NPC NEWS

Each year, the Potato Industry Leadership Institute (PILI) brings together outstanding potato growers and industry representatives for eight days of training and professional development, starting in a potato growing region and concluding in Washington, D.C. when the class links up with participants of the NPC Washington Summit. During the 2022 Washington Summit, Eye On Potatoes hosted a live podcast recording with PILI alumnus and 2022 Grower-leader Doug Posthuma from Wisconsin, 2022 PILI attendee Bevan Lenz of Colorado, and Potato LEAF Vice President Mike Wenkel to talk about their personal leadership growth and value the program delivers to the industry. Download and subscribe at https://www.buzzsprout. com/770336/10527278 or wherever

you listen to podcasts. The Eye on Potatoes Podcast is made possible by presenting sponsor, Syngenta. Delivering solutions to help producers face the potato industry’s complex challenges, Syngenta provides growers with unmatched field expertise along with an array of effective products. Explore www.syngenta-us.com/spuddoctor to discover solutions for your potato growing obstacles.

The U.S. fruit and vegetable industry is working together to develop recommendations for a new Farm Bill under the umbrella of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), https://farmbillalliance.com. National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles is one of three co-chairs of the SCFBA that has generated billions of dollars in new funding for the industry since its inception nearly 20 years ago. “The Alliance has provided our diverse industry with discipline and focus as we work to advise Congress and the Administration on policy that matters for growers,” Quarles says. “Prior to the Alliance’s creation, specialty crops were a bit player in this massive bill. Our challenge this time will be dealing with a tight federal budget and keeping the overall industry united. Potatoes reach into several states that aren’t traditionally specialty crop powerhouses, so our presence adds great value to the Alliance,” Quarles explains. An Alliance steering committee meeting was May 12 in Washington, D.C. This followed an initial kickoff meeting in Anaheim during the Potato Expo in January and several working group meetings throughout April and May.

The National Potato Council welcomed the news that the first shipments of U.S. fresh potatoes crossed into Mexico on May 11. The successful crossing signals the start of Mexico’s process to restore full market access for U.S. fresh potatoes after decades of disputes and legal obstructions. “This is an important moment for the U.S. potato industry and our partners in the federal government who have fought for decades to restore access to this vital market, but we know the work is not over if we are to keep the border open,” says NPC president and Washington State potato grower Jared Balcom.

The shipments come after more than 25 years of regulatory and legal obstructions by Mexico, and one year after the Mexican Supreme Court ruled unanimously that U.S. fresh potatoes were legally authorized to be imported. “This news wouldn’t be possible without the tireless work of Secretary Tom Vilsack, Ambassador Katherine Tai, and their outstanding teams at the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] and U.S. Trade Representative [USTR],” says NPC CEO Kam Quarles. “Both agencies have made the restoration of U.S. potato access a top trade priority,” Quarles notes. “We thank them for getting us to this important step and we will need their continued partnership to ensure that the border remains open as we seek to grow the Mexican market for potatoes.” Mexico is the largest export market for U.S. potatoes and products valued at $394 million in 2021. Despite the previous restriction to the 26-kilometer border region, Mexico was the second-largest market for fresh potato exports in 2021, accounting for 124,449 metric tons valued at $60 million last year. The U.S. potato industry estimates that access to the entire country for fresh U.S. potatoes will provide a market potential of $250 million per year, in five years.

BADGER STATE

After missing a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, an impressive group attended the Portage County Business Council’s American Agriculture Appreciation Banquet, May 9, at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center in Stevens Point. They included potato and vegetable growers and other farmers, agriculture business leaders and agents, legislators and governmental representatives, Portage County Business Council members, and friends, families and guests of honorees and attendees. The American Agriculture Appreciation Banquet supports and touts the successes of agribusiness in Portage County. Plaques and scholarships are presented to students and agribusiness leaders in the categories of 4-H Leadership in Agriculture, Outstanding FFA Senior Awards, Agri-Business Scholarship Recipients, and the Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award. Following a social hour and dinner, special guest speaker Julie Lassa, U.S. Department of Agriculture Director of Rural Development, presented “RD 101-Rural Development: Your Partner in Building Back Better.” A highlight was the Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award presentation to Heartland Farms,

Inc. Founder and Chairman of the Board Richard Pavelski, who is also director of the Farming for the Future Foundation.

