In 1949, in a nod to the Pacific Northwest’s prolific potato production capabilities, the USDA established a potato research breeding program at its research station in Aberdeen, Idaho. While it had been Idaho which initially went to the USDA with the idea of a potato breeding program, from the onset the program was intended to serve the industry throughout Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Today the Tri-State Potato Research and Breeding Program is a thriving collaboration of the USDA-ARS of the three states, the University of Idaho, Oregon State University, Washington State University, and each state’s respective potato commission. In 1984 the USDA began allowing potatoes to be variety-protected, eventually leading to the Tri-State Program, particularly the involved potato commissions, founding the Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI) in 2005.
“Universities had been going through the paperwork of protecting varieties,” says PVMI administrator Jeanne Debons. “But they weren’t really equipped to do much more than that. The potato commissions said, ‘We need a way to get the value of these things back.’” Each commission put in $150,000 and jointly worked on creating a feasibility study and a business plan, and the nonprofit PVMI was born.
PVMI’s mission is to maximize the agricultural and economic success of new varieties. “You can say it’s to get the return from the new potato varieties both to the Pacific Northwest industry as well as back to the research program,” says Debons, “but it’s more than that. PVMI is a service for growers; it’s not just royalty collections.”
Growers who raise PVMI varieties pay a royalty fee, which goes back into operating the breeding program. “PVMI isn’t making money for profit to a single group of shareholders,” says Debons. “It is generating funds to help keep the research and breeding program going. The idea is to charge a royalty rate that is reasonable and not prohibitive to the seed growers, yet allows a return to the program.”
When developing new varieties, the Tri-State Breeding Program selects lines that will do well under Pacific Northwest conditions. Good examples of the broader success of the program include Ranger Russet and Umatilla Russet, which are widely grown. However, PVMI doesn’t focus marketing solely on the Pacific Northwest; the program doesn’t discriminate as to where its varieties will likely be grown. PVMI varieties can be seen growing in fields from California to Prince Edward Island. While royalty rates are slightly higher outside the Tri-State area, the work the Tri-State program has put into selecting and developing its varieties has certainly aided in expanding its reach. PVMI works hard to keep royalties affordable, no matter where the seed is being grown and where they’re being paid from—either inside the Tri-States, or outside the U.S. “The equivalent European variety marketing companies charge higher rates than PVMI does,” says Debons. “They’ve approached me and asked, ‘Won’t you raise your royalties to be more in line with the current rates?’ PVMI response has so far been ‘No.’”
The breeding program works to develop varieties for the fresh, chipping, dehy and specialty markets—no end use is beyond the borders of PVMI. The program is also looking at the dye and other industrial markets for some of the specialty lines. Varieties that PVMI markets for the Tri-State Program include such well-known names as Alturas, Classic Russet and Yukon Gem, as well as rising stars such as Clearwater Russet, Teton Russet and Huckleberry Gold.
However, while raising awareness is an essential part of PVMI’s mission, it certainly isn’t what defines success.
“The thing is,” says Debons, “no matter how much attention PVMI is able to get for each variety, it’s the potatoes’ performance that makes them a success. If a potato isn’t going to make ends meet or be as good as another one, it will be dropped for a better, more profitable alternative.
“At the end of the day it’s the quality of the varieties’ performance that carries them, and the Tri-State Breeding Program is known for this quality.”