United States Potato Board -

The United States Potato Board conducts an annual Fry Processing Trial on new, yet-to-be-named potato varieties to determine which new varieties will match or exceed the high standards set by industry stakeholders: mainly producers, processors and consumers.

David Parish, owner of AIS Consulting, explains more about what attributes are being analyzed in these trials.

Parish: “We’re looking for raw materials that meet or exceed all the current specifications that either the processors or, let’s say, a quick serve restaurant would have. So we’re looking at many, many different attributes: looking at yield, specific gravity, how the potato looks, how it processes, what kind of consumer attributes does it have.”

Parish emphasizes that the testing considers criteria important to all stakeholders.

Parish: “So everybody along that supply chain has to be happy. And in order to do that, it has to work all the time everywhere. So by having this national trial and having this consistent trialing methodology, where we’re looking at all of these attributes at once, ensures that when we go forward with a new variety that all the constituents: the consumers, the producers, the processors -- the industry-at-large -- will have something that they know is good for everybody.”

This was the U.S. Potato Update, brought to you by the United States Potato Board, maximizing return on grower investment. I’m KayDee Gilkey on the Northwest Ag Information Network.