News on The Potato Supply Chain from the United States

September 09, 2008

US Potato markets start strong

Thanks in part to a large percentage of high-quality, No. 1-graded product, markets for new-crop russet potatoes are continuing where markets left off at the end of the storage season: red hot.On Sept. 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported pri...

September 08, 2008

Idaho Spud growers hope for late-season surge

Idaho potato acres are down, and the next few weeks could determine whether yields are down, too. Development of the crop was about two weeks behind during the early part of the growing season because of a long, cold spring.The potato crop has caught u...

September 01, 2008

Pennsylvania: There's plenty of spuds, chip producers say

"We have all the potatoes we need,"said Miller, production supervisor at Gibble's Potato Chips in Chambersburg. Pennsylvania, with 19 potato chip manufacturers and a reputation as "the snack food capital of the world,"appears to ha...

August 21, 2008

Hail puts dent in San Luis Valley potato volumes

Demand for potatoes from Colorado’s San Luis Valley could be even stronger than first anticipated, following hailstorms Aug. 16-17 expected to reduce volumes from the region. The storms, which cut a mile-wide swathe near the towns of Center and Mosca, ...

August 19, 2008

Nutritional benefits of potatoes focus of new US Potato Board advertising campaign

The U.S. Potato Board launched a national print advertising campaign today as part of its continued effort to educate consumers about the nutritional benefits of potatoes. "Peel Back the Truth"inquisitively tackles potato nutrition myths and ...

August 18, 2008

Potatoes help with Alzheimer's study

A virus that commonly infects potatoes bears a striking resemblance to one of the key proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and researchers have used that to develop antibodies that may slow or prevent the onset of AD. In the August 15 Jour...

August 12, 2008

New online trading portal for the international potato industry coming soon

Global E-Trading NV (GET) announced today that it will launch a potato specific portal as part of its portfolio of trading portals for the fresh and frozen produce industry. The portal will be launched on the eFresh trading site, recognized as the lead...

August 01, 2008

Low returns threaten potato supplies

Food manufacturers will have to start paying more for potatoes in the US to maintain future supplies, according to industry experts. Potato prices will have to increase due to high production costs or US potato growers will go out of business, Alvin ...

July 31, 2008

Potato vodka hitting the shelves in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's first and only vodka distillery sits unassumingly inside one of the former Glenshaw Glass buildings along Route 8 in Shaler. Pennsylvania Pure Distilleries, the brainchild of Prentiss Orr and Barry Young, is just about ready to release...

July 25, 2008

EPA bans carbofuran residue on food in surprise move

The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it will no longer allow residue of the toxic pesticide carbofuran on domestic or imported food, a decision that would effectively remove the chemical from the U.S. market. EPA officials sa...

July 25, 2008

'Green' potato health risk (glycoalkaloids) can be eliminated by cutting away affected area

Potatoes that have turned 'green' can potentially contain a naturally occurring toxin called Glycoalkaloids and pose a risk to public health according to a review paper published in the latest online issue of SCI's Journal of the Science of Food and ...

July 25, 2008

Schwarzenegger signs California trans fat ban

California will be the first state to ban trans fats in restaurants and bakeries under legislation signed today by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The measure requires restaurants to quit using trans fats by January 2010, and for bakeries to follow suit ...

July 21, 2008

Washington State 2008 Potato acreage down 6%

The Washington office of NASS said Washington growers planted fewer potatoes and more dry peas and will have lighter peach and apricot crops. Washington winter wheat production is expected to reach 109.7 million bushels this season, up 1 percent.Potato...

July 18, 2008

Idaho potato farmers plant 300.000 acres, a 12.3% decline

United Potato Growers of Idaho projects 300,266 acres of potatoes in Idaho for the 2008-09 season, down 12.3 percent from the acreage counted in 2007-08 by the Farm Service Agency.United announced the results of its first-ever potato acreage count at t...

July 18, 2008

US Potato chip manufacturers feel crunch of rising potato costs

It's not the Great Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century, but the summer of 2008 has turned into a major test for potato-chip producers across the country. The price of a bushel of chip potatoes has doubled in the last few months, going from $9 to a ...

July 18, 2008

Middleswarth potato shortage easing

Potato chip producer Ira Middleswarth &Son may soon see the end of the potato shortage that slowed their July production to a crawl, according to a company official. Thanks to Midwestern crop shortages, the Middleburg-based chip maker endured three...

July 16, 2008

Food prices steady, inflation push eases: FAO

Food commodity prices have now stabilized after surging early this year while a weak dollar may reduce inflationary pressures in many countries, a senior United Nations economist said on Wednesday. "It looks like from March onwards we have arreste...

July 16, 2008

Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research developed a potato that is resistant to common scab

The humble spud has few natural enemies (beside humans), but common scab disease is one that threatens the whole potato industry. Common scab is one of the most prevalent and costly diseases for the potato industry worldwide. The vegetable research t...