News
Joe Sieczka passes away after long service to potato industry
Joe Sieczka, longtime potato specialist and Extension agent, has died. “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Joe Sieczka on July 29, 2018 at his home in New York,” The Potato Association of America (PAA) wrote in a release... more
European court rules gene editing equals GMO
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that crops created using gene editing techniques will be considered as genetically modified organisms under their regulations. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a statement saying the... more
Potato exports decline again in May
The volume of U.S. exports of frozen potato products declined 4 percent in May 2018 compared to 2017, with value down 2 percent, according to figures compiled by Trade Stats Northwest. The reduction was due to a 26 percent loss in Mexico, 38 percen... more
Judge doesn’t rule on Klamath Basin irrigation suit
Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California heard oral arguments in the lawsuit filed by the Klamath Tribes against the Bureau of Reclamation, seeking a preliminary injunction that would require immediate s... more
USDA to assist farmers impacted by retaliation tariffs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take several actions to assist farmers in response to trade damage from retaliation. President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers wh... more
Trevor Suslow named PMA vice president of food safety
Starting this fall, Trevor Suslow will become the Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) vice president of food safety. Suslow joins PMA from the University of California-Davis, where as Extension research specialist he has been researching, advisin... more
Arysta LifeScience sold to UPL Corporation
Platform Specialty Products has agreed to sell Arysta LifeScience, its agricultural solutions segment, to UPL Corporation. The deal will create the fifth largest crop protection company in the world, according to a Platform Specialty press release. ... more
McCain to be largest tenant of NewCold facility in Burley, Idaho
NewCold, a deep-frozen storage and logistics company based in The Netherlands, will open its second fully mechanized facility in the United States in the spring of 2019. Located in Burley, Idaho the freezer facility is a joint design effort and const... more
Nestle files for patent on potato baby formula
Nestle has applied for a patent for an infant formula based on potato protein microparticles. The Washington State Potato Commission said the company presents it as a naturally hypoallergenic infant formula that is suitable for infants with... more
New tariffs cause Congress and industry to react
Recently, the Trump administration announced that they were preparing an additional $200 billion in tariffs against China in what’s described by media outlets as a trade war. The National Potato Council (NPC) said the potato industry has alrea... more
