Lawmakers ask USDA to keep potato wart out of the country
By Terry Murry on Thursday, July 18th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sixteen United States senators from both parties have signed a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack expressing concern about the potential for potato wart to spread from imports originating on Prince Edward Island in Canada to U.S. farms and production facilities. The lawmakers are calling for additional measures to prevent the disease into the U.S.
Potato wart is a highly destructive disease that can spread via infected potatoes and soil. It reduces crop yields and makes potatoes unmarketable domestically or internationally. There is currently no treatment available to eliminate it from contaminated farmland where it can persist in the soil for decades.
“If potato wart should enter the United States, our farmers and the communities they support will be economically devastated,” the letter states.
The senators are concerned that in spite of current USDA regulations identifying soil testing as the most effective tool to detect potato wart, the department does not require testing of fields on Prince Edward island prior to potatoes being cleared for export to the U.S.
The lawmakers want smaller packages of 20 pounds or less to be imported here as opposed to bulk shipments. They want large retail shipments to be limited and make sure that people are warned that they should not plant them. They also believe that the USDA needs to require better controlling the waste generated by potato processing facilities. They also want using waste potatoes into livestock feed.
The four senators from Oregon and Washington are among those signing the letters. Idaho is the largest potato producer. Washington is second, Wisconsin is third, and Oregon is fourth.
