EEUU: Washington potato leader looks ahead to next decade

The biggest challenge of the next 10 years will be educating the public about the science behind farming, the head of the Washington State Potato Commission says.

“There’s this constant bombardment of people attacking agriculture, not understanding why farmers do certain things or trying to dictate farm policy,” said Chris Voigt, who this month marks 10 years as executive director of the commission.

“They’re really confronted with a lot of potential restrictions that will make it very difficult to farm, whether it’s labor, pesticide, (genetically modified crops), water — there’s this sort of unfortunate basket of doom.”

Part of the solution lies in educating legislators, regulators and the public about agriculture, Voigt said.

“The great thing is the science is on our side,” he said. “It’s hard for an activist to say, ‘Climate change is happening, look at the science, you’ve got to believe it,’ and then come out against GMOs.

“We say, ‘Wait a minute, (the science) says GMOs are incredibly safe.’”

Farmers support the technology, but Washington won’t grow GMO potatoes until its export customers accept them, Voigt said.

Voigt said he hopes to remain with the Moses Lake, Wash.-based commission for another decade.

Industry members say Voigt has had a positive impact.

Warden, Wash., farmer Frank Martinez recently left the commission after serving on the board for 12 years.

“(Voigt) knows the potato industry,” Martinez said. “He represents us well across the country, in Washington, D.C. He’s just been good all around.”

“He’s brought a lot of stability and integrity,” said Dale Lathim, executive director of Potato Growers of Washington. “He’s been a very calming factor. He’s gone above and beyond to make the Washington potato industry known locally and nationally.”

Asked what his biggest accomplishment has been, Voigt said many people would point to his 60-day, all-potato diet in 2010. It demonstrated the healthfulness of potatoes.

But he disagrees.

“All I did was just eat potatoes,” he said.

Voigt prefers to focus on the commission’s efforts to develop the “Washington Grown” television program to promote agriculture, and solidifying the relationships with Oregon and Idaho potato farmers.

“Ten years ago, Oregon and Idaho were considered our competition,” he said. “Being able to go from that adversarial relationship to 100 percent cooperation, we’ve come a long way.”