News on Industry Associations

Following the successful first-time collaboration by the British potato and horticulture sector at Fruit Logistica 2013, Potato Council, Horticultural Development Company (HDC) and the Commercial Horticultural Association (CHA) return with their industries to this massive event in February 2014.

The potato industry flocked to Harrogate for BP2013, with organisers reporting a 20 per cent increase on the usual 6,000 attendance.

Chip Week has become one of the biggest awareness weeks in the calendar, but, as important as it is, it is still only one aspect of the work that Potato Council does to support the sector.

The potato harvest in Prince Edward Island is complete and world-famous Prince Edward Island Potatoes are appearing on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus across Canada and the northeastern United States.

The National Potato Council argues potatoes shouldn't' be subject to the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) requirements, since they're typically eaten cooked.

The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) will continue the co-location of the PROCESS EXPO and the International Dairy Show. Next exhibition will take place Sept 15-18, 2015 in Chicago.

TOMRA Sorting Solutions is highlighting the breadth of its market-leading sensor-based food systems at this year’s Process Expo, taking place until November 6 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

The Maine Potato Board has announced that Sara Corey of Monticello has been selected as the 2013 Young Farmer of the Year. Sara, 23, is the first woman to be chosen for this recognition and is also the youngest recipient of the honor.

The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) announced the appointment of three new Commissioners who will each serve a three-year term: Peggy Grover, from BenchMark Potato in Rexburg, Ritchey Toevs, a grower residing in Aberdeen and Tommy Brown from Lamb Weston.

USPB has enlisted the help of Hungry Girl, the nationally recognized multimedia brand created by Lisa Lillien, which includes a popular web site, a free daily email service, eight bestselling books, a television series and countless other TV appearances.

While the potato industry is still waiting for clearance to be allowed to send fresh potatoes to Australia, a new market is rapidly opening up. The industry has high hopes for a new market in Vietnam.

In Spain, a new potato organisation was established: "Foro Espanol de la patata", the Spanish Potato Forum.

Educating children about the importance of food, farming and healthy eating is a priority for Potato Council and the ‘Grow Your Own Potatoes’ project does just that. Now entering its tenth year, the project has reached over 2 million children to date.

According to Romain Cools from Belgapom it is a fact that the consumption of fresh potatoes by Belgian families is falling, but he expects the prices to remain high.

The Red River Valley Potatoes was among the 1,000 companies exhibiting at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in New Orleans on October 19th and 20th.

Australian minister for the Environment, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, has launched the new EnviroVeg smartphone app for farmers, to help them manage their land sustainably.

A new study of 741 consumers released by the Australian vegetable industry today reveals almost one third of consumers have shown significant interest in buying more Asian vegetables.

Today’s reports that Simplot’s two vegetable processing plants at Bathurst and Devonport will remain open for at least another three years has been welcomed by peak industry body, AUSVEG.