04/06/06 Oakley farmer chairs US Potato Board

Randy Hardy of Oakley is the new Chairman of the US Potato Board. HARDY "My responsibilities will be the day to day coordination with the CEO that is in Denver. The potato board is a USDA oversight organization where we collect assessment funds from the growers." Hardy says USPB is a voice for growers to promote potatoes. Using their ten million dollar annual budget and some market asset funds from USDA the potato board tries to inform consumers and the food service industry about potato nutrition. HARDY "Helping to negate things like the Atkins Diet and the glycemic index and the other things that seem to give potatoes a bad name unjustly. Someone needs to speak up and set the record straight and that's been the potato board's position to be able to have the research and analysis to contradict things like that." Hardy will oversee the US Potato Board programs while still farming 22 hundred acres near Oakley with his son. Hardy is one of 25 Idahoans on the 123 member potato board which represents five million hundredweight of production. He'll help to host the people who are coming to Boise in August for the World Potato Congress which USPB is co-sponsoring. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott