Potato News from Northern America

Maine potato growers are thriving thanks to a late blight spraying advice offered by the University of Maine's cooperative extension program.

Leaf samples taken last summer by provincial potato specialists and ag chem firm Bayer CropScience throughout Canada show "widespread"presence of fungi that have mutated to resist the fungicides used most often to control them.The sampling pr...

ConAgra Foods announced today the appointment of Richard H. Lenny to the company’s board of directors, effective immediately. The appointment brings the total size of the board to eleven members.Lenny most recently served as chairman and chief executiv...

Competition and market access are the two biggest issues facing the potato industry as it tries to expand exports.“We had been benefiting from having a weak dollar, but that has also made the cost of international programs higher,” said Bart Connors, ...

Key Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTEC) announced today it has reached an agreement to acquire a minority interest in Proditec SAS. Proditec is a leading manufacturer of automated, solid dose pharmaceutical inspection systems based on machine vision technol...

As if unemployment rates, home foreclosures and the deepening recession weren't enough, the beleaguered casual-dining industry has to fend off new, formidable competition: fast-food chains. As consumers increasingly trade down to fast food, several pla...

McCain Foods has extended its lease by another six years for its 95,000-square-foot US headquarters. The food processor of potato products has occupied the building, at 2275 Cabot Dr. in the Corporate Lakes Business Park, since it was purchased by Duke...

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) has completely overhauled its oldest and biggest store brand, a move likely to send shock waves through the ranks of branded grocery manufacturers around the globe. For the past year, Wal-Mart has worked with suppliers and consu...

With the help of the publicity generated by appearing on the TV show Dragon’s Den, a local potato chip manufacturer introduced his brand to the rest of the country.And yes, the Dragons did offer Sepp Amsier a deal, but the maker of Hardbite Potato Chip...

Eating well in tough economic times can be well... tough. Consumers look to spend less on groceries often at the expense of nutrition but there are choices available that are better for you and economical."Good nutrition is non-negotiable - to sta...

Last year’s economic slowdown and supply chain issues, including ingredient availability problems and vendor pricing, had a large affect on the global food and beverage market. In spite of these deterrents, the industry lost only 5.1% of its market val...

The province Alberta has put an end to Calgary's trans fat initiative. In January 2008, the Calgary Health Region began limiting the amount of trans fats restaurants could use to less than two percent. It was the first part of a multi-phase initia...

Portion-controlled packaging for snacks could play a dual role in fighting raging obesity rates by reducing consumer calorific in-take and heightening awareness to portion size, finds new research from the US. Scientists at the University of Colorado D...

With potato-processing plants around the world, McCain Foods has a total production capacity to make more than one million pounds of french fries an hour. In fact, the company makes one-third of all frozen french fries in the world. Despite the high pe...

The potato industry needs innovation to create a long-term rise in demand, U.S. Potato Board President Tim O’Connor said at the group’s annual meeting.“There’s a difference between increasing demand and just getting a temporary sales bump,” O’Connor sa...

When Steve Bernard, founder of Cape Cod Potato Chips, learned that he had cancer, he lamented just one missed opportunity in his life. "The only thing that he was upset about was wanting to take his grandsons fly-fishing in Montana,"said his ...

In a case of recent success being no guarantee of future success, potato industry officials are trying to get a message through loud and clear to growers: Don’t plant more spuds than last year.Even keeping acreage right where it is, they say, could be ...

The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) today announced a new wave of investment - $350,000 - into research on the role of canola in the prevention and treatment of heart disease and diabetes.The announcement of funding under the Canola Product Research Fun...