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| HEADLINES (Click on headline for full story): | March 26, 2007 |
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WISCONSIN POTATO GROWER ELECTED TO LEAD THE USPB
Larry Alsum of Friesland, WI, was elected Chairman of the United States Potato Board (USPB), March 16, at the USPB Annual Meeting in Broomfield, CO. This potato grower/shipper expressed his appreciation for his fellow board members’ confidence and support in electing him to leadership. “I am looking forward to serving the USPB to the best of my ability and to lead the Board, as we serve the entire US potato industry.” 2007 marks Alsum’s fourth year representing Wisconsin on the USPB, during which he spent the previous two leading the Domestic Marketing Committee. As chairman of the full board, Alsum’s specific goals are to continue the mission to improve the usage and markets for US potatoes and potato products. “I look forward to seeing our work help grow the opportