Colorado’s potato crop is taking a devastating hit this year, all because of a bug that literally blew in on the winds from Mexico and south Texas. On the Strohauer farm, east of LaSalle in Weld County, the potato harvest is in full swing. And if you’ve ever heard the expression "small potatoes," it turns out there's some meaning behind it. "We’ve got a problem with the psyllid. It's an insect that came in on the south winds, that came up out of Texas," said Harry Strohauer, owner and operator of Strohauer Farms. "The bugs don't allow the potatoes to size up."

The average consumer today could go the rest of his life without consuming another fresh potato and be perfectly fine, Bruce Peterson told the audience at the 82nd annual Idaho Grower Shipper Association Convention. Peterson, president of Bentonville, Ark.-based Peterson Insights, said he wasn’t trying to make Idaho potato growers mad. He was merely pointing out that potato marketers must bring a more sophisticated marketing strategy to motivate consumers to choose potatoes over Doritos, Oreo cookies and thousands of other choices.

 Potato prices may drop as the West Bengal government is all set to offload 1 million tonne (mt) in the market by next week to rapidly cut excess stocks. Output in India’s second largest potato growing state doubled this year to touch almost 10 mt. But branded snack companies such as ITC and Pepsi will see no dip in raw material costs as the prices of the specialised varieties they buy remain steady.

La firme agrochimique allemande BASF a déclaré en début de semaine vouloir introduire un nouveau tubercule OGM en Europe. En mars dernier, cette même firme avait obtenu le feu vert de Bruxelles pour la commercialisation d’Amflora, une pomme de terre OGM destinée entre autre à la fabrication du papier. Cette autorisation avait fait beaucoup de bruit à l’époque et ému les associations de lutte contre les OGM : Amflora était le premier OGM autorisé en Europe depuis 1998. La pomme de terre que souhaite commercialiser BASF s’appelle cette fois Amadea.

Aardappeloogst 2010 lijkt een van de laagste opbrengsten in tien jaar tijd te gaan opleveren. Dat maakte DCA-directeur Kees Maas bekend tijdens de Aardappeldemodag in Westmaas. De oogst in de vijf belangrijkste aardappeltelende landen lijkt qua opbrengst uit te gaan komen op hoeveelheden die ook in 2003 ( 25,2 miljoen ton) en in 2006 (25,2 miljoen ton) gehaald werden, waardoor er een grote kans bestaat op hogere prijzen. Maas verwacht van januari tot juni een prijs die ligt tussen de 16 en 24 euro per 100 kg.

An application for the EU approval of a second genetically modified starch potato, Amadea, has been made to Brussels by developer BASF, as harvesting begins of its first GM variety, Amflora. Both potatoes are modified to produce pure amylopectin starch, rather than a mixture of amylopectin and amylase. In paper and adhesive industries, where potato starch is used, only amylopectin is needed and separating the two starch components is uneconomic.

The Ministry of Agriculture is eying to increase the production of tuber crops, especially quality potato seeds and their preservation and distribution in a bid to ensure food security and thus alleviate poverty, reports UNB. In this connection, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Tuesday approved a Tk 4.21 billion project, titled 'Tuber Crops Development Project'.

South Korea has reopened to potato imports from the US state of Idaho following an assessment of the state’s nematode eradication programme by Korean scientists. Korea imposed a ban on Idaho potatoes in 2006 after the discovery of the pale cyst nematode in two of the state’s counties, reported the Idaho Statesman. Imports from those two counties, Bingham and Bonneville, are still banned, but the ban has been lifted for the rest of the state as of 29 July.

A potentially damaging trade row has flared up between EU and Chinese trade authorities as China claims Europe has been unfairly subsidising potato starch exports. China fears EU member states are propping up their potato starch companies in a way that damages Chinese domestic industries. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it launched a probe after receiving complaints from the China Starch Industry Association.

