News on The Potato Supply Chain from Northern America

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.

Potato Farmers on Prince Edward Island, Canada are gearing up for another planting season.

Following a highly successful launch in 2016, Canadian produce company EarthFresh is bringing its lower glycemic response (GR)* Carisma potato back to Ontario grocery retailers for an extended season.

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.

Red-skinned potatoes are sure to be on the minds and menus of many after remarkable results shown by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s selections this year.

With clean seed potatoes recognized as the best defense against this new blackleg-causing pathogen, the demand for Dickeya testing is growing fast.

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.

The Potatoes USA grower membership elected new leadership during its Annual Meeting held in Denver earlier this month.

The Canadian Horticultural Council has received over $274,000 in Growing Forward 2 funding to help expand markets for Canadian potatoes.

Since Monsanto took their genetically modified Newleaf /Naturemark potatoes of the market in 2001, no GM potatoes have been grown commercially in Canada. But Simplot's Innate potatoes are going to change that in 2017.