Spuds: Angela Santiago, CEO of the Little Potato Company

Angela Santiago, CEO of The Little Potato Company in Edmonton, Alberta was recently hailed as Canada's 'Queen of Spuds' by Global TV. Since Angela Santiago harvested her first one-acre crop by hand in 1996, the Little Potato Company’s co-founder and CE...

Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP)

August 04, 2009

Organic Potato Production at Idaho University Kimberly Research Farm: steep learning curve

The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides and the University of Idaho hosted an organic production field day at the Kimberly research farm in mid-July.At the Kimberly research farm, University of Idaho Researchers have dedicated an 11-acr...

August 03, 2009

Thevenet is the new president for Clextral Inc.

Didier Thevenet, currently Vice President of Clextral’s International Industrial Management, has been designated President of the Clextral Inc., the subsidiary based in Tampa, Florida since 1986.Didier Thevenet worked several years for an American comp...

July 30, 2009

California expide nuevas leyes sobre la información nutritiva en restaurantes de comida rápida

Con el inicio del año fiscal en California, también entran en vigor varias leyes como la que hará pública la información nutritiva de comida en restaurantes de comida rápida, así como la extensión de beneficios de salud para personas que hayan perdido ...

July 30, 2009

Potato Commission chairman resigns

The recently appointed chairman of the Washington State Potato Commission resigned last week following his arrest on assault charges July 5. Robert Halvorson Jr., of Toppenish, was arrested by Yakima County Sheriff’s deputies after injuring a relative ...

July 28, 2009

Package size changes replace price adjustments

Over much of 2008 and 2009, CPG manufacturers imposed price hikes without being blunt about it, usually by shrinking the amount of food inside of cleverly designed boxes, bags, bottles and jars that don’t look much smaller than before, but often are. ...

July 28, 2009

Cavendish Farms buys appetizer division Omstead Foods

Omstead Foods Limited announced today that Cavendish Farms, one of North America's leading processors of frozen potato products, has purchased the Appetizer division of Omstead Foods.In a transaction that closed today, Cavendish Farms, a member of the ...

July 28, 2009

Northeast Tomatoes Lost, and Potatoes May Follow

Ripe local tomatoes keenly anticipated by growers and cooks, will be missing from many markets, farm stands and farm shares this summer. Althugh there are no official estimates yet on crop loss, a severe outbreak of late blight fungus in tomatoes, fi...

July 28, 2009

Potato blight flourishing on Prince Edward Island

Wet, humid conditions are leading to the worst season for late blight on potatoes on P.E.I. in years. Provincial agriculture officials report 30 cases of late blight so far this summer in Island potato fields. Last year at this time, there were just t...

July 27, 2009

P.E.I. potato-farming family Hendricken going bust

Last year's wet crop may have been the last straw for a prominent family of potato farmers and activists in central P.E.I. The Hendrickens have been farming in Pisquid, northeast of Charlottetown, for almost 50 years. But they are now about $2.5 milli...

July 25, 2009

Maine Potato growers battle late blight

Rob Johanson drove down a dirt path along a 5-acre field of potato plants and pointed to a scorched hole in the middle. Plants surrounding the burned earth were spindly with brown, irregular spots on their leaves from late blight fungus. Maine farmer...

July 23, 2009

Idaho Potato Commission protects Potato Brand

What's in a name? Almost everything if you're an Idaho potato farmer.Idaho potatoes are one of the most recognizable commodities in the world and growers collectively shell out about $12.5 million a year to advertise, promote and safeguard the famous b...