According to Mr. Voigt, WSPC looked at 12 different certification programs to develop standardized parameters

According to Mr. Voigt, WSPC looked at 12 different certification programs to develop standardized parameters. “ The program would be all-encompassing and address sustainability issues such as water use, employee training and pesticide management. 

“We’ll roll it out to the industry,” Mr. Voigt went on to say “An important piece is the education piece.” The program, he indicated, would answer a range of producer questions from how growers can develop sustainable farming practices to how they can document everything needed for a third-party audit.

Development of this new program comes at a time when the U.S. Department of Agriculture is requiring producers who sell to the federal government to be GAP-certified.
Concern relating to potato seed availability is also coming to the forefront. Mr. Voigt said there was a golden nematode finding in two fields in Alberta, Canada. According to Mr. Voigt, approximately 30 percent of seed potatoes purchased by Washington growers comes from the Canadian province.
“We know this is already affecting growers in Florida and Georgia,” he said.
Last year, a soil testing protocol was developed after the same pest was found in a commercial seed field in Quebec. “That’s when the two fields tested positive in Alberta,” Mr. Voigt explained. USDA was notified last October, and extensive grid testing was conducted.

According to Mr. Voigt, the testing did not yield any nematodes. The border is currently closed to seed potato importation, and Mr. Voigt said, “We certainly hope it opens soon.” Washington growers begin planting operations in February.

Officials in the United States and Canada agreed to do traceback and traceforward to see how extensive the nematode problem might be. “We need some more investigation work,” Mr. Voigt said. “If it is contained in those two farms, the border could be opened up. It affects so many growers around the country.”