1-11 IAN Commissions Join

 The old expression, why reinvent the wheel comes to mind with the merger between the Idaho, Washington and Oregon potato commissions.      Why have 3 independent operations working on the same problem in different venues when you can consolidate resources and have researchers working together. That is the position of the Idaho, Washington and Oregon potato commissions.  They have  decided to join forces  in an effort to be more cost-effective as they research all things potato related. Bill Brewer, executive director of the Oregon Potato Commission said top priorities among his growers include keeping research positions filled and supporting breeding efforts to develop potato varieties that use less inputs and resist diseases.

Pat Cole V.P. Government and Legal Affairs for the Idaho Potato Commission takes a very pragmatic view when it comes to joining forces in an effort to improve efficiency in potato research: “it is essentially an effort to consolidate research efforts to make sure that we are not overlapping and duplicating similar problems in different states. It is kind of a cost effective way of doing research. It is more cost-effective because viruses and tests don’t know state boundaries. As a result the same viruses and pests appear in multiple areas and usually the same techniques work to solve the problem.