Die Kartoffel-Saison 2010 ist nach Ansicht von Ferdinando Imparato, Imparato Agrar GmbH, Plattling, mit einem großen Fragezeichen versehen. „Das schlechte Wetter wirkt sich auf all unsere Lieferländer aus. Eins steht fest: In 2010 wird es in Europa eine kleinere Ernte geben. Welche Volumen die einzelnen Länder aber tatsächlich erzielen, bleibt bis nach der Rodung abzuwarten“, erklärte Imparato im Gespräch mit dem Fruchthandel Magazin.

Chuck Stadick doesn’t want to predict the agricultural future of the Mon-Dak region — the northwest North Dakota and northeast Montana region. “No, we want to make the future,” says Stadick, who is one of the key experts the area has been counting on to help move the region’s potato industry into a new age of prosperity. Stadick is one of a handful of leaders in this corner of the world who are pushing opportunities toward niche markets in potato products as the future for the region’s ability to attract a processing company.

Members of the Australian Fresh Potato Industry Advisory Committee (FPIAC) are meeting in Hobart today to discuss possible threats including the ‘Zebra Chip’ disease complex and research and development priorities for the fresh potato industry in 2011. AUSVEG is the national peak industry body representing the interests of over 2,500 potato growers around Australia.

Le Comité national interprofessionnel de la pomme de terre dénonce dans un communiqué publié lundi « la multiplication des promotions à des prix exagérément bas ». « La filière de la pomme de terre ne pourra pas laisser s'organiser sans réagir un massacre des prix », estime le comité.

Potato psyllids, an insect pest that in some parts of the country carries a serious disease bacterium, was found Thursday in university research plots in northern Grand Forks County. So far, none of the psyillids found in North Dakota have carried bacterium that carries zebra chip disease, which can leave potatoes unmarketable. Neil Gudmestad, a North Dakota State University plant pathologist, announced he’d found the pests just before giving a plot tour presentation during a Northern Plains Potato Growers Association event at Inkster.

Fresh potato production in China has seen a 10 % decrease in MY09/10 from 71 MMT last year to 64MMT, this is due to bad weather conditions and has lead to record high potato prices in the country. China's potato starch production also decreased this year by 50% to 150,000 MT, this was due to the decrease in fresh production. This also lead to increased starch imports which saw an increase of 180%. China's frozen French fry (FFF), potato chip and dehydrated potato production are experiencing a huge rise in demand due to strong market demand. China's FFF imports are expected to stabilise at 55,000-60,000 MT in the coming years. The US continues to dominate the country's FFF import market.

Air quality issues, if any, stemming from McCain Foods making french fries and pizza pockets in western New Brunswick are up for public airing. The province announced the launch of a required 180-day public participation process before renewing the air quality operating approval for McCain's frozen foods plant at Florenceville, about 110 km northwest of Fredericton.

Die Rodungen in Niederösterreich werden immer wieder von Niederschlägen unterbrochen, sodass der Erntefortschritt regional hinter den Erwartungen liegt. Auch Schalenfestigkeit und Qualität der Knollen leidet unter der andauernden Nässe. Trotz verzögerter Ernte beginnen mit nächster Woche die Einlagerungsaktionen des Handels. Dies hat in Niederösterreich zu einer Zweiteilung des Erzeugerpreisniveaus geführt.

Exporters have asked the Pakistan government to withdraw a host of taxes imposed on Indian potato to boost its supply to the flood-hit country, as they were finding potato export economically non-viable in the wake of high taxes. "We demand the Pakistan government remove taxes imposed on potatoes as there is a huge demand for it because of recent floods that hit the country hard," Amritsar-based leading trader Rajdeep Uppal told PTI.

Bij precisielandbouw denken we al snel aan stuurautomaten, satellietbeelden en boordcomputers die een macht aan gegevens gebruiken om de aan een trekker gekoppelde machines te instrueren. Zo kan de akkerbouwer schoon en zuinig produceren, een noodzaak in verband met de broeikasgasbestrijding. De overheid bevordert daarom de precisielandbouw via het Programma Precisielandbouw (PPL). Daarin werken overheid en bedrijfsleven samen door te investeren in uitvindingen die leiden tot een grotere nauwkeurigheid bij het gebruik van de productiemiddelen.