In a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) led Senate colleagues in expressing concern about the potential for potato wart to spread from potato imports originating on Canada's Prince Edward Island (PEI) to U.S. farms and production facilities and urging the implementation of additional mitigation measures to prevent introduction into the United States.
Potato wart is a highly destructive disease that can spread via infected potatoes and soil, reduce crop yields, and make 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.
In the letter, the senators caution: "If potato wart should enter the United States, our farmers and the communities they support will be economically devastated. Given that twenty percent of our potato crop—valued at over $2 billion—is exported, we cannot allow introduction of a disease that would shut off access to international markets, and also curtail domestic production and sales."
They expressed concern that, despite current USDA regulations identifying soil testing as the most effective tool to detect potato wart, the USDA does not require testing of PEI fields prior to potatoes being cleared for export to the U.S.
In order to protect this crucial American crop and those who depend on it for salary or sustenance, the senators urged the USDA to take swift action to mitigate the potato wart risk associated with imports from PEI by taking three actions:
- Restrict bulk shipments into the United States to smaller-size packages
- Limit large retail shipments and ensure consumers know they are for consumption rather than cultivation
- Control the waste generated by processing facilities
"Potato wart entering the United States from Prince Edward Island in Canada has been and continues to be a significant threat to US potato farmers," said Gary Roth, Executive Director of the Oregon Potato Commission. "If the disease enters the United States, the impact would be devastating not just to US potato farmers, but also to the domestic and international supply chain. Oregon growers and those across the United States greatly appreciate the inclusive and bipartisan support of the US Senate to further bring this to the attention of the USDA."
The full letter can be found here.
For more information: wyden.senate.gov