Eye on Potatoes: A Podcast on All Things Potatoes

This week, the Eye on Potatoes podcast welcomed Mark Klompien, President and CEO of United Potato Growers of America, to provide an outlook for remainder of this current shipping crop and a look head to plantings and acreage for the 2021 fresh potato crop. Additionally, in his role as Chairman of United Fresh’s Government Relations Council, Mark discussed the United Fresh/PMA merger and what it me...

The Leadership Institute Alumni Summit, July 13-15, will bring together Potato Industry Leadership Institute graduates to network, refresh skills, and learn new techniques to better position themselves for success in the potato industry. All past graduates of the Institute are invited to participate in the three 90-minute workshops that will be active, engaging, fast-paced, high energy and packed...

After years of delay, on April 28, Mexico's Supreme Court unanimously ruled to overturn a lower court decision that prevented the Mexican federal government from implementing regulations to allow for the importation of fresh U.S. potatoes throughout the country. The ruling, cheered by the U.S. potato industry and its supporters in the U.S. federal government, marks the end of a decade-long le...

National Potato Council COO Mike Wenkel calls in to talk about the upcoming Leadership Institute Alumni Summit, to be held July 13-15, which will virtually bring together graduates of the Potato Industry Leadership Institute to network, refresh skills, and learn new techniques to better position themselves for success in the potato industry. Also Mike discusses Potato LEAF's 2021-22 Academic...

This week, the National Potato Council and 26 leading food and agriculture associations sent a letter to USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai communicating growing concerns over the rapid deterioration of the U.S.-Mexico trade relationship. The letter calls attention to alarming recent developments with regard to the food and agriculture trade relationship with...

Dominic LaJoie of Van Buren, Maine was elected to serve as National Potato Council's 2021 President and to head the grower-led organization’s Executive Committee. Dominic is a fourth-generation potato grower and partner of LaJoie Growers LLC, which operates throughout Aroostook County, Maine. He previously served the NPC Board as First Vice President and Vice President of the Environmental Af...

As U.S. potato grower prepare to gather (virtually) for the 2021 National Potato Council Annual Meeting, Feb. 22-25, we sat down with 2020 NPC President Britt Raybould to discuss some of the ups and downs of the past year, including the industry's unprecedented efforts in D.C. to support family farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Raybould serves as chief financial officer of Raybould Brot...

During Potato Expo 2021, Craig Regelbrugge, Senior Vice President of AmericanHort, joined NPC CEO Kam Quarles for a discussion about how the new political dynamics could impact the ability to pass bipartisan ag labor reform. Regelbrugge says the problem is the middle has largely fallen out of our politics, and the agriculture community must find enough supporters in Congress to come together as we...

Hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief. Historic federal potato purchases. Categorizing agriculture as essential. It's hard to keep track of everything that's happened in 2020 so during January's Potato Expo 2021, we brought together some of the specialty crop industry's leading advocates to look back at a year we'll never forget and look ahead to finding a new...

Back by popular demand, Roy Spence is returning to Potato Expo!  Roy is the co-founder & chairman of GSD&M, and co-founder & CEO of The Purpose Institute, which helps organizations discover, articulate, and bring to life their deeper purpose in the world. He calls into the podcast to give us a preview of his session kicking off the first-ever virtual Potato Expo 2021, Jan. 5-7. Learn m...

The impact of the COVID outbreak and subsequent lockdowns vastly impacted consumers' eating, shopping, and cooking patterns. In a preview of his Potato Expo 2021 presentation, long-time senior vice president of the Food Marketing Institute and author, Michael Sansolo sits down with Eye on Potatoes to talk about some of the changes the pandemic brought about in 2020 and their potential lasting...

Leading agriculture political advisor Randy Russell of The Russell Group joins National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles and host Lane Nordlund for an in-depth discussion of the 2020 election results and how the potato industry will work with the new Congress and Biden Administration to advance its policy priorities. The group forecasts the potential to move forward the industry’s trade agenda, legi...

