News on The Potato Supply Chain from Northern America

Alarmed by rapid deforestation in an ecologically sensitive swath of central Minnesota, state regulators have ordered a broad environmental review that will temporarily halt conversion of the region’s jackpine stands to potato fields.

Today, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report recommending fresh white potatoes to be an eligible vegetable for purchase using the WIC Cash Value Voucher. This is a reversal compared to previous IOM recommendations

The Northern Plains Potato Growers Association will honor Ron Norman with its Meritorious Service Award at their banquet on February 17th.

Fresh potato packer EarthFresh has held a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to officially finalize their move to their new offices and production facilities in Burlington Ontario.

Levels of zebra chip, a crop disease in potatoes spread by potato psyllids and caused by the Liberibacter bacterium, were down signficiantly in the Pacific Northwest.

Effective immediately, new requirements are in place for exporting potatoes from Prince Edward Island (PEI) to the United States (U.S.).

A former Potato Growers of Idaho executive director believes Idaho’s capacity to produce and pack potatoes has outgrown the market, at the expense of growers.

Officials with Idaho’s pale cyst nematode eradication program say they’ve discovered three more infested fields totaling 994 acres since October, including two fields that had previously been deregulated from the program.

POTATO EXPO 2015, held January 7-9, in Orlando, Florida, turned out to be the greatest event
yet for exhibitors and attendees.

Brendon and Sheldon Rockey of Rockey Farms in Center, Colorado, were named the recipients of the prestigious 2014 Environmental Stewardship Award presented at the National Potato Council’s 2015 Annual Meeting.

At the National Potato Council’s (NPC) 2015 Annual Meeting, held January 9-10, 2015, in Orlando, Florida, Dan Lake from Lake Seed, Inc. of Ronan, Montana, was elected to serve as NPC’s president for 2015 and to lead the council’s Executive Committee.

El tizón tardío de la papa puede ser controlado con varias estrategias, incluyendo la resistencia del huesped. Desafortunadamente, los esfuerzos hasta la fecha para utilizarla han llevado a un éxito limitado. Este es el tema principal del artículo escrito por G. A. Forbes; M. Huarte para la Revista Latinoamericana de la Papa, Volumen 18 (2), 2014.

Once again, the Washington State Potato Commission and Oregon Potato Commission have joined forces in the planning and execution of the 2015 Washington/Oregon Potato Conference, Jan. 27-29.

Nearly 20 fire departments responded to flames at a Montcalm County potato farm (Michigan) Wednesday, but none of the potato storage buildings, housing farm equipment and millions of potatoes, could be saved

Late December, Potato Processor Cavendish Farms detected again sewing needles stuck in potatoes processed at its New Annan plant on Prince Edward Island.

Port disruptions on the West Coast due to labor contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) are hurting Idaho agriculture and Idaho’s exporters.

Linkletter Farms is finally back up and running after two months of being at the centre of a large-scale food tampering incident that reached across Atlantic Canada.

The 13 major US potato States held 263 million cwt of potatoes in storage December 1, 2014, down 3 percent from 2 years
ago.