News on Potato Cultivation from the Americas

Report from the UPGC Board of Directors Meeting
held in conjunction with the Crop Transition Conference in Minneapolis

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has expanded the drought emergency declaration to cover nearly half of Washington state due to worsened, poor water supply conditions around the state and warmer and drier weather predictions through the summer.

Kevin MacIsaac, General Manager of the United Potato Growers of Canada offers an overview of the potato situation in Canada based on a Planting Update Call of May 28, 2019: Cold and wet in the East; Slightly behind but dry in the West

Soggy weather already setting Prince Edward Island potato crop behind. Farmers are hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2018 season.

Black Gold Farms started harvest of the 2019 fresh crop of Texas colored potatoes earlier this week. According to the company, the first run fields have indicated that the quality will be better than ever.

El Día Nacional de la Papa (que se celebra el 30 de mayo y se instauró a partir de 2005) ha servido para rescatar a nuestras papas nativas de la extinción, destacó la directora ejecutiva del CITE Papa, Celfia Obregón Ramírez.

Las imágenes son sorprendentes. La súper papa tiene el tamaño de una bolsa de 20 kilos. Sin embargo, su peso fue de 3,8 kilos ya que gran parte de este ejemplar era totalmente hueco.

NC State grew the North Carolina sweet potato industry into a global powerhouse. Now we're leading the effort to breed sweet potatoes that could provide economic opportunities and better nutrition for people in African countries. (Courtesy: Bill Krueger)

La demanda interna del mercado bordea los 5 millones de toneladas, pero sólo se produce 1.1 millón de t, el resto ingresa por la vía de contrabando e importación.

Papas de la nueva variedad Kawsay se vendieron en supermercados por primera vez este año. Kawsay tiene el potencial de mejorar los ingresos y la seguridad alimentaria de las comunidades, además es de alto rendimiento y gran resistencia al tizón tardío.

In his presentation at the the 2018 Potato Expo, Dr. Chad Hutchinson discusses the benefits of using Chloropicrin in potato production. Chloropicrin increases production efficiency, profit potential for potato growers, and it also improves soil health.

Manitoba’s potato sector is gearing up to supply an expanding industry but seed supplies will be tight after a tough harvest last season. A number of producers are planning capital upgrades to keep up with the rise in demand.

UK vegetable harvesting and handling equipment manufacturer, Scotts Precision Manufacturing, is celebrating after receiving its biggest ever order from Canada.

Spring is just now beginning to shine in much of eastern Oregon and Washington. A winter of record snowfall left the ground frozen or flooded much later than normal. As a result, farmers are getting a late start on their crops.

A New Brunswick-grown industry partnership will see Grand Falls host an all-new edition of the major farming trade show AgriExpo this summer.

In the latest addition to his blog (https://www.gatesnotes.com), Bill Gates highlights that in order to fight climate change, we need to look beyond decarbonizing the way we generate electricity. We need to look at agriculture for example...

Potato grower and packer Wilcox Fresh has appointed Justin Reynolds as the company’s new CEO.

17 familias del municipio colombiano de Toca han logrado distribuir más de 1.300 toneladas de papa, aumentando sus ingresos en un 35%. Y todo gracias a la creación y consolidación de la Asociación Agrícola de Toca, implementada por Reconciliación Colombia