Host Lane Nordland and Mike Wenkel, COO of the National Potato Council, sit down to discuss the first 11 months of the newly formed Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF). From a successful launch at Potato Expo 2020, Potato LEAF challenged the industry with a $2 million fundraising goal to support the Foundation's Legacy Fund, designed to fund programs like th...

Though 2020 has been a challenging year for potato growers and the entire country, the year saw a number of significant trade victories, with markets expanded in Mexico, Canada, Japan, China, and with other trade partners. Since 20% of the U.S. potato crop is currently destined for foreign consumers, trade is a priority for U.S. growers and the entire potato industry. Joining the podcast is Jared...

With less than a month before Election Day, NPC CEO Kam Quarles calls in to discuss how potato growers are accessing $14 billion in aid available through USDA's new CFAP 2 program and the latest Congressional efforts to fund the government until early December. Kam also provides an update on Potato Expo 2021, currently scheduled for January 6-7 as an in-person and online hybrid event and NPC&...

Farmers, retailers, and consumers are faced with a host of regulations and labels that are designed to inform and secure our food supply. From the biotech disclosure regulations to the Food Safety Modernization Act, the requirements upon the food supply chain and the information it provides consumers are changing rapidly. During Potato Expo 2020, we brought together policy experts for a conversati...

On Friday, Sept. 18, the National Potato Council welcomed the announcement that USDA will implement an expansion of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program -- CFAP 2 -- which will provide an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs due to the government-imposed food service disruptions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  NPC...

Over the past 20 years, NPC and the U.S. potato industry have been working to allow full access to U.S. fresh potatoes to be sold throughout Mexico. On Aug. 18, three U.S. Senators called on U.S. trade negotiators to use the new authority found in the USMCA to increase pressure on Mexico to honor its commitment to allow access to U.S. fresh potatoes.   NPC CEO Kam Quarles joined the podcast to dis...

NPC President Britt Raybould calls in from Idaho to talk about the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), which are currently being drafted by USDA and U.S. Health and Human Services, as well as NPC's efforts to advocate for the inclusion of potatoes in all forms in the recommendations.  NPC has played an active role in nutrition policy for many years, most recently correcting var...

More than 160 participants from EPA, USDA, and throughout the potato industry joined NPC’s virtual Agency Tour in July, gaining a better understanding of the pest challenges faced by potato growers across the nation in growing and delivering potatoes to market.   NPC COO Mike Wenkel calls in to discuss the importance of the annual tour, which provides federal regulators information on pest managem...

Recognizing the need to continue to advance potato production practices, the U.S. potato industry is engaged is a wide spectrum of research encompassing the development of new varieties, soil health, and pest management. At Potato Expo 2020, we sat down with some of the industry's leading researchers and specialists for a discussion on the current research and where future efforts need to foc...

As part of NPC’s 2020 Summer Meeting VIRTUAL on June 25, NPC President Britt Raybould, CEO Kam Quarles, and COO Mike Wenkel presented the “State of the Industry and COVID-19 Response” to update growers and industry supporters on actions taken on the federal level to support the industry during these unprecedented times. The “State of the Industry” also included reports by Mark Klompien, CEO of Uni...

The Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation (LEAF) is a new 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing the tools, training, and support necessary to develop growers and industry members as leaders. Joining the podcast is Shelley Olsen of LJ Olsen, Inc. in Othello, Wash., and Chair of Potato LEAF to talk about how the industry is coming together to grow leaders who will thrive in...

As potato growers continue to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic fallout, Congressman Mike Simpson and the entire Idaho Congressional delegation are championing policy solutions to support the nation's struggling potato industry. Congressman Simpson joins the podcast to discuss the role Congress needs to play as the industry works to dig out from a 1.5 billion pound oversupply of 2019 potatoes s...

In early 2020, the potato industry launched the Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA) to support the efforts of growers to adapt potato production practices that align with consumer and market expectations. During Potato Expo 2020, we sat down with some of the industry's leaders for a discussion on the cooperative work to support, advance, and communicate potato sustainability across the suppl...