Presenting the award to Richard was the evening’s Master of Ceremonies and Portage County Ag Agent Ken Schroeder. Ken noted Richard’s outstanding commitment and contributions to the Wisconsin agribusiness community as a businessman, philanthropist and fourth-generation farmer. “Richard is responsible for pioneering many agriculture practices in use today, and his generosity is second to none,” noted Schroeder, who listed many of the charities, scholarships, boards, and centers that Pavelski has contributed to and been a member of, as well as the 36 startup companies he’s backed over the years. Pavelski, a Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Hall of Fame member, has also received the Pacelli Schools Distinguished Alumni Award, among many others, and as a founding member, is largely responsible for his “passion project,” the Farming for the Future Foundation (FFTFF). (See coverage of the FFTFF’s Food + Farm Exploration Center groundbreaking in this issue.) Wisconsin Sen. Patrick Testin and Rep. Katrina Shankland also presented Pavelski with a Citation of Commendation for his contributions

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to agriculture and his work as a founding member of the FFTFF. Pavelski, whose impact on agriculture in Wisconsin will be felt for generations to come, said he was humbled and honored to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award on behalf of himself and his family.

Several programs in the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) will benefit from the $1.5 trillion federal appropriations bill recently passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Joe Biden. The spending package includes $39.7 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) to build a new plant germplasm facility to be jointly used by scientists in the USDA ARS Vegetable Crop Research Unit and UW-Madison plant scientists. The new federal facility will be located on UW land at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station and is to replace the outdated Horticulture Annex and Carrot and Beet Lab. The new building will expand the college’s partnership with USDA ARS, which already involves shared facilities such as the on-campus Dairy Forage Research Center and the dairy research facilities at UW’s Marshfield Agricultural Research Station. A new plant research facility has been a top priority for the college for many years. In October 2019, several members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation and thenUSDA Secretary Sonny Perdue toured the college’s existing facilities with UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and CALS Dean Kate VandenBosch.

“We are very pleased that this new federal plant germplasm facility has been funded, as it will enable us to expand the important plant science research we do here,” says VandenBosch. “On behalf of the college, I want to express my sincere thanks to the members of Congress who supported the appropriations bill,” she adds, “and especially Rep. Pocan and Sen. Baldwin for their work on the agricultural appropriations subcommittees.” The 50,000 square-foot building is expected to include dry lab space, three greenhouses, seed storage facilities, driers, and grinding facilities to serve the expanding volume and diversity of plant breeding and genetics work being done to enhance crop quality, productivity, and other traits. As a federal building, planning and construction will be managed by USDA. Many other programs that support agricultural and life sciences research will receive increased or level funding through the new federal spending package. They include: • $45 billion for National Institutes of

Health ($2.25 billion increase over fiscal year 2021 [FY 21]) • $8.84 billion for National Science

Foundation ($351 million increase over FY 21) • $7.475 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science ($449 million increase over FY 21) • $12 million for the Center of

Disease Control’s vector-borne diseases centers of excellence • $10 million to create a new Institute for Rural Partnerships in Wisconsin • $2 million for the USDA Agricultural

Genome to Phenome Initiative ($1 million increase over FY 21) • $25 million for the Dairy Business

Innovation Initiative ($4.8 million increase) • $5 million for New Beginning for

Tribal Students (level with FY 21)

Awards - Samantha Simonis of Rosholt High School and Annika Waltenberg, Amherst High School

Tyler Kennedy, Amherst High School; Samantha Simonis; and Parker Wisinski, Stevens Point Area Senior High School

Recipients - Tyler Kennedy and Annika Waltenberg

Agriculture Award - Richard “Dick” Pavelski, Heartland Farms, Inc.

