INDUSTRY DIRECTORY
May 31, 2020
New Products, Potato Equipment

Harvest Equipment Buyers' Guide

Harvest is the most exciting (and undoubtedly busiest) time of year for potato growers. When the time comes, you’ll want to be prepared with quality, reliable equipment that will take good care of the fruits of your labors.
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May 29, 2020
Articles, Seed Potatoes, Smorgasbord

The Smorgasbord: Galena Russet

Galena Russet is a medium- to late-maturing variety that is notable for having both high early- and full-season yields.
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May 29, 2020
Between the Rows

Between the Rows: The Fear of Missing Out

Don’t let it rob you of your simple, everyday joys.
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May 29, 2020
Articles, Seed Potatoes
Morgan Benth

Direct Assistance Program May Not Reach Every Producer

The applications for a $16 billion program to help farmers opened this week. But before the first checks are signed, there's already concern that it won't reach everyone.
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May 29, 2020
Articles, Event Calendar

PotatoEurope 2020 Canceled

Organizers of PotatoEurope 2020 have made the decision to cancel the exhibition planned for Sept. 2-3 in Villers-Saint-Christophe, France.
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May 28, 2020
Articles

Potato Industry Seeks Changes to USDA Payments

NPC wants higher payments and more help from Congress in the wake of COVID-19
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May 27, 2020
Articles

Nominations Open for 2021 Potatoes USA Board Members

Potatoes USA announces nominations are now open for new board members for the 2021-24 term. The board is seeking nominees to fill a total of 60 open seats.
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May 26, 2020
Articles, Irrigation, New Products

New Product: Toro Aqua-Traxx Azul Drip Tape

This exciting new product gives growers the same quality and performance they have come to expect from Aqua-Traxx, but now features an innovative flow path design to more effectively resist clogging than ever before.
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May 26, 2020
Articles, Event Calendar

National Ag in the Classroom Summit Offered Virtually

National Agriculture in the Classroom is hosting its Virtual Summit on Wednesday, June 24, and Thursday, June 25.
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May 26, 2020
Articles
Jim Vasil

Dieffenbach’s Gives Away 20 Tons of Potatoes

The Pennsylvania potato chip company recently got its hands on 40,000 pounds of Grade-A russet potatoes left behind by the hurting restaurant industry, and the company didn't want to see them go to waste.
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May 22, 2020
Articles
Kathryn Miles

Idaho, Maine Potato Industries Deal with Effects of COVID-19

Potato farmers face financial disaster as coronavirus dries up demand for their crop.
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May 22, 2020
Articles

AMVAC Hires Director of Business Development

AMVAC recently introduced Glen Donald as the director of portfolio management and business development. Donald will be replacing the retiring Neil DeStefano.
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May 21, 2020
Herbicide, New Products

Helm Agro, ISK Collaborate on New Herbicides

Helm Agro US, Inc. and ISK Bioscienes have entered into a long-term collaboration for the commercial development of three novel crop protection herbicides.
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May 21, 2020
Articles

MSU Helps Make Michigan a Top Potato Chip Producer

Michigan State University Extension's Potato Outreach Program supports potato growers by conducting on-farm research and demonstration trials on all aspects of potato production.
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May 21, 2020
New Products

New Product: FMC Arc Farm Intelligence Platform

Proprietary mobile platform is a first in the agricultural industry to deliver real-time data that predicts insect pressure one week in advance with more than 90 percent confidence for key insects to help growers protect yields.
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May 20, 2020
Articles

U.S. Potato Exports Begin to Slow

U.S. exports of frozen potato products were off 12 percent in March 2020 compared to 2019. Exports of dehydrated potatoes were off 16 percent, and fresh were off 13 percent from the previous year.
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May 20, 2020
Articles
Kathy McCarty

Potato Planting in Full Swing across Maine

This month's unexpected snow and colder temperatures hampered many Maine farmers' start to their planting for the year. That's about to change with this week's warm weather.
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May 20, 2020
Articles

Ahrens Named UPL Head of U.S. Ag Sales: Leadership team offers agility, strength in a complex environment

Leadership team offers agility, strength in a complex environment
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May 19, 2020
Articles

President, USDA Announce Direct Support to Food Producers

President Donald Trump today held a press event at the White House to announce the details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to U.S. farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus
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May 19, 2020
Articles
Alexie Aguayo

Great Montana Potato Drive Continues

A potato giveaway was held last week in Helena, Mont., as part of the Great Montana Potato Drive.
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May 19, 2020
Articles

Study: Potato Protein May Help Maintain Muscle

Research suggests that potato protein can increase the rate of protein production in the muscles.
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May 15, 2020
Articles
Stephen Robb

Frost Damages Early Potatoes in Ireland

Reports came through on Friday morning from growers around the country of damage to early and early-main crop potatoes. Damage to emerged foliage ranges from mild to severe.
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May 15, 2020
Articles

USDA Webinar on Direct Payments

Yesterday, the USDA held a webinar to instruct growers who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for direct payments.
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May 15, 2020
Articles

Waggoner Hired as Helm Midwest Sales Agronomist

Helm Agro US, Inc., a global manufacturer of high-quality crop protection and fertilizer products, announces the hiring of Brock Waggoner as sales agronomist for the Midwest region.
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May 15, 2020
Articles, Fungicide, New Products

Addressing Powdery Mildew Outbreak in Southeast

With the ongoing powdery mildew outbreak in Georgia and Florida, growers are looking for immediate and economical solutions. With its on-contact mode of action and no known resistance, OxiDate 5.0 will control the spread of disease while combating the fun
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May 15, 2020
Articles, Fertilizer, New Products

Envita N-Fixing Bacteria Now Available in Foliar Application

Registered in 27 states, foliar application opens up access to the nitrogen-fixing bacteria to millions of acres in the U.S.
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May 14, 2020
Articles, Fertilizer, New Products

Wilbur-Ellis Launches Two New Potassium Fertilizer Technologies

Foli-Gro Kilo is a single-source potassium acetate fertilizer. Till-It Kompound pushes both potassium and sulfur into plants through soil or fertigation applications.
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May 14, 2020
Articles, Insecticide, New Products

New Product: GROPRO Vigilance Nematicide

Trials show that potato plants treated with Vigilance are visibly healthier above the ground and have no evidence of stress after treatments.
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May 14, 2020
Articles

Wisconsin Growers Not as Hard-Hit as Western Counterparts

While many potato growers across the nation are being forced to mash their spuds into the ground, Wisconsin's spud producers aren't feeling as hard a hit from COVID-19 as their Western counterparts are.
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May 14, 2020
Articles
Sean Ellis, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

Crop Dumping is Last Resort

When a producer makes the decision to destroy some of his or her crop, it is the absolute last resort, and it's done with a heavy heart, farm industry leaders say.
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May 14, 2020
Articles
Hannah Yechivi

Maine Potato Industry Dealing with Pandemic

With much of the food industry closed, potato growers in Maine haven't been able to sell a big chunk of their 2019 harvest.
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May 14, 2020
Articles
Jessie Higgins

Potato Farmers Reduce Planting as Demand Drops

Early estimates show potato acres down about 10 percent. But even with that reduction, industry leaders fear growers will be unable to sell all their harvest come fall.
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May 14, 2020
Articles
Michelle Chandler & the Associated Press

Uncertainty for Klamath Basin Growers: This year, the agricultural industry was thrown a curve ball with COVID-19. Now, as harvest season approaches, farmers are facing new questions about

This year, the agricultural industry was thrown a curve ball with COVID-19. Now, farmers are facing new questions about the availability of workers and how to keep them safe.
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May 13, 2020
Articles, New Products

New Book: Feeding the People by Rebecca Earle

Feeding the People: The Politics of the Potato is Rebecca Earle’s brilliant and delicious exploration of the history of the potato: the best and only way to tell the story about how everyday eating practices became a part of modern politics.
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May 13, 2020
Articles, Fungicide, New Products

