Potato News from Northern America

Red-skinned potatoes are sure to be on the minds and menus of many after remarkable results shown by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s selections this year.

With clean seed potatoes recognized as the best defense against this new blackleg-causing pathogen, the demand for Dickeya testing is growing fast.

Tasteful Selections™, a specialty potato brand from RPE Inc., adds a new flavor to their Tasteful Selections Take & Shake™ line: Cheddar Cheese.

Jay LaJoie of Van Buren, Maine and Jason Davenport of Arvin, California were appointed to the Potatoes USA Executive Committee on March 16, 2017 and will co-chair the Industry Outreach Committee.

The Potatoes USA international marketing committee met prior to the Annual Meeting in Denver March 15 & 16. The committee heard how U.S. potato exports have grown 183% in the past 20 years and now account for close to 20% of production.

The potato industry may be losing a mainstay in the battle against psyllids, according to a recent Texas A&M AgriLife Research study.

QSRs, which represent 80 percent of total commercial foodservice visits, realized no traffic growth in 2016 and total foodservice traffic dipped slightly.

Good Health®, is adding to its robust portfolio of better-for-you snacks with an exciting new line of Avocado Oil Ridge Cut™ Potato Chips launching at Natural Products Expo West.

PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division has launched its latest variation of tasty potato goodness: Lay's Poppables – a new, delicious, multi-dimensional, light-textured potato snack

The Potatoes USA grower membership elected new leadership during its Annual Meeting held in Denver earlier this month.

The Canadian Horticultural Council has received over $274,000 in Growing Forward 2 funding to help expand markets for Canadian potatoes.

Since Monsanto took their genetically modified Newleaf /Naturemark potatoes of the market in 2001, no GM potatoes have been grown commercially in Canada. But Simplot's Innate potatoes are going to change that in 2017.

The Potatoes USA Board Members for 2017 were sworn in during its Annual Meeting in Denver Colorado.

The Big Idaho® Potato Truck is back on America's highways promoting Idaho's most famous agricultural product, the Idaho® potato.

The US federal government has given the final OK to three more types of potatoes genetically engineered by Boise’s J.R. Simplot Co. to resist Phytophthora - the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine.

Mrs. Gerry's Kitchen, a manufacturer of Salads and Sides - including numerous variations of potato salad and mashed potatoes, invested in a TOMRA peeling line, consisting of an Orbit 350 peeler with OBD 6/20 brusher and an M01 steam accumulator.

TOMRA Sorting Food will showcase the TOMRA 5A, its newest state-of-the-art potato sorter, at the new biennial processing event ProFoodTech 2017. Potato Processors can find TOMRA at Booth #1721

Yesterday, Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire protein-based snacking businesses Thanasi Foods LLC (Thanasi), maker of Duke's® meat snacks and BIGS LLC (BIGS), maker of BIGS® seeds.