News on The Potato Supply Chain from the United States

June 02, 2009

Idaho Fry Company vs Idaho Potato Commission

A creative Boise eatery that spotlights Idaho's most famous crop has run afoul of the very agency that promotes its most famous crop. The Boise Weekly reports online that the Idaho Potato Commission has given newly opened Idaho Fry Company until the en...

May 28, 2009

North Florida potato damage should not seriously affect big picture

Torrential rains that nearly destroyed north Florida’s potato crop shouldn’t seriously disrupt the U.S. spring potato deal. A week of late May heavy rains flooded fields with 27 inches of rain and destroyed up to 70% of the deal’s potatoes. Tony Rusko...

May 26, 2009

Columbia/Okura offers palletizing robot specifically designed for potato packers

Columbia/Okura’s A-Series robotic palletizers provide the ideal solution for the demands of today’s high capacity potato packers. They use an end effector ('robot hand') designed specifically to handle the inconsistency of potato bags,.

May 22, 2009

Days of rain flood fields of Florida potatoes almost ready for harvest

A week of heavy rains has caused what one Putnam County potato grower called a tri-county disaster."We had 13 inches of rain by noon Wednesday,"said Crescent City grower Joey Froehlich."It's a disaster - it's too wet and I think people w...

May 15, 2009

US Potato Stocks down 10% from May 2008

The 13 major US potato States held 115 million cwt of potatoes in storage April 1, 2009, down 9 percent from a year ago and 5 percent below April 1, 2007. Potatoes in storage accounted for 31 percent of the 2008 fall storage States' production, slight...

May 12, 2009

Washington State Governor urges Obama to resolve trucking dispute with Mexico

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is urging the Obama administration to quickly resolve a trucking dispute with Mexico to aid export of Washington farm products, including frozen potatoes, that are now the target of the 20 percent duty.Canadian potato gro...

May 11, 2009

CSPI takes on salty restaurant meals: 'Heart Attack Entrées with Side Orders of Stroke'

Unsafe levels of sodium chloride, or salt, in chain restaurant meals increase one's chance of developing hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The nonprofit food safety and ...

May 11, 2009

'Lay's local': find out who made your potato chips

This month, Frito-Lay kicks-off its largest ever marketing campaign called "Lay's Local" to celebrate the more than 40,000 Americans across the country who grow the potatoes we use to make Lay’s brand potato chips, who make the chips at Frito...

May 07, 2009

Idaho Potato growers adjust expectations

Idaho potato farmers are planting the state's signature crop, and some are making changes based on reduced processing contracts.Processors that make french fries and other frozen potato products have reduced overall contracted potato acreage in the Nor...

May 06, 2009

Microwavable packaging growing in popularity

Remember the days of sticking a fork into a potato a couple times, then popping it into the microwave for 10 minutes or so? That’s ancient history … or, at least it’s heading in that direction. Microwaveable packaging is quickly catching on, according...

May 05, 2009

The University of Idaho wants you to have richly colored potatoes, even after storage

Harvest a red, yellow or purple specialty potato and its skin color will be shiny and bright. That’s paramount, because skin quality drives buyers to put a particular potato in their shopping cart. Store that potato for a month or two, and its skin co...

May 05, 2009

Idaho Potato Commission announces winners of the Potato Lover's Month Retail Display Contest

The most anticipated retail promotion of the year, the 2009 Potato Lover’s Month Retail Display Contest, proved to be yet another blockbuster hit for the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) with over 2,150 entries, an 11% increase in participation over 2008....

April 24, 2009

How to store potatoes at home

Potatoes live. Potatoes breathe. And because Potatoes are 80 percent water, these tubers thrive in humid locations. Take heed, consumers wondering about the best spots in your homes to store your potatoes.

Private label potato product in the Canadian market

April 21, 2009

Don't Blame Private-Label Gains on the Recession

Private label growth didn't start gaining momentum in the downturn. Not only have private label brands been gaining share for the past decade, experts say these gains are the single-biggest problem facing branded packaged goods players. House brands,...

April 17, 2009

Potato shippers rally for higher truck weight limits

The potato industry is backing a bill that would change the 20 year-old national truck weight restriction from a maximum of 80,000 pounds up to 97,000 pounds, which could allow them to ship 19% more potatoes at the same cost.Potato grower-shippers and ...

April 16, 2009

Maine Potato Grower to Chair United States Potato Board

Members of the United States Potato Board recently elected Maine chip stock grower Tom Qualey as Chairman of the Board, an honor last bestowed upon a Mainer more than two decades ago. It is an achievement not easily earned but rather the result of hard...

April 16, 2009

US potato Stocks: use of potatoes for dehydrated products low

The 13 major potato States held 115 million cwt of potatoes in storage April 1, 2009, down 9 percent from a year ago and 5 percent below April 1, 2007. Potatoes in storage accounted for 31 percent of the 2008 fall storage States' production, slightly b...

April 15, 2009

Columbia root-knot nematodes resistant potato developed by ARS scientists

Despite their microscopic size, Columbia root-knot nematodes (CRN) have potential to inflict huge losses—about $40 million annually—by tunneling into potatoes to feed.