Spudman April 2023 - 22

Daniel Corey Farms
Monticello, ME
Reds * Yellows * Whites
Russets * Chips * Specialty
Varieties
AF5280-5
Accumulator
Adirondack Blue
Adirondack Red
All Blue
Allison
Andover
Atlantic
Austrian Crescent
Banana Fingerling
Belmonda
Brodie (NY140)
Caribou Russet
Columba
Dark Red Norland
Elba
Envol
Eva
French Fingerling
Genesse
German Butterball
Green Mountain
Harley Blackwell
Huron Chipper
Innovator
Katahdin
Kennebec
Kueka Gold
Lamoka
Lehigh
NADF11384B-1
Natascha
NCB2067-3
Norwis (Crystal Strain)
Ontario
Peter Wilcox
Pomerelle Russet
Prada
Purple Majesty
Reba
Red LaSoda
Red Maria
Red Pontiac
Red Thumb Fingerling
Russet Burbank (ID Strain)
Salem
Satina
Shepody
Snowden
Strawberry Paw
Superior
Waneta
Yukon Gem
Yukon Gold
nutritional criticism for being high in
the type of carbohydrate that the body
digests rapidly, causing blood sugar
and insulin to surge and then dip -
which can result in a feeling of hunger
soon after eating.
" We obviously don't have a lot of
excitement about such a proposal.
We think it's preposterous on its
face, " Quarles said. " But these are
the type of initiatives that the federal
government, from time to time, will
throw at us, and it's our responsibility
to push back. "
The stakes, Quarles said, are much
higher than mere nomenclature or
public perception. If potatoes were no
longer classified as a vegetable, he
said, they would no longer be
considered a specialty crop and
therefore ineligible for programs such
as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Specialty Crop Research Initiative and
Specialty Crop Block Grant Program as
well as Farm Bill initiatives.
" All of a sudden we would be
bounced out of those programs, " he
said. " The cascading negative effects of
this are really far-reaching. "
COVID ECHOES
The potato industry, like most in the
U.S. and the world, is still dealing with
the ramifications of the COVID-19
pandemic and ongoing supply chain
snarls that have contributed to an
expected shortage.
An Organic Produce Network
Tissue Culture Facility
Mini-tubers
Early Generation Seed
Office: 207-538-4405
Daniel Corey
207-532-0096
daniel@seedproinc.com
Sara Corey Parker - Sales
207-538-6430
sara@seedproinc.com
seedproinc.com
22
Spudman * April 2023
report from late February forecasts
a 5% dip in all potato sectors from
the previous year, while crop insurer
ProAg warned potato growers in
December 2022 that they may need
to get creative to stretch volumes
throughout the season after a harvest
of just more than 900,000 acres -
down from 935,700 in 2021.
" We're still dealing with echoes from
the COVID lockdowns, " Quarles said.
" You've got to have fertilizer, pesticides
in certain instances. All of those
essential inputs have been in some way
challenged over the past few years, and
if you don't get them in the right spot
when it's time to plant, necessarily,
that's going to impact what your
overall numbers are. "
Fertilizer availability has been
further complicated by the ongoing
" Everybody's doing
the math in their head
about what kind of
return can I be getting,
and they're making
the most appropriate
cost-benefit decisions
in real time. "
- Kam Quarles, CEO, NPC
war in Ukraine, a global leader in
fertilizer production (exports to the
U.S. alone totaled $632.7 million in
2021). And even if growers can find
a needed input, they may struggle to
pay for it.
" Initially, you had problems just
simply of availability, " Quarles said.
" Now it's a challenge of price. You've
got inflation kicking in. You can get
your hands on it, but you may be
paying 100% more or 200% more.
Those will cause certain if not all
growers to make choices.
" Everybody's doing the math in
their head about what kind of return
can I be getting, and they're making
the most appropriate cost-benefit
decisions in real time. "
WORKFORCE WOES
Labor issues, always present in
agriculture, have been exacerbated
by the pandemic. In November 2022,
the U.S. Department of Labor
adopted a final rule to amend the
H-2A visa program, which allows
U.S. employers who meet specific
requirements to bring foreign
nationals to the U.S.
The changes attempt to address
employment standards and conditions
and modernize the processing of job
orders and certification applications,
among other reforms, but Quarles said
program problems persist.
" It's very cumbersome. It doesn't
respond to the immediate needs of
the marketplace, " he said. " It asks
growers to irrationally forecast their
labor needs months in advance, when
you simply don't know what Mother
Nature is going to throw at you. And
http://www.seedproinc.com
Spudman April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman April 2023
