Sec. Vilsack responds to bipartisan Senators who had urged USDA to protect American growers
Responding to a July 2024 letter authored by bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack this week emphatically stated that the previous measures USDA has taken have effectively make the risk of potato wart entering the U.S. from PEI unlikely.
Previously, NPC and numerous senators had urged the department to at least take actions that could be implemented rapidly in the U.S., entirely under the control of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). This urgency was compelled due to the inordinately long period of time it has taken the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to enhance measures in Canada to deal with this disease.
“We have been waiting years for CFIA to act since the most recent potato wart outbreaks in PEI. In the interim, we believe there are reasonable unilateral measures that USDA can take to protect American growers from potato wart,” said Kam Quarles, NPC CEO. “The Secretary’s letter rejects that request and makes clear that USDA believes there is effectively no risk of potato wart entering the United States. Our industry hopes this belief is accurate.”
The bipartisan group of Senators had urged USDA to act immediately in protecting American growers by implementing additional mitigation measures in the U.S. to prevent the introduction of PEI potato wart, specifically by:
- Restricting bulk shipments into the United States to smaller-size packages;
- Limiting large retail shipments and ensuring consumers know they are for consumption rather than cultivation; and,
- Controlling the waste generated by processing facilities.
The Senate letter was issued by U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and signed by Senators Boozman (R-Arkansas), Collins (R-Maine), Cramer (R-North Dakota), Daines (R-Montana), Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Risch (R-Idaho), Bennett (D-Colorado), Cantwell (D-Washington), Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), King (I-Maine), Merkley (D-Oregon), Murray (D-Washington), Stabenow (D-Michigan) and Tester (D-Montana).
The Senate letter came after an October 2022 risk assessment issued by APHIS, which concluded that potato wart is “almost certain to be introduced” to the United States without additional mitigation measures in place. That report was preceded by an Oval Office meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Biden where the PEI situation was specifically discussed. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. market was reopened by USDA.
Read Secretary Vilsack’s full letter here.