Xyler FC Included in McCain Contracts in Columbia Basin

Xyler FC fungicide, a fertilizer-compatible metalaxyl fungicide for potatoes by Vive Crop Protection, has been added to McCain Foods USA contracts in the Columbia Basin for 2020.
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May 12, 2020
Articles, Potato Equipment

Tong Appoints New Quality Manager

Denzil Phillips has joined potato and vegetable handling equipment manufacturer Tong Engineering as the company’s new quality manager.
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May 12, 2020
Articles

Columbia Basin Grower Gives away Potatoes

Frank Martinez has around 7,000 tons of potatoes to get rid of. So he’s giving them away. One bag, or bucket, or truckload at a time.
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May 12, 2020
Articles

Anuvia Names Semones VP of R&D

Anuvia Plant Nutrients, an environmentally sustainable plant nutrient manufacturer, announces that Shawn Semones has joined the company as vice president of research and development.
— Read More
May 11, 2020
Articles
Tad Thompson, The Produce News

COVID-19 a Mixed Bag for Colorado Potato Growers

The good news in Colorado’s fresh potato industry is that retail demand has been very strong this spring, because of, or in spite of, the coronavirus pandemic.
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May 11, 2020
Articles
Robert Arnason

Manitoba Growers at Breaking Point

Manitoba’s potato industry has been suffering for more than 18 months. There was a difficult harvest in 2018, a much worse harvest in 2019, potatoes rotting in storage this winter and production cuts this spring.
— Read More
May 08, 2020
Insecticide, New Products

Pesticides Buyers’ Guide

Tiny animal pests have long been the bane of potato growers. They’re out there; a lot of the time you can see them plain as day. Thankfully, you have some help, and a lot of it is right here.
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May 08, 2020
Articles

Podcast Celebrates the Potato

A new podcast from a pair of UK-based potato lovers is hoping to encourage potato-lovers worldwide to discover new dimensions to their favorite vegetable.
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May 07, 2020
Articles
Seth Truscott, Washington State University

WSU Team Studies Soil-borne Powdery Scab

A team of Washington State University scientists are taking on a destructive complex of diseases affecting valuable potato crops, thanks to support from a joint program of the National Science Foundation and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agricultu
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May 06, 2020
Articles, Fungicide

New Product: BioFun-1 Biotalys

BioFun-1 is an environmentally friendly, innovative biofungicide with potential for pre- and post-harvest applications, and provides growers with a novel mode of action to address increasing fungicide resistance.
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May 06, 2020
Articles

Video Thanks America’s Farmers for Keeping the Nation Fed

Trouw Nutrition USA is sending a message of gratitude and confidence to America’s farmers in a new video titled, “Thank You, Farmers.”
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May 04, 2020
Articles

Potato Industry Welcomes $50 Million USDA Purchase for Potatoes

The potato purchase, the largest of all the specialty crop purchases, was part of a $470 million Section 32 food purchase announced by USDA. This purchase is in addition to those previously announced by USDA.
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May 04, 2020
Articles, New Products

Medius Ag Expands Agricultural Data Management Services

Agricultural data management company Medius Ag announces the expansion of its software solutions to a broader range of commodities around the globe through the launch of its new platform, Medius.Re.
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May 04, 2020
Articles

Loaiza Joins Vive Crop Protection

Vive Crop Protection hires Aristobulo Loaiza as head of licensing and partnerships
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May 04, 2020
Articles

Coronavirus Cuts into Global Fry Demand

The fallout already has prompted McCain Foods to temporarily suspend a $300 million expansion of a plant in Othello, Wash., that would have produced french fries from potatoes grown on 11,000 acres
— Read More
May 01, 2020
Event Calendar

New Dates for Ag World Golf Classic

New 2020 dates and locations: Aug. 11: Canyon Lakes Golf Course, Kennewick, Wash. Aug. 13: The Links at Moses Pointe, Moses Lake, Wash.
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