INDUSTRY DIRECTORY
December 31, 2019
Articles, Grower of the Month
Tyrell Marchant, Editor

At the Heart of It All

Grower of the Month: Michael Family Farms of Urbana, Ohio
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December 31, 2019
Articles

Manitoba Producers Challenged by 2019 Crop

Too dry, too wet and then it snowed. Lots. That sums up Manitoba’s 2019 growing season, culminating with the “harvest from hell,” which for some farmers won’t end until spring.
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December 31, 2019
Articles
Sean Ellis, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

Tough Harvest Yields High Prices

Idaho potato growers will likely talk about 2019 for years to come.
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December 31, 2019
Articles
Colin Tiernan

Difficult Harvest Could Make for Interesting Marketing Year

Fresh potato prices have roughly doubled after a poor growing year and a frosty harvest caused American production to drop 6 percent in 2019.
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December 23, 2019
Articles

P.E.I. Potato Board Elects New Exec

During the board of director’s Nov. 20 meeting, it was decided that Jason Hayden will continue in the role of the board's chairman.
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December 23, 2019
Articles
Colin Tiernan

What a 'Bad' Potato Year Means for Growers, Consumers

Fresh potato prices have roughly doubled after a poor growing year and a frosty harvest caused American production to drop 6 percent in 2019.
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December 23, 2019
Articles
Kelly A. Harmon

National Agricultural Library Celebrates 50 Years in Maryland

The National Agricultural Library celebrated 50 years in Beltsville, Md., in November 2019.
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December 20, 2019
Articles, Irrigation, New Products

Valley Receives Patent for Innovation in VRI Technology

Valley Irrigation has recently received a patent for a new and better way for growers to implement variable rate irrigation.
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December 20, 2019
Articles

Big Idaho Potato Truck Wraps Up Eighth Tour

During its cross-country trek, the 4-ton spud participated in 54 scheduled events in 50 different cities and donated $12,500 to 25 local non-profits through its charitable program, A Big Helping.
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December 20, 2019
Articles

CEO of NoKota Packers to Retire

Fresh Solutions Network announced that Steve Tweten, president, CEO and partner of NoKota Packers Inc., will retire Dec. 27 after 40 years with the company.
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December 20, 2019
Articles

NPC Lauds House Passage of USMCA

The National Potato Council yesterday applauded U.S. House passage of legislation ratifying the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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December 19, 2019
Articles, Irrigation, New Products

Valley Receives Industry Awards

Valley Scheduling has been named New Product of the Year by the Irrigation Association. In addition, Valley GPS Guidance has won a 2020 AE50 Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
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December 19, 2019
Articles, Irrigation

Irrigation Association Announces New Directors

The Irrigation Association has appointed Richard Arias, Julie Bushell and Eric Santos to three-year terms on its board of directors.
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December 19, 2019
Articles, Irrigation, New Products

Dragon-Line's Teeter Given IA’s 2019 Innovator Award

Developer of Dragon-Line drip irrigation systems says it's a team effort
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December 18, 2019
Articles
Tess Boissonneault

3-D Printed Mashed Potatoes? It Could Be a Thing

Working together, the Chinese and Australian researchers have experimented with 3-D printing mashed potatoes with probiotic additives.
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December 18, 2019
Articles

FMC Announces Reorganized Leadership

FMC Corporation announces that its board of directors has elected Mark Douglas as president and CEO of FMC, effective June 1, 2020.
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December 18, 2019
Articles, Fungicide, Herbicide, Insecticide, New Products

Davidson Joins Vive as Midwest Sales Manager

Rick Davidson of Marshall, Ill., has joined Vive Crop Protection as the company’s Midwest regional sales manager. He is working with the distribution and retail networks to position Vive’s unique products to growers across the region.
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December 18, 2019
Articles, Seed Potatoes

Solynta, Rwanda Ag Development Board Expand Collaboration

The application of hybrid potato will allow for a much faster breeding process, allowing for the introduction of beneficial traits including disease resistance, which will result in reduced usage of herbicide and pesticides.
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December 17, 2019
Articles, Fungicide, Herbicide, Insecticide

Helm Agro US Hires SW Regional Sales Manager

Helm Agro US, Inc., a global manufacturer of high-quality crop protection and fertilizer products, announces the hiring of Josh Louder as regional sales manager in the Southwest.
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December 17, 2019
Articles

Northwest Potato Stock Report

Potato stocks in Idaho on Dec. 1 totaled 95 million hundredweight; 17.9 million hundredweight in Oregon; and 58.5 million hundredweight in Washington.
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December 17, 2019
Articles
Adam Duvernay

Can Drones, Blockchain Technology Support Ag?

