Potatoes USA Shares Research, Promotion Activities at Oregon, Washington Field Days

Potatoes USA representatives recently traveled to field days hosted by Oregon State University and Washington State University. John Lundeen, Research Director, and Monica Heath, Vice President of Finance & Policy, were able to:

• Share Potatoes USA’s efforts to help ensure strong demand for potatoes.
• Discuss the research work of the Alliance for Potato Research & Education (APRE).
• Learn more about the work growers and university scientists are doing to produce successful potato crops.

They were also able to attend an Oregon Potato Council meeting and visit two grower operations and a fry processing facility.

“We appreciate growers being open to having us visit and attend meetings,” Lundeen said. “It’s always a great opportunity to stay closely aligned with what the industry is doing.”

“This was my first trip out to a field day, and it was fascinating to see how much effort university scientists take in exploring production enhancements that help growers plant and harvest a successful crop,” Heath said. “I also don’t think the general population has any idea how much knowledge and work growers put into the food on their table—the intense research, fighting against pests, keeping up with finances, and essentially working as scientists. It all gave me incredible perspective as I work to help our organization be the best steward of our resources and deliver the most value back to growers.”

Lundeen also presented on the activities that Potatoes U SA is undertaking to help ensure strong demand for potatoes, including promoting APRE research.

“I shared some of what Potatoes USA does in terms of promoting potatoes to consumers on social media, developing recipes for foodservice, and working with restaurants to put more potatoes on menus,” he said.

“I also shared what APRE is trying to accomplish with research, for example looking at glycemic index as an outdated measure of health and demonstrating how athletes perform as well with potatoes as with commercially available performance enhancers. The work is meant to reinvent how people have historically thought about potatoes.”

Lundeen said growers in both states were eager to share their knowledge. “Our growers are so willing to show you around their facilities and educate people,” he said. “There’s a real joy and a real willingness to talk about what they do in their operations. Potatoes are a healthy industry because there’s a whole lot of people working to make it successful.”

Lundeen and Heath were also able to visit McCain Foods USA’s potato processing plant in Othello to see how fries are made.  

“You wouldn’t believe the thought and sophistication and engineering behind building the equipment to engineer the perfect fry, ”Lundeen said. “It all starts with the grower working to figure out the best variety to harvest, where new varieties of potato fit into the schedule, the depth to plant seeds, the different ways to administer fertilizers. The thought and care that goes into it is a sign of a healthy industry.