Mar 12, 2012Process contracts stalled
Idaho process growers rejected contracts for the 2012 season offered by ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston and the J.R. Simplot Co. The growers rejected the companies’ offer of a 10.7 percent increase from the 2011 contracts.
Dan Hargraves, executive director of the Southern Idaho Potato Cooperative (SIPCO), said that the grower organization was seeking a 15 percent increase in 2012 from the three processing companies. McCain Foods USA had tendered an offer of 13.4 percent, contingent on ConAgra and Simplot agreeing to the same increase.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Hargraves. “We would have liked to have had an agreement that worked for both sides. We’re disappointed. That’s the best way I can describe it.”
In Wisconsin and Maine, process growers are just beginning negotiations. Watch for more in the March issue of eSpudman, coming March 13.
