Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI)

From the fields of Idaho to tasting rooms in suburban Chicago, potato farmers, researchers and industry representatives are in the midst of an elusive hunt: finding a new spud for McDonald's french fries.

A new specialty potato, with a striking regal color both outside and in, needs a home.

All new potato varieties developed by the Pacific Northwest Tri-State Breeding Program are now licensed to PVMI (the Potato Variety Management Institute), a non-profit marketing and administration organization for the Tri-State Potato Breeding Program.

When potato producers plant their seed this spring, they’ll have three new varieties to choose from: Alpine Russet, a very high-yielding, medium- to late-maturing processing potato that has a natural dormancy rivaling Russet Burbank. It can be stored...