DENVER (March 22, 2012)—Garth Steed of Malta, ID, was seated as a Board Member on the United States Potato Board (USPB) at the organization’s 40th Annual Meeting, March 15-16, in Colorado Springs, CO. He was named to serve on the Board by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on February 6, 2012, for a three-year term ending February 28, 2015. New Board Members serving on the USPB in their first three-year term can be reappointed to serve a second consecutive three-year term.
Steed has a BS degree in plant science from the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, and is a graduate of Leadership Idaho Agriculture. He is a member of United Potato Growers, the Idaho Crop Improvement Association and the Idaho Farm Bureau. “I bring a new perspective, ability and eagerness to learn to the potato industry,” he said.
When Steed was asked how long he has been farming, he replied, “My whole life, 41 years, but on my own for the last eight years.” He produces Norkotah Russets and Western Russets for seed at Sawtooth Mountain Seed Farms. Wheat, barley and alfalfa are his rotation crops.
Steed is married to Jewelee Collins Steed and they have six children: daughters Amberlee (age 12), Ashlee (age 11) and Shaylee (age 7); and sons Gevin (age 16), Garen (age 14) and Gunner (age 5). The Steeds enjoy snowmobiling, snowboarding, hunting, fishing and spending time in the outdoors. Steed also likes to spend time reading and drawing.
Garth Steed was confirmed with fellow New and Re-Nominated USPB Board Members by Patricia Petrella, USDA-AMS Marketing Specialist, Fruit and Vegetable Programs (right side podium)at the 40th USPB Annual Meeting, Thursday, March 15, 2012, at The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO. Bob Keeney, USDA-AMS Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs (second from left), also welcomed and approved the confirmation of the new and returning USPB Board Members.
Authorized under the 1971 Potato Research and Promotion Act, the USPB is composed of producers, importers and a public member appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Producer members are nominated at state and local producer meetings and by mail ballot. Each state is entitled to at least one producer member, and additional members are allotted on the basis of the volume of production. Importer members are nominated by importers, and the number of members is related to the volume of imports, up to a maximum of five importer members.
The USPB administers an industry-funded national research and promotion program to increase US exports and domestic potato consumption. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service oversees the operations of the USPB. More information about the research and promotion programs is available at www.ams.usda.gov/FVPromotion.
For more information on the USPB as the nation’s potato marketing organization, positioned as the “catalyst for positive change,” and the central organizing force in implementing programs that will increase demand for potatoes, please visit www.uspotatoes.com. |
