Potato grower follows father's footsteps as commission chairman

Farm and Ranch July 10, 2009 When Bob Halvorson Sr. was chairman of the Washington State Potato Commission back in the mid 1980s his son was a student at Washington State University. That son, Bob Halvorson Jr. who is himself now chairman of the Potato Commission, recalls skipping class to attend WSU potato research discussions. And how the commission handles research is one of the things Bob Halvorson says is different now than during his dad’s tenure over 20 years ago. Then the Potato Commission gave WSU a lump sum and WSU decided what options commissioners could choose from.

Halvorson: “Today we manage our own research programs. We have our own Research Director, Andy Jensen. So it is really a wide open bidding process. No university, or scientific area, or research station is guaranteed any of our money. It is all on a competitive bid basis.”

Halvorson says 20 years ago most of the commission’s budget was spent on advertising, something it no longer does. Something the commission can and does do now is lobby.

Halvorson: “Interact with legislators and federal governing agencies. So there is quite a bit of our work that is done in the area of chemical labels and re-registration issues. That never happened before.”

Bob Halvorson Jr. also points to the Potato Commission’s current work to help growers with sustainability programs, something he says wasn’t in the farthest crook of anyone’s mind 25 years ago.

That’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report. Brought to you in part by the Washington State Potato Commission. Nutrition today! Good health tomorrow! I’m Bob Hoff on the Northwest Ag Information Network.