News on The Potato Supply Chain from Northern America

BCfresh, a British Columbia-based provider of locally-grown vegetables, announced the introduction of Farmer’s Keepers™ Potatoes. Farmer’s Keepers™ Potatoes come in a variety of non-uniform shapes and sizes with minor blemishes or minor mechanical damage.

Sources say the 2016 Southern Idaho Potato Cooperative contract will include new langcode mandating a minimum of two years of alternate crops between potatoes.

World Potato Congress Inc. announced today appointments to the WPC Board of Directors and International Advisory Committee.

U.S. children are not consuming enough vegetables, resulting in an inadequate intake of key nutrients, including potassium and dietary fiber, which are important for growth, development and overall health.

Idaho® potatoes are a significant source of potassium - an essential nutrient that many Americans do not get enough of on a daily basis.

February is Potato Lovers Month in Canada, and Prince Edward Island potato growers are celebrating by offering consumers a chance to win a potato-packed trip to Prince Edward Island!

Ron Offutt, founder and Chairman Emeritus of the R. D. Offutt Company, the United States’ largest producer of potatoes, spoke about his business success on the final day of Manitoba Potato Production Days in Brandon on January 28.

Okray Family Farms in Plover, Wisconsin, were named the recipients of the prestigious 2015 Environmental Stewardship Award during the National Potato Council’s (NPC) 2016 Annual Meeting, held January 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the United States, the fresh potato category finished 2015 with sales volume off -2.2% with the largest-selling type down -3.2%. But red potatoes, the second-largest seller, bucked the trend by finishing the year slightly ahead.

Idaho State University researchers have found high-tech cameras mounted on drones flying 60 meters above potato fields can effectively detect individual diseased and stressed plants.

At the National Potato Council’s (NPC) 2016 Annual Meeting, held January 14-15 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jim Tiede from James Tiede Farms of American Falls, Idaho, was elected to serve as NPC’s president for 2016 and to lead the council’s Executive Committee.

Black Gold Farms is going to help retailers encourage their potato shoppers to “spice up your spud life” this February!

Celebrate Potato Lover’s Month with a purple flare! Attract shoppers with colorful, specialty varieties on your potato display.

Neil Gudmestad, a potato pathologist with North Dakota State University, has been awarded the 2015 Potato Man for All Seasons award by produce magazine The Packer.

The Food and Drug Administration has completed its food and feed safety assessment of the J.R. Simplot Company’s second generation of Innate® potatoes. Simplot will still need to complete its registration with the Environmental Protection Agency for these potatoes before introducing them for sale in the U.S. marketplace.

The softening Canadian dollar has in many cases driven up the cost of imported produce and this is being reflected in grocery store prices. However, one staple vegetable that has not experienced the same jump in prices is Prince Edward Island Potatoes.

En una carta dirigida el martes a J.R. Simplot Co., con sede en Idaho, la FDA dijo que la papa no es sustancialmente diferente en composición o seguridad a otros productos que ya están en el mercado, y no suscita ningún cuestionamiento por el que la agencia tuviera que realizar exámenes más rigurosos antes de que sea comercializada.

TOMRA Sorting Food is set to demonstrate one of its innovative potato sorting systems at this year’s Potato Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 12-14.