The National Potato Council and state grower organizations wrote Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue recently to talk about potatoes that have nowhere to go for processing.
The Hagstrom Report says the council noted more than “1.5 billion pounds of fresh potatoes for processing and potato products are trapped in the supply chain with no likely customers.” Mountains of potatoes were being given away or left to cow feed as surplus crops are piling up despite government efforts to distribute the potatoes as part of food boxes being given to needy families.
The potato industry feels like the USDA’s new Farmers to Families Food Box program, as well as other initiatives, aren’t enough to dent the losses in a sector that depends heavily on foodservice sales.
Kam Quarles (Quarrels), CEO of the National Potato Council, says, “It was clear the people who were doing well in retail could probably take more advantage of this than the impaired side of the business, which is food service.” The NPC sent a letter to USDA saying, “This oversupply has impacted both the 2019 and 2020 crop for U.S. family farms that grow potatoes. Some of these farms will have no ability to sell their 2019 or 2020 crop.”
The industry suggested several enhancements regarding eligibility and payment rate adjustments that will help USDA help the industry.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)