02/25/05 Washington spud coop meeting

Farm and Ranch February 25, 2005 About 40 people attended a meeting in Moses Lake yesterday to discuss formation of a Washington State Fresh Potato Cooperative, or a cooperative covering the Columbia Basin extending into Oregon. Participants were told the proposed cooperative would be to stabilize potato prices and supplies in Washington and to work with cooperatives in other states having similar objectives. The Capper-Volstead Act, a federal statute passed in the 1920`s allows agricultural producers, to organize into cooperatives to achieve market power they otherwise do not possess. Proponents of the cooperative say the fresh potato industry has been in a self destructive mode and cooperative principles are the best alternative to bring stability and prosperity to farms, families, and communities. They say this approach encourages free enterprise and is based on open market, positive sum competition The plan discussed would be a system that manages supply during times of excess so Washington fresh potato farmers and shippers can remain profitable. Idaho recently formed a fresh potato cooperative, the United Fresh Potato Growers of Idaho, with signed members representing about 90 percent of the state's fresh potato acreage. Other major potato growing states such as Maine, Colorado and Wisconsin have used the Idaho model to form their own cooperatives. The move to form a Washington coop is led by a steering committee of Del Christensen of Wahluke Produce, Bart Connors and Steve Connors of Skone & Connors, Allen Floyd of Harvest Fresh, Lew McCullough of Columbia Potato, Kevin O'Rorke of Balcom & Moe and Darrell Van Dyke of Blakal Produce. That's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report, brought to you in part by the Washington State Potato Commission. Nutrition today. Good health tomorrow. I'm Bob Hoff on the Northwest Ag Information Network.