Potatoes USA names Wisconsin grower board chair

A Wisconsin potato company CEO with 25 years of industry experience has been named the new chair of the Potatoes USA board.

Mike Carter of Rosholt, Wisconsin, is CEO and co-owner of Bushmans’, a potato grower, packager and marketer. He will lead Potatoes USA’s executive committee through 2024.

Carter has been a board member for a decade and has served on the executive committee for six years, taking on co-chair responsibilities for the International Marketing, Domestic Marketing, and Industry Outreach committees.

“I don’t think there’s anything that we as an industry can’t accomplish when we work together. It will be critical that we maintain this philosophy,” Carter said in a news release.

One of his first actions in his new role will be an upcoming trip to Poland, where he will connect with fellow growers to promote potatoes on a global scale.

Carter is also on the board of the Wisconsin State Potato Growers Association. His passion for the sport of curling has earned him recognition as a “potato curling ambassador.”

Other Potatoes USA executive committee members named at a March annual meeting include:

• Les Alderete of Monte Vista, Colorado, co-chair of the Domestic Marketing Committee
• Trever Belnap of Hamen, Idaho, co-chair of the Research Committee
• Jennifer Gogan of Houlton, Maine, co-chair of the Research Committe
• Leah Halverson of Grand Forks, North Dakota, co-chair of the Domestic Marketing Committee
• Jeff Jennings of Camden, North Carolina, chair of the Finance & Policy Committee
• Mike Larsen of Declo, Idaho, co-chair of the International Marketing Committee
• Shelley Olsen of Othello, Washington, co-chair of the International Marketing Committee
• Ed Staunton of Tulelake, California, co-chair of the Industry Outreach Committee
• Dennis Wright of Kennewick, Washington, co-chair of the Industry Outreach Committee
• Jason Davenport of Bakersfield, California, past chair