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Friday, December 25, 2020 CapitalPress.com 7 U.S. potato utilization drops 5.2% as foodservice sags By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press Foodservice shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic fueled a 5.2% drop in utilization of U.S.- grown potatoes for the marketing year that ended June 30, Potatoes USA reported. The total utilization decline, to about 34.6 billion pounds, takes into account potatoes and potato products sold at retail and in food- service as well as U.S. export and import volumes. A 12.6% decrease in foodser- vice volume and a 2.4% drop in exports outweighed an 8.7% gain in retail sales, Potatoes USA said in a news release. A 6.7% increase in imports also hurt utilization of the U.S. crop. The decline occurred at the end of the market- ing year and was measured against strong sales in the second half of the John previous year, the Toaspern national market- ing group said. Sales of frozen potato prod- ucts dropped 10% from July 2019 through June 2020. Potatoes USA said COVID-19 restrictions impacted quick-service restaurants less than full-service restaurants, as fresh-potato sales to foodservice fell 19%. Foodservice sales have been accounting for a greater share of total potato sales in the U.S., peak- ing at 58% in marketing year 2019. The foodservice share of the mar- keting year 2020 total dropped to 53%. Potatoes USA Chief Market- ing Officer John Toaspern said foodservice sales recovered some- what from July through September 2020. Fry sales at quick-service restau- rants increased since spring but remained about 10% below sum- mer 2019. A lack of non-restau- rant sales, such as at theme parks and event venues, continued to drag on total fry sales. Fresh potato sales improved from spring to summer but remained well below year-earlier levels. “Things have been a little more uncertain this fall,” Toaspern said. “The big question is how Feds sued over nixing grizzlies in Cascades By DON JENKINS Capital Press The Center for Biologi- cal Diversity sued the Trump administration Wednesday over grizzly bears, alleg- ing the Interior Department illegally canceled plans to release bears into the North Cascades. The federal suit, filed in the District of Columbia, comes one month before a change in White House administrations. “We definitely hope that the Biden administration will reconsider the Trump admin- istration’s decision to termi- nate the restoration plan,” Center for Biological Diver- sity attorney Andrea Zac- cardi said. “Grizzly bears are not going to recover without a plan for restoration.” The suit names Inte- rior Secretary David Bern- hardt, the U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service and the National Park Service. Efforts to obtain comment from the Interior Department were unsuccessful. Terry Tollefsbol/USFWS The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump admin- istration Dec. 16 in the District of Columbia for dropping plans to release grizzly bears into the North Cascades. Bernhardt announced July 7 in Omak, Wash., that the federal agencies were dropping plans to capture and release grizzly bears in north-central Washington. Bernhardt cited local opposition to reintroduc- ing grizzlies to the region. He made the announcement to an invited group of cat- tlemen, farmers and elected officials. The North Cascades are one of six federal grizzly bear “recovery zones,” but no grizzly has been seen in the Cascades south of the Canadian border since 1996. The suit alleges the Trump administration violated its obligation under the Endan- gered Species Act to con- serve grizzly bears, a threat- ened species. Furthermore, the agen- cies broke the National Envi- ronmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedure Act by failing to adequately explain the decision, the suit claims. quickly the recovery is going to occur, and when restaurants are going to start reopening.” Demand in the foodservice segment could start to improve in late winter and early spring as the weather warms and as more vaccine gets out to the public, he said. Idaho Potato Commission Foodservice Vice President Alan Kahn said IPC is “thinking now about, longer term, when things return to a somewhat normal state, how to help our customers drive volume.” Now, “a significant percentage of the population still does not feel comfortable dining in at a restau- rant,” he said. Sit-down restau- rants that typically order 40- and 50-count cartons of larger pota- Idaho water-quality trading legislation to be proposed By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press The Idaho Water Users Association wants the state to endorse and help carry out water-quality trading. IWUA Executive Director and Gen- eral Counsel Paul Arrington said the group plans to propose a bill and a joint resolution. The 2021 Idaho Legislature is scheduled to start Jan. 11. The bill would authorize the state Department of Environmental Qual- ity to establish and operate volun- tary water-quality trading programs. The resolution would be a non-binding statement that the Legislature supports water-quality trading as a concept. Water-quality trading establishes a tangible value as a means of exchange. It aims to encourage upstream improve- ments that reduce the need for more expensive treatment downstream. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supports it on a watershed scale. Arrington said several settle- ment-pond projects, aiming to improve water quality in the Snake River or trib- utaries, have been planned or completed in southern Idaho. They can be expen- sive, as land, equipment and permits must be obtained. Water-quality trad- ing has the potential to create more oppor- tunity for projects, he said. A potential exam- ple involves a city’s total Paul maximum-daily-load Arrington permit that authorizes wastewater discharge per Clean Water Act requirements. “A city treats water, releases it, and it finds its way back into the river,” Arrington said. “Sometimes the cost of installing additional water treatment facilities can be exorbitant, and small communities can’t bear that burden. If you can go spend a couple hundred thousand to build one of these ponds to reduce loading from a different source, you can use that to offset what would have been cleaned at the treatment facility.” State law allows water-quality trading. “This simply would be formalizing this opportunity in Idaho,” Arrington said. “This is just another tool in the toolbox as these groups are working to improve the water quality of the Snake River and the (tributary) Boise River.” On Ca ll 24 hours ! Empty mailbox? Don’t let this happen to you. Get Capital Press a day early with the e-Edition! toes “are struggling because their business in large part depends on consumers dining inside the restaurant.” Distributors tell IPC that their business is “completely dynamic” depending on the state they are in and the restrictions imposed on restaurants, Kahn said. Potatoes USA said retail-sales changes for the marketing year ended June 30 included an increase of 15% for frozen and dehydrated products, a 9.5% gain for fresh — the industry has moved some food- service-bound fresh potatoes into the retail channel — and a 5.5% increase for chips. Toaspern said summer retail sales did not match the spring surge but remained 10-15% above year-earlier levels. On Site or In-house • Motor Rewinds • Ag • Commercial• Industrial CCB#120254 It’s easy! Go to subscription.capitalpress.com/CircStore/ and register with your name and address. Prineville, Oregon 541-903-9002 hpspipe.com info@hpspipe.com S219060-1 WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! BAGS: • Seed Bags • Fertilizer Bags • Feed Bags • Potato Bags • Printed Bags • Plain Bags • Bulk Bags • Totes • Woven Polypropylene • Bopp • Polyethylene • Pocket Bags • Roll Stock & More! Having trouble? Call 800-781-3214 for help. 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