“For consumers to be confident that the products they’re purchasing have a certain sustainability footprint, there has to be some accountability there.”
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December 16, 2019
Articles

Western Potato Shortage to Have Minimal Impact on Eastern Prices

The executive director of the Maine Potato Board doesn't expect a rough harvest in the West to cause any major long-term shifts in the industry.
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December 16, 2019
Articles

How to Build a Farm Peer Advisory Group

Expert says farmers should engage in formal peer groups to share and develop effective management practices.
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December 12, 2019
Articles

Experts Explore What Constitutes a 'High-Quality' Carbohydrate

A panel of four internationally recognized carbohydrate researchers, educators, clinicians, and food chemists discussed the concept of carbohydrate quality and the many factors that should be considered when assessing the quality of a carbohydrate-contain
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December 12, 2019
Articles

NPC Applauds House Passage of Farm Workforce Modernization Act

The National Potato Council welcomed U.S. House passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
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December 12, 2019
Articles
Jim Offner

Varietals, Organics Continue to Spice Up Potato Business

A potato isn’t just a potato, particularly now, with new varieties and organics coming on, marketers say—though russets remain king at retail.
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December 11, 2019
Articles, New Products

New Product: TOMRA 3A Optical Sorter

TOMRA Food introduces the TOMRA 3A, a vision sorter for the separation of a range of foreign material from unwashed potatoes.
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December 11, 2019
Articles, Seed Potatoes

Minnesota Seed Association Hires Promotion Director

The Minnesota Certified Seed Potato Grower’s Association has hired Perry Paschke to serve as promotions director for the group.
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December 11, 2019
Articles
Jim Offner

Processed Potato Needs Influence Fresh Market

The chip, frozen and other potato-processing businesses continue to touch the fresh industry, but that touch might be a bit stronger this year, marketers say.
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December 10, 2019
Articles, Event Calendar

Danforth Center Launches AgTech NEXT Conference

New annual gathering to connect thought leaders around emerging trends and opportunities in the food and agriculture sectors
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December 10, 2019
Articles
Jim Offner

Potatoes are Value Buy, Even When Prices Climb

Potato prices may be higher this year than last because of tighter supplies, but the product remains a good value, and its versatility certainly hasn’t changed, marketers say.
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December 10, 2019
Articles
Laura Reiley, Washington Post

Hashing Out the Potato Harvest

The USDA expects the lowest yield potato since 2010, a 6.1 percent decline since last year.
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December 09, 2019
Articles

Reinke Recognizes Rain for Rent as Top 10 Dealership

Reinke Manufacturing has recognized Rain for Rent as one of its top 10 highest-selling dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada.
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December 09, 2019
Fungicide, New Products

BASF's New Fungicide Effectively Fights Early Blight

Provysol fungicide is an isopropanol azole fungicide, making it a solution for disease control. Provysol not only controls key diseases, but also provides a new mode of action to manage resistance and has excellent tank-mixing capabilities, according to c
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December 06, 2019
Articles
Ann Bailey

Regional Economy to Feel Effects of Minn./N.D. Harvest

The ripple effect of what likely will be multibillion-dollar crop losses will be felt in many sectors of the Red River Valley regional economy, experts say.
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December 06, 2019
Articles
David Marino Jr.

Maine Potatoes Expected to be in Strong Demand

Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, says that poor harvests in other regions would create a “strong demand” for Maine-grown potatoes.
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December 06, 2019
Articles
Thomas Clouse

Washington Avoids Potato Shortage

Washington potato growers could double what they earn from this year’s crop because of shortages in Idaho, the Upper Midwest and Canada caused by bad weather in October that forced some producers to leave their spuds in the field.
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December 05, 2019
Irrigation, New Products

New Product: High-Horsepower Belle Motors from Single Phase Power Solutions

Available from 30 to 100 horsepower, these single-phase pump solutions are easily installed by simply connecting to available single-phase utility power; they do not require a phase converter or variable frequency drive.
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December 05, 2019
Articles

Potato Shortage Could Be Positive for Wisconsin Growers

Despite a tough growing season, Wisconsin farmers were able to avoid an early killing frost and were able to meet their production quotas.
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December 04, 2019
Articles

Japan’s Upper House Approves U.S.-Japan Agreement on Ag Trade

NPC applauds clearance of final hurdle expanding U.S. potato industry’s access to top export market
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December 04, 2019
Articles
Charisse Jones

U.S. Could Face Fry Shortage

From an extended rainy period in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, to an early frost in Idaho, weather negatively affected the country's potato harvest.
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December 03, 2019
Articles

Vestaron Names Hammons as Southeast Sales Manager

Eric Hammons joins Vestaron as Southeast manager to manage sales efforts and distribution relationships throughout Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
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December 03, 2019
Articles, Fertilizer, New Products

Specialty Fertilizer Producer Van Iperen Expands in U.S.

One of the world’s leading specialty fertilizer producers, Dutch company Van Iperen International, which works exclusively with Milliken’s Liquitint Agro colorants in its NPK high-quality fertilizer formulations, is now fully operational with its subsidia
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December 03, 2019
Articles

2019 a Banner Year for Maine Potatoes

This could be the year that East Coast retailers have a new appreciation for Maine potatoes.
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December 03, 2019
Articles, New Products, Seed Potatoes

Michigan State Introduces Blackberry Potato Variety

Purple potato chips will be on shelves at grocery stores in the Great Lakes region, thanks to a collaboration between Michigan State University researchers and Great Lakes Potato Chip Co.
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December 03, 2019
Articles
Tom Karst

Green Thumb Farms Launches Program to Develop, Introduce Varieties

Called “Farmer’s First,” the program is designed to help retailers introduce new products and give consumers products that meet their needs, according to a news release.
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December 02, 2019
Articles
Harwood D. Schaffer & Daryll E. Ray

Economics at the Farm Level vs. National Level

Why do we keep experiencing long periods of low crops prices when we have known about this problem for more than a hundred years?
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December 02, 2019
Articles
Hope Kirwan

Farmers Receiving Smaller Portion of Consumer Dollars

National Farmers Union estimates average producer receives about 12 cents of every Thanksgiving food dollar
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