Potato News from Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association's board of directors will have a new president for the coming year.

Flexible packaging sustainability is a hot agenda topic and with rapidly advancing technology the options are starting to grow. That said, there is still a sustainability collision point of want vs. reality for brand owners and consumers.

McCain Foods USA will expand its appetizer processing plant in Plover, Wisconsin with an additional production line to produce cheese based appetizers.

The Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) have launched FarmersForCleanWater.com, a new website to showcase farmer-led water quality initiatives

Tubers have battled various scourges for about 10,000 years, as well as an unpredictable climate that can cause unseasonable frost damage to crops every year.

Tasteful Selections®, leading the bite-size potato category in innovation and sustainability is pleased to announce the limited launch of its new 100-percent plastic-free, recyclable and compostable packaging.

McCain Foods Plover Appetizers is now looking to hire over 60 full-time employees through this hiring event and is also hosting open walk-in interviews every September and October CDT at its facility.

A two-year project funded through the University of Wisconsin-Water Resources Institute is investigating an interseeding cultivation method for potato cropping that shows early promise to reduce nitrate leaching.

Potato growers in Wisconsin’s central sands region expect to wrap up planting soon. Jim Okray with Plover-based Okray Family Farms tells Brownfield planting has gone smooth this year compared to years past.

When Michael Moeller decided in 2019 that he wanted locally made potato chips for Milwaukee, he had no idea just how local they could be.

Bill Guenthner of Guenthner Farms was elected WPVGA Board President for 2021. The WPVGA Associate Division Board of Directors elected Chris Brooks of Central Door Solutions to be its President for 2021. The WSPIA Board of Directors elected J.D. Schroeder of Schroeder Bros. Farms, President for 2021.

Long-time potato and vegetable growers Norm and Marv Worzella of Worzella & Sons, Inc., Plover, Wisconsin, were inducted into the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association Hall of Fame at the industry’s annual awards ceremony held February 3, 2021.

Yara North America, a market leader in crop nutrition, has joined the Potato Sustainability Alliance. As a member, Yara will work with processors, packers, buyers, grower organizations, conservation groups, academia, and other stakeholders.

As the Potato Sustainability Alliance continues to expand, it has welcomed the Charlottetown, P.E.I.-based breeding and seed potato trading company HZPC Americas Corp as its newest member.

Key players in the potato industry in the United States and Canada announced at Potato Expo 2020 the creation of a new organization dedicated to sustainability in the potato sector: the Potato Sustainability Alliance.

Bite-size potato category leader launches new campaign to celebrate each year of its success. Prizes this month include an indoor herb growing kit, an eight-piece gardening toolset and a superior-stainless watering sprayer.

Welcome to 2020! The Tasteful Selections team is excited to share milestone news with retail and foodservice customers as well as consumers everywhere. Tasteful Selections is celebrating its 10-year anniversary!

Researchers in the WARF Accelerator program are using advanced imaging technology to detect late blight in potatoes, which famously led to the Irish potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century.