Potato News from Northern America

McCain Foods announces leadership changes to its Canadian Foods Service Sales Team. With an outstanding 44 years of service, Jeff Veysey has decided to retire on December 31, 2020.

Taco Bell's Nacho Fries were incredibly popular and the fans of these tasty fries were highly disappointed when they were discontinued. Now they are back! But only for a limited time during the holidays, starting December 24.

Potato Production in Canada for the year 2020, is estimated at 104,203,000 hundredweight. This is down 1.4 million hundredweight or 1.3 percent below de production in 2019.

The United States Potato industry looks forward to productive relationship with returning Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Snack fans have asked for more customization for years and Frito-Lay is responding in a big way. Frito-Lay today announced a new way for shoppers to customize their own Frito-Lay Variety Pack to fit the snacking needs of their household.

Two University of Maine researchers, Greg Porter and Han Tan, are part of a team of plant geneticists and breeders working to develop tools that will help Maine scientists and farmers become more efficient in bringing novel, improved potato varieties to market.

In humid climates, there is a high risk of topsoil loss from erosion on bare soil as well as nitrogen from fertilizers leaking or leaching from the soil into water sources, which can cause groundwater pollution.

2020 has been the year we've all learned to adjust to change and the Pringles® brand and its iconic mascot, Mr. Pringle, is no exception: after twenty years, both get a new Look!

Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, announces the appointment of John Dykstra as Director of Service Operations for North America, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Wayne Townshend has been named chairman. Townshend has been on the board for five years serving as a seed director.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has recently confirmed the presence of potato wart in two fields on a farm in Prince Edward Island (PEI). Potato wart is a regulated quarantine pest in Canada.

Potato packer Skone & Connors installs Tong grading and washing equipment. The custom-built potato grading and washing solution enabled this US based company to increase their sizing capabilities of both dirty and washed crop, whilst reducing waste.

US potato imports for the first quarter of the July 2020 – June 2021 marketing year were up 19% in total, according to a news release issued by Potatoes USA.

McCain Foods is announcing leadership changes to its Canadian Retail Business. After a remarkable 37 years with McCain, Mike Barry, Vice President Retail Sales has decided to retire on December 31st, 2020.

PepsiCo, Inc. recently announced that Pietro Antonio Tataranni, MD has been named the company's global Chief Medical Officer. He will oversee the company's efforts to protect its global workforce, products, and communities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duravant LLC announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cloud Packaging Solutions from its parent company, Hearthside Food Solutions LLC.

Record potato sales continued at US retail from July through September 2020. Total store potato sales increased by 13.6% in dollar sales and 10.6% in volume sales, compared to the same time frame in 2019.

Two out of Three Consumers Plan to Stock Up on Snacks More Now Than Before the Pandemic, with Dips Seeing Dramatic Increase in Lead up to the Holidays Due to Convenience, According to Latest U.S. Snack Index