News Release

PGI votes to refocus organization, discontinue bargaining

BLACKFOOT, ID — The Potato Growers of Idaho unanimously affirmed their desire to maintain their organization Wednesday in a special membership meeting. The PGI members also voted to discontinue their bargaining efforts and restructured the mission of the association.

The new PGI will focus its efforts on being the “voice of the Idaho potato grower.” PGI will concentrate on representing the grower interests on industry issues that affect all growers on the state and national level. To encourage membership the organization also cut its dues rate in half and committed to examining the dues cap after a budget analysis is completed.

The bargaining issue had threatened to divide or kill PGI when groups of process growers decided they wanted a bargaining organization to deal with frozen process companies that did nothing else but bargain. At first PGI leaders thought this would be the end of the organization. But after recommending that PGI suspend all activities, growers across the state became concerned about who would represent them in lobbying, and with the many organizations dealing with grower issues. Those organizations include the Idaho Potato Commission, the National Potato Council, the US Department of Agriculture, and the many regulatory departments of state and national government, to name a few. Growers that were not members of PGI also indicated that they would join if the contentious bargaining issues were left to a separate organization.

An association, separate from PGI, is in the process of organization. As yet unnamed, this organization will negotiate preseason contracts with the frozen processing companies. Representatives from the frozen process areas have been selected to be the provisionary board for the new association.

PGI will continue to gather potato industry information and distribute it to its members on a regular basis. The Potato PAC (political action committee) will also be continued as a way to further the best interests of the potato industry.

All Idaho potato growers are encouraged to join PGI, in order for the state’s growers to speak with one voice on issues that affect all.