News on The Potato Supply Chain from the United States

RPE Inc., has created Old Oak Farms Party Potatoes. Quick and easy to prepare, Party Potatoes are fingerling potatoes that transform ordinary dinners into extraordinary parties!

Lower retail prices for several foods, including eggs, whole milk, cheddar cheese, chicken breast, sirloin tip roast and ground chuck resulted in a decrease in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Fall Harvest Marketbasket Survey. However, potato prices were up slightly.

Just when some potato growers in the Red River Valley were beginning to make some progress with the harvest, Mother Nature stepped in and slammed the door.

United States potato production in 2015 is revised to 441 million cwt, up slightly from the estimate in the January Crop Production 2015 Summary but slightly below the 2014 crop.

The Idaho Potato Commission recently appointed Ritchey Toevs of Toevs Farm as Chairman and Lynn Wilcox of Wilcox, Floyd & Sons as Vice Chairman.

United Potato Growers of America President/CEO, Jerry Wright, announced his coming retirement at the August 23 Board of Directors meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In New York City, the world’s largest potato on wheels traded its tires for buoys in celebration of the 2016 Idaho® Potato Harvest.

Alsum Farms & Produce Inc. helps make it easier for busy families to get back into the school routine with ready-to-serve healthy potato offerings that are perfect for a quick dinner side or nutritious after-school snack

USDA staff from the AMS Plant Variety Protection Office and APHIS Biotech Regulatory Services on a tour of the Sterman Masser Potato Farm facilities in central Pennsylvania on August 23.

Flewelling Farms, Inc was awarded the title of Champion Grower for season 2015-2016 of the McCain Foods - Easton potato processing facility.

When reviewing the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) website analytics for the past year (August 2015-August 2016), IPC staff wasn’t surprised to find that Dr. Potato (alias Don Odiorne, Vice President-Foodservice) had garnered 959,328 page views, nearly 50% of all www.idahopotato.com views.

During the Potatoes USA Summer Meeting held in Seattle August 10, it was announced that the Alliance for Potato Research and Education (APRE) has been restructured in an effort to minimize overhead costs and expand research on potato nutrition.

Heartland Farms, Inc. announced today that Danielle Golden has joined the farm to further develop their growing portfolio of regional and national accounts.

Volm Companies held a groundbreaking ceremony on August 10 for their new manufacturing and distribution facility in Pasco, Washington.

Justin Clements, a fifth year doctoral student in the Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center working in the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the recipient of the 2016-2017 NPC Academic Scholarship.

Potato psyllids have been reported in specific fields in western and central North Dakota. At this point populations are not widespread.

Organic produce is in record-high demand, selling more than $11 billion worth in 2015 alone. To meet the demand, RPE, Inc., has been continually expanding its organic program.

The red potato harvest has begun at Black Gold Farms’ operation in Winamac, Indiana, a potato farm focusing exclusively on red potatoes for the fresh market.