Potato LEAF Brings Hope During a Year of Turmoil
December 30, 2020 When we launched Potato LEAF (a new industry-supported, nonprofit organization dedicated to growing future leaders) at January’s Potato Expo, the outlook for 2020 couldn’t have been brighter. Sales were strong, consumer demand was up, trade agreements with vital, export markets were being signed.
Yet it unraveled a few months later as the world locked down to combat the most devastating pandemic in a century.
Potato LEAF (Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation) could have easily withered in the field. It needed cash to thrive, and we set an ambitious 2020 fundraising goal of $2 million.
That’s right. Two. Million. Dollars. In a year when demand dried up and growers were donating potatoes by the truckload to food banks, we were asking the industry to pony up cash for an abstract mission like “leadership.”
As I write this in early October, I am pleased and humbled to report that we have already reached an incredible $1.85 million of that $2 million goal.
More than 70 individual growers and several businesses, allied partners, and state and national potato organizations donated, ensuring the foundation will meet its mission for years to come. The resiliency and forward-looking nature of our industry has never been more apparent.
Despite pandemic-induced chaos, Potato LEAF’s signature program — the Potato Industry Leadership Institute — benefited from fortuitous timing. The Class of 2020 came together for eight days in late February, just a few weeks before the shutdown.
A group of 24 outstanding potato growers and industry representatives started off in Detroit, MI, getting an overview of the local and national potato industry, including some of the challenges and issues beyond the production sector. They then flew to DC and heard from public policy and communication experts speaking at NPC’s 2020 Potato DC Fly-In.
While in Washington, they learned the U.S. potato industry’s legislative and regulatory priorities and how to effectively deliver key messages to Congress. The program finished with a day of meeting with members of Congress and advocating for industry priorities.
Trying to predict what February 2021 will look like is a bit of a toss-up, but we hope we will be able to bring together Institute’s Class of 2021 in California and DC for yet another round of leadership training.
Introducing the Potato Industry leadership Institute class of 2020. Bottom row (l-r)): Susannah Cooper, Maine; Casey Folson, Minnesota; Michael Wolter, Wisconsin; Tom Nilson, North Dakota; Sarah Noller, Colorado. Second row: Ubaldo Martinez, Washington; Laurie Widdowson, Nebraska; John Morrison, Washington. Third row: Cliff Shaw, Colorado; Carl Long, Pennsylvania; Jace Jensen, Idaho Fourth row: Austin Ochoa, Washington; Jason Allen, Idaho; Doug Posthuma, Wisconsin; Jason Kimm, Montana. Fifth row: Cody Fazio, Oregon; Damen Kurzer, Michigan; Derek Friehe, Washington; Ben Harris, Colorado; Guthry Laurie, Michigan. Sixth row: Mitchell Searle, Idaho; Ben Sklarczyk, Michigan (Grower Leader); Blake Matthews, Idaho (Grower Leader).
Photo courtesy of National Potato Council
The Next Generation of Growers
Another leg of the Potato LEAF stool is the graduate scholarship program. We were pleased to announce that Jeewan Pandey, a third-year graduate student in Texas A&M University’s Department of Horticultural Sciences, received our 2020-2021 academic scholarship. We give the $10,000 scholarship award annually to one graduate student with a strong interest in research who can directly benefit the U.S. potato industry.
As a Ph.D. candidate and graduate research and teaching assistant, Pandey’s research involves the application of DNA-based markers in potato breeding to speed up developing new varieties that would require fewer pesticide applications. He is also conducting genetic diversity studies and genome-wide association studies with the final goal of accelerating selection using genomics-enabled approaches.
Potato LEAF was created to ensure the long-term health of the U.S. potato industry by investing in its future leaders. We were thrilled to support Pandey’s educational and research goals, which will advance our collective knowledge and set us on the path for a better, more productive tomorrow.
How You Can Support Potato LEAF
Before we close the books on a tumultuous 2020, I’d like to remind you there are two ways you can support Potato LEAF and the future leaders of our industry.
First, you can make a tax-deductible donation as an individual and/or business at Pleaf.org.
Second, you can make Potato LEAF your charity of choice on AmazonSmile. Then, when your family or business makes an eligible purchase through AmazonSmile, Amazon will automatically donate 0.5% of the purchases to the foundation — with no fees and no extra cost to you.
Visit Smile.Amazon.com and type “Potato Leadership Education and Advancement Foundation” into the search bar to register Potato LEAF as your designated charity. Remember to always start your Amazon shopping at Smile.Amazon.com for your eligible purchases to count.
As a proud, lifelong member of, and long-time advocate for, the U.S. potato industry, I know first-hand the importance of developing tomorrow’s leaders. If our family farms are going to survive and thrive over the next few decades, we’re going to need growers on the state and national level to step up and advocate on the industry’s behalf.
I’m certain that the invaluable training and educational opportunities provided to younger growers and industry partners by Potato LEAF will continue to reap dividends for years.
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