March 2021 - 37

Turning a corner and looking to tomorrow
It is hard to
NATIONAL
POTATO
COUNCIL
Dominic LaJoie
President
believe that sitting
here 12 months
after the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic,
we can be thankful
that the U.S. potato
industry, in general,
and the National
Potato Council, as an
organization, is in the
process of emerging
relatively healthy.
When 2020 NPC
President Britt Raybould passed the gavel to
me in February, I reflected on how differently
last year could have turned out and how
grateful I was for her leadership and the
work of the NPC staff in managing our way
through this crisis.
Last spring and summer, the U.S.
potato industry was reeling from a crash
in demand like nothing we've ever seen.
NPC and our state partners estimated
that more than 70% of the potato industry
was directly impacted by the governmentmandated
shutdowns and food service
restrictions. The staggering oversupply
of potatoes was estimated at 1.5 billion
pounds, which could fill the U.S. Capitol
Building 14 times over.
With anywhere between $750 million and
$1.3 billion in potatoes and potato products
clogged up in the pipeline, NPC and our
state potato organization partners went to
work, appealing to USDA and members of
Congress for support and direct relief. And
they came through.
During the NPC Annual Meeting, we
reported the total amount of federal relief
delivered to the potato industry since the
crisis began, and the overall numbers
were impressive.
* In May, USDA announced $50 million
in surplus potato purchases, which was
largest of all the COVID-related specialty
crop purchases and the largest surplus
potato purchase in history.
* Potato growers were delivered
$46.5 million in direct relief under
the first Coronavirus Food Assistance
Program (CFAP).
* The second CFAP delivered even more
relief, at around 2.5 times more than the
initial program.
Spudman * March 2021
37
* Finally, there was substantial potato
participation in USDA's Farmers to
Families Food Box Program.
All told, and not counting PPP loans, NPC
and our state partners helped deliver around
$250 million in federal government support
to the potato industry since the crisis began.
Even in a town where a billion dollars is
considered a rounding error, these funds
didn't just fall out of the sky. Our efforts in
Washington, D.C. - with the help of our
supporters in Congress - delivered the
single largest federal support for potatoes in
our nation's history.
The industry's consistent, relentless focus
and coordinated response that resulted in
$250 million in pandemic relief will serve
as a model as we move forward as we take
on the policy challenges facing NPC and the
industry as a whole.
For example, the return of USDA Secretary
Tom Vilsack raises questions about how
potatoes will be treated in federal nutrition
programs during President Biden's term.
The scars we earned during the battles over
potatoes in WIC and school meal programs
are still fresh; however, we are in a much
better place than we were a decade ago.
Through the work of NPC and Potatoes USA,
we have invested heavily in nutrition science
to better understand the nature of potatoes.
That rigorous peer-reviewed science reinforces
our beliefs that nutrient-rich, cost-efficient
potatoes have a rightful place with other
vegetables in all federal feeding programs.
Whether its nutrition, trade, labor or
transportation, we'll continue to fight to
ensure that potatoes have a seat at the table
whenever decision-makers are considering
rules that could impact our industry or our
ability to farm.
The U.S. potato industry not only puts
food on dinner tables, it generates tens of
thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in
support of rural communities all across the
nation. When the potato industry is healthy,
America is better off. Through the efforts of
NPC and our state potato organizations last
year, we are on a better footing today than we
could have imagined during the pandemic's
darkest times. We'll take that consistent,
relentless focus in addressing tomorrow's
policy challenges as the nation continues to
open up and people get back to work.
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March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2021