• $445 million for USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative ($10 million increase over FY 21) • $260 million for the Hatch Act agricultural experiment station

formula funding ($1 million increase over FY 21) • $36 million for McIntire-Stennis forestry formula funding (level with

FY 21) • $320 million for Smith-Lever

Extension formula funding ($5 million increase over FY 21)

Alsum Farms & Produce Inc., a leading fresh market grower, packer and shipper of Wisconsin potatoes, pumpkins, onions, and wholesaler of fresh, quality produce, announces the launch of a new company website, www.alsum.com, to create a better experience for all users. “The new website highlights our farm to fork story of potatoes and pumpkins,” says Christine Lindner, marketing manager of Alsum Farms & Produce. “Our website gives trade and consumer visitors a go-to source of content and product details related to the Alsum brand offerings and shares our vertically integrated family-owned farm, packing facility and logistics company’s story of nearly 50 years,” Lindner adds. The site features a clean and modern design coupled with new functionality to better show the strengths and capabilities of Alsum Farms & Produce.

The new Alsum Advantage page highlights the operation’s 25-year commitment to sustainability and stewardship of the soil as a founding grower-member of the eco-friendly Wisconsin Healthy Grown Program that works to strengthen ecosystems and community resilience. The site is user-friendly and easy to navigate, allowing visitors to find information on visually appealing product pages about Alsum potatoes, onions, and Wisconsin-grown produce, as well as potato-inspired recipes. The streamlined design elements of the website include parallax animation for creative scrolling experience. This website redesign enhances Alsum Farms & Produce services and the overall experience with its brand on desktop and mobile. Visitors can also stay informed with the latest news of the company, as well as current events and insights. To learn more about Alsum Farms & Produce and its broad portfolio of products, visit the all-new www.alsum.com today.

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By Eric Hamilton, University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Communications

The Colorado potato beetle has evolved resistance to more than 50 different kinds of insecticides, making the insect a “super pest” that wreaks havoc on potatoes around the world. New research finds that the beetle achieved this feat largely by turning to a deep pool of diversity within its genome, which allowed different populations across the United States to quickly evolve resistance to nearly anything humans have thrown at it. The pest’s wealth of diversity and arsenal of existing resistance genes will likely make it hard to control in the future, regardless of what new insecticides researchers develop. But new understanding of the Colorado potato beetle’s genomic resources could help scientists design management systems that keep it in check. “This beetle was one of the first to be attacked with chemicals in the modern era, and it’s been very successful at evolving past those

attacks,” says Sean Schoville, a University of Wisconsin (UW)Madison professor of entomology who led the new analysis. “For other insects we’re hoping to control, there are lessons to be learned from studying this pest,” Schoville adds. “What mechanisms does this insect use to get past these insecticides?”

Along with his collaborators at UW-Madison and other institutions, Schoville published his findings, January 19, in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. Schoville’s team first sequenced the Colorado potato beetle’s genome in 2018. Since then, they’ve probed the genome to understand how the pest can overcome new insecticides as quickly as it does. To do so, they sequenced several dozen beetles from across the United States. These regional populations vary in what pesticides they are resistant to and where they came from, which can give clues to the evolutionary history of the pest. The scientists discovered that the different regional groups evolved so quickly because their parent populations already had the genetic resources necessary to overcome insecticides. “The genes that evolve are well known to be involved in insect resistance. But what’s interesting is that different populations are altering different parts of genes or different genes in the same pathway,” Schoville says. This similar, but not identical, pathway to resistance across different populations is known as repeated evolution.

The rapid evolution based on a wealth of existing genetic diversity is at odds with an older

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model of evolution that assumed rare mutations must slowly arise in a population. While mutations do develop and could contribute to insecticide resistance, the Colorado potato beetle’s rapid response to new chemicals in different parts of the country can be explained only by its existing diversity. The findings are unwelcome news for farmers and scientists hoping to turn the tide on the potato beetle’s attacks. It seems unlikely, Schoville says, that even a brand-new insecticide would keep the pest in check for long. But armed with the knowledge of how the Colorado potato beetle has sidestepped our attacks, future research might help produce creative strategies to keep pace with this nemesis. “More sophisticated models might help us learn how different management techniques affect the beetle’s evolution. That might allow us to change our management style to slow it down,” Schoville concludes.

This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (grants 2015-67030- 23495 and 58-5090-7-073) and two Hatch Awards (Grants WIS02004 and VTH02010).

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