News Release

Meeting set on January 4 in Washington State to outline plan for managing surplus potatoes

BLACKFOOT, ID — Following two successful meetings in Idaho, Potato Management Company (PMC) officials have scheduled a special meeting on January 4 in Washington State to outline their plan for managing the huge potato surplus that exists in the Pacific Northwest.

PMC officials will meet with Washington growers, shippers and other potato industry representatives at 1 p.m. on Thursday, January 4 at the Doubletree Hotel in Pasco, Washington. All Washington potato industry representatives and the media are welcome to attend. In addition, Oregon potato growers and industry representatives are invited to attend.

The surplus potatoes in Idaho, Oregon and Washington are suffocating this year's potato market. Many growers are currently receiving about 1 to 2 cents per pound when it costs 5 cents per pound to produce potatoes. When combined, the three Pacific Northwest states have about 30 million-hundredweight more in storage now than there were last year. Some analysts estimate that at least half of the surplus will have no market at any price. What created this surplus? A combination of too many acres planted, an exceptionally mild growing season, and various technological advances that have helped boost yields.

The PMC plan is to purchase the surplus from growers and dispose of it in order to balance the supply & demand equation and create a market with some positive attributes. It will take the cooperation of the entire industry in these three states to accomplish this goal.

It is anticipated that some of the potatoes will be donated to various charitable and food aid organizations, but many will be spread on fields in order to realize fertilizer benefits. Charitable organizations are strongly encouraged to contact PMC. By getting rid of the surplus potatoes it will create a better market for the balance of the crop and in turn help to save Washington, Oregon and Idaho potato farms and businesses. In addition, disposing of the surplus now during the cold winter months will avert environmental problems resulting from rotting potatoes this spring and summer.

The following growers and grower/shippers have signed on as board members and incorporaters for the new company: Mike Telford of Paul, Idaho; Blair Walker of Menan, Idaho; Wayne Jensen of Idaho Falls, Idaho; Scott Searle of Shelley, Idaho; and Carl Reynolds of Boise, Idaho. The board will also include growers and industry representatives from Oregon and Washington.