Founded in 1948, the National Potato Council is the voice of U.S. potato growers and industry members in our nation’s capital. NPC protects potato growers’ interests in Washington, D.C. by addressing issues that affect the potato industry, from policy issues debated in Congress to regulatory issues proposed by federal agencies.
History
Agricultural production of Irish potatoes and other agricultural commodities ramped up to meet the demands of World War II. Following the war, decreased demand led to depressed market conditions; no organized plan existed to facilitate the movement of surplus potatoes.
U.S. production areas were also expanding across the country, but conflict erupted among the regions as there was no framework for unifying the growing regions on a national level.
As early as 1947, it became apparent that it was necessary to give the potato industry a unified voice on a national level and improve the collection of data essential to production and marketing.
As a result, the National Potato Council was formed in 1948 to represent the approximately 45,000 potato growers operating in the United States. Currently located in Washington, D.C., NPC was organized to promote the greater consumption of Irish potatoes and to nationally represent potato farmers on legislative and regulatory matters.
Representatives from every large potato producing area were named to serve on the NPC Board of Directors, which would meet periodically to consider the potato problems and make recommendations for their improvement. Finances were provided by state potato organizations that collected dues, or quotas, from individual growers.
To this day, NPC remains committed to providing a unified voice for the U.S. potato industry on national legislative, regulatory, environmental, and trade issues to promote the increased profitability for growers and greater consumption of potatoes.
NPC has been highly successful in representing the diverse interests of U.S. potato producers and plays a significant role influencing policy that directly affects the U.S. grower’s ability to compete both domestically and globally.
2025 President Ted Tschirky
During the National Potato Council’s 2025 Washington Summit, Ted Tschirky of Pasco, Washington, was elected to serve as NPC’s 2025 President and head the grower-led organization’s Executive Committee.
Previously serving as the National Potato Council’s First Vice President and Vice President of Trade Affairs, Ted Tschirky has been actively involved in state and national potato associations for more than 20 years. A third-generation farmer in Washington’s Columbia River basin, Tschirky served on the Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC) prior to joining NPC in a leadership role. During his involvement with WSPC, he traveled to D.C. often to advocate on behalf of the state’s potato industry and saw the impact NPC was having not only on a national level but with international trade as well. He also learned how important establishing solid relationships with state and federal representatives was for the overall wealth and health of the industry.
