News on The Potato Supply Chain from Northern America

March 12, 2013

Tim O’Connor exchanges potatoes for avocados

Tim O’Connor, President and CEO of the U.S. Potato Board, Denver, CO, has accepted an offer to lead a new marketing agency dedicated to the Mexican avocado industry.

Whole Foods Market GMO labeling announcement

March 08, 2013

Whole Foods Market makes GMO labeling mandatory as of 2018

Whole Foods Market announced today at Natural Products Expo West that, by 2018, all products in its U.S. and Canadian stores must be labeled to indicate if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

March 06, 2013

Gluten intolerance classified as 'disability' - how will food service react?

Recently the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement with Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, concluding that severe food allergies, including celiac disease (an autoimmune disorder), qualify as a disability under the Americans...

March 05, 2013

Associated potato growers Inc and Nonpareil Farms announce strategic partnership

Nonpareil Farms, a supplier of Betty Crocker™ Fresh Potatoes, has announced a new strategic partnership with Associated Potato Growers Inc.

March 05, 2013

Idaho Potato growers approve contracts with Simplot, McCain

Idaho potato growers at a Monday meeting in Burley approved processing contracts with J.R. Simplot and McCain Foods that both include payment increases averaging 1.6 percent.

March 04, 2013

Boulder Canyon Natural Foods Receives Non-GMO Project Verified Seal For Its Kettle-Cooked Chips

Boulder Canyon Natural Foods®, a leading natural snack food manufacturer is proud to announce that it has successfully enrolled its kettle-cooked potato chips in the Non-GMO Project

March 04, 2013

Potato Industry Leadership Institute class of 2013 introduction

Twenty potato growers and industry representatives joined together to form the 2013 class of the Potato Industry Leadership Institute (PILI), an annual program jointly administered by the National Potato Council (NPC) and the United States Potato Board.

Standing up for potatoes on capitol hill

March 04, 2013

US Potato Growers Converge on Capitol Hill

More than 160 potato growers and industry partners from across the United States met Feb. 25-28 in Washington, D.C., to advocate for the industry's most pressing federal policy priorities.

February 27, 2013

Idaho Potato Growers to vote on McCain, Simplot contracts

Idaho potato growers will vote Monday in Burley on contracts with McCain Foods and J.R. Simplot Co. paying a 1.6 percent average increase, according to sources involved in negotiations.

February 27, 2013

CPAC Springs Ahead With Warm Weather Potato Promos

Continuing to promote its more than 100 varieties of spuds during the “Five Distinct Potato Seasons” campaign, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee has launched the “Spring Ahead” season for March through May.

February 26, 2013

Lance Hapka appointed chairman of the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association

Lance Hapka, a process potato grower from Argyle, Minnesota became the 64th Chairman of the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association at NPPGA's annual meeting last Tuesday.

February 26, 2013

Basic American Foods to buy dehydrated potato unit from Nonpareil Farms

Idaho-based Nonpareil Farms has signed a letter of intent to sell its dehydrated potato business to Basic American Foods, corporate officials announced Monday.

February 25, 2013

Spud City Sales owner charged with not paying for potato shipments

The owner of potato brokerage firm Spud city sales will make an initial appearance in Portage County Circuit Court today on charges of not paying farmers for shipments of potatoes.

February 21, 2013

Florida potato crop escapes major damage

Earlier this week we reported on the frost affecting potato growers in Florida. According to a more recent article in the Packer, Florida grower-shippers for the most part escaped serious damage

February 21, 2013

Registration Open for Co-located PROCESS EXPO and International Dairy Show

The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) have announced that registration is now open for the co-located PROCESS EXPO and the International Dairy Show, taking place November 3-6, 2013 in Chic...

February 20, 2013

Canadian potato industry dealing with oversupply, innovation strategies

The Canadian Horticultural Council’s Potato Committee will be meeting during the CHC’s annual general meeting to be held in Ottawa March 12-15.

February 20, 2013

GMO Labeling Bill Introduced in US Congress

Today Colorado’s Jared Polis will announce, outside a reborn organic retail store in Boulder, that he is introducing a federal bill in Congress to mandate the labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms in all 50 states.

Late blight (Phytophthora Infestans) on potato leaf

February 19, 2013

University of Maine looking for blight-resistant potatoes

Potato breeding developments being researched by graduate students in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences of the University of Maine look to save the future of Maine’s iconic crop.