Spudman July/August 2022 - 29

Mid-Year Policy Report
Reporting from our
NATIONAL
POTATO
COUNCIL
Kam Quarles
Chief Executive
Officer
nation's capital: The
hangover from the
two-year pandemic
is slipping away and
Washington, D.C., is
largely back to regular
business.
In late February
and early March,
the National Potato
Council (NPC) hosted
one of its most
impactful Washington
Summits ever, hosting dozens of senators
and representatives in person, as well as
hearing from high ranking members of key
committees. Our advocacy helped move the
needle on Mexico at a critical time. Due to
our efforts, we were able to build support for
a bipartisan letter signed by 34 members of
the House and Senate urging USDA to press
Mexico to honor its commitments to restore
full access for U.S. potatoes. The Biden
Administration heard our message, and we
believe that additional pressure helped bring
that issue over the finish line.
That meeting was followed up by a visit
by the state potato association managers,
who, in May, met with key members and
committee staff, and built on our relationships
with members of the Biden Administration.
During an in-person meeting at NPC's
office, the group met with Jenny Moffitt,
USDA under secretary for marketing and
regulatory programs, and Mark Davidson,
USDA deputy administrator, plant protection
and quarantine, to express the potato
industry's gratitude for the Administration's
support in gaining fresh potato access to
the full Mexican market and discuss the
ongoing cooperation needed to keep the
border open. The state managers then
walked to Capitol Hill to meet with key
committee staff members to discuss
2023 Farm Bill priorities and ensuring that
potatoes retain their rightful place in federal
feeding programs.
As the organization paused to host its
first in-person summer meeting in two
years in Nashville, I wanted to take this
opportunity to report on some significant
successes we've seen over the past few
months, and point out some challenges we
foresee in the future.
MEXICO FRESH ACCESS
At this point in time, the situation in
Mexico is extremely positive. Though
volumes are low given the time of the
year, the successful exports so far have
taken us to a place that we have never
been. As a reminder, the previous failed
attempt to export lasted three days before
lawsuits closed the market again. As of this
writing, we are a month in, and shipments
continue to move. Photographs of U.S.
fresh potatoes throughout Mexico are
arriving daily.
However, the caution we indicated after
last year's Mexican Supreme Court ruling
must be reiterated here. The war is not over,
rather the battlefield is changing from the
legal to the regulatory arena. It is very likely
that Mexico's " enhanced " testing regime will
generate issues in the future. How significant
those issues are will likely involve politics
with a light seasoning of science.
We all know that Mexico remains an
up-hill battle, and we've not heard the last
from CONPAPA. The real test will come
during this fall's harvest when potato
exports ramp up. All of us throughout the
industry will need to continue to work
together and with our partners at USDA and
USTR to ensure that vital border remains
open, and that additional markets open up
for our products.
PEI STATUS
As much credit as we gave the
Administration for Mexico, there are
concerns about their handling of the PEI
situation. Under pressure from Prime
Minister Trudeau, who lobbied President
Biden directly in the Oval Office, USDA
allowed PEI to resume shipping without
completing the soil testing we had
demanded. We pointed out that in so doing,
USDA is allowing Canada to ship to the U.S.
with a protocol vastly less rigorous than the
one that Canada demands of Idaho exports
from PCN counties.
This leniency is not in keeping with
a production area generating disease
detections in eight of the last 10 years.
We have asked USDA to reconsider their
diplomacy and demand testing of all fields
in PEI to determine the true spread of the
disease before allowing them access to the
United States.
FARM BILL
NPC is one of four key organizations
leading the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance
(SCFBA). In fact, the first meeting of the
SCFBA for the 2023 Farm Bill occurred in
Anaheim at Potato Expo 2022 with groups
from across the U.S. fruit and vegetable
sector joining us to determine the path
forward. The challenge will be in ensuring
that the specialty crop industry recognizes
the value of remaining together and does
not break off into factional disputes that only
further diminish our small numbers.
POTATO EXPO 2023
I'll conclude by inviting you to save the
date for Potato Expo 2023, Jan. 5-6, at the
Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colorado.
The impact of the Potato Expo upon NPC
overall cannot be overstated. Its success
provides the resources for NPC to do its
core work. NPC's mission of " Standing up for
Potatoes on Capitol Hill " cannot be achieved
without the expense of significant resources -
and the bulk of those resources are generated
through our annual Potato Expo.
We're proud to announce that one of the
centerpieces of this upcoming Potato Expo
2023 will be several events on the main
stage with celebrity chefs from the Food
Network. This competition came together
after our Potato Expo 2022 host Simon
Majumdar began posting on social media
about the fun he was having with us in
Anaheim. This was picked up by chefs Duff
Goldman (of " Kids Baking Championship "
fame) and Ted Allen (host of " Chopped " ).
After six months of negotiations, we're
thrilled that they've agreed to join us next
January in Denver, and use their worldwide
visibility to elevate our event and their
love of potatoes with their millions of
followers! We're also grateful for RJ Harvey
of Potatoes USA, who was key to making
this happen and he will be joining them on
the main stage.
Finally, I'd like to thank our growers and
supply chain partners for the support you've
invested in NPC to help carry out your
priorities during this challenging year. We
look forward to building on the successes
we've been able to achieve over the last few
months, and look forward to advocating for
federal policies that protect your businesses
and the communities you support.
Spudman * July/August 2022
29
Spudman July/August 2022

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