EAST GRAND FORKS, MN- After a series of meetings with representative from the United Potato Growers of America, area potato growers have formed a committee made up of area shippers to formulate a membership agreement. Upon completion, it will be offered to area growers for approval on a individual basis.
The Northern Plains Potato Growers Association has been facilitating meetings, but remains neutral on weather growers should or should not join. "That is a decision each grower will have to make" according to Ted Kreis, Marketing Director for NPPGA. Buzz Shahan from United, who has been leading the local recruitment effort, stresses that acreage control won't be attempted in the Red River Valley. "In the Valley, the bulk which is not irrigated, weather-based production variations make acreage caps unfeasible."
Fresh growers in the Big Lake area of Minnesota have made plans to join United, which will make Michigan and Maine the only two large potato producing areas without United affiliation should North Dakota and Minnesota join.
For additional information on this story, please contact Ted Kreis, NPPGA Marketing Director at (218) 773-3633 or tkreis@nppga.org