A conversation with United Potato Growers’ Albert Wada

(From the June 2007 article "Working On Profits," United Potato Growers of America’s Albert Wada discusses the successes of the organization and plans for the future. Below are some additional comments on potato production from Wada.)

Albert Wada of Wada Farms in Idaho, one of AVG’s Top 100 growers, is one of the driving forces behind United Potato Growers of America and currently serves as the group’s chairman of the board. Also known as United, the organization is a potato cooperative that is working to align potato production with demand. Slowly the situation of overproduction is being rectified.

To date, thanks to the work of Wada and the United movement, significant improvements are being made with regard to potato acreage management. With the help of data analysis systems, the organization is able to determine where to draw the line when planting.

Here is what Wada had to say about grower benefits, acreage reduction, negative feedback about the cooperative, and how United’s plan may help potato growers outside of the U.S. and Canada.

Q. In addition to better acreage management, what are some other benefits growers realized from joining United?
A. The hidden benefits are many.

• Greatly increasing information and data quality and flow of this important economic information to grower members.
• Greatly increasing North American grower teamwork, communication, and trust in working together • Developing value-added programs like corporate supplier programs to aid in funding/supporting United’s data system and membership costs.
• Creating opportunities for collaboration toward consolidation and vertical integration for the potato growing industry.
• Through acreage management, increasing the sustainability of production potato agriculture, both economic and environmental (increasing rotations, reduced fertilization and chemical use, carbon loading through moving away from excess acres and production practices of the past few years). This also results in more efficient production costs and a better quality product for consumers.

Q. How is acreage reduction related to a reduction in chemical usage?
A. Because we [Wada Farms] reduced our acreage by more than 15%, it also allows us to extend our crop rotation. For instance, instead of planting every other year on some of our lighter soils, now we plant every third year or fourth year with potatoes. Some of the alternative crops like wheat, corn, and barley are now at all time high farm gate prices. Extending potato cropping rotation allows for less chemical and commercial fertilizer usage, and results in healthier, more balanced soils, and increased yields and quality.

Q. What kind of feedback, if any, did you receive on the organization’s drawbacks?
A. Primarily, it is the type of negativism often present regarding cooperatives. Some say that the cooperative’s coordinated efforts were not effective in managing acres and that most of the reduction in supplies has come from weather and economic related causes. Also, there have been claims that the cooperative philosophy of coordinated supply management runs counter to the free-market, last man standing business model, which some believe a better, natural system.

Q. In addition to Canada, what kind of interest in the program exists in other parts of the world?

A. Grower groups in New Zealand indicated interest last year and invited me to go down there. I visited with grower groups in New Zealand and Australia. Those areas had adverse weather conditions with the 2006 crop, so seasonal prices are not bad. Much of the potatoes grown there are for processing.

These growers recognized the variability of the market and oversupply potential. In spite of the weather issues in 2006, they still recognize that they can go into an overproduction situation overnight.

Along those lines, back in February 2007, we had the first ever summit meeting in Las Vegas of the United Potato Growers of America, United of Canada, and Potato Marketing Association of North America and their respective boards. It was a strategic summit to further the idea and strategy of working together to not overproduce.

It also was the first time a growing industry got that many growers together to talk about how to maintain profitable markets. The bottom line is that we all recognize the need to increase data-specific information for each market, fresh, frozen etc., and continue the business plan that is based on good data and not oversupply the market.