THE NORTHWEST POTATO RESEARCH CONSORTIUM PLANNING ON RESESARCH FUNDING FOR 2022

The board members of the Northwest Potato Research Consortium (NPRC) had an annual meeting on Thursday (Oct 28) to start the process of deciding on research projects to fund for fiscal year 2022-23.  The NPRC provides approximately $1.5 million annually to fund potato research.  The process starts in the fall when interested researchers from Pacific Northwest universities, USDA Agricultural Research Service, and private research organizations submit 2-page concept proposals that are evaluated by the NPRC Board.  Scientists who submit superior proposals addressing priority issues are invited to submit full proposals and present them to an audience of potato community professionals in a two-day meeting in February.   In turn, the potato professionals advise the NPRC Board which proposals they would like to be funded.  The NPRC Board meets at the end of the two-day meeting to make the final funding decisions.  The proposals submitted to the NPRC are designed to better understand and control potato pests including insects, nematodes, and pathogens, address agronomy and potato storage issues, and generate better cultivars through genetic studies and potato breeding.  The NPRC has been in place since 2013 and is managed by Andy Jensen.  It is an alliance involving the WSPC, the Oregon Potato Commission, and the Idaho Potato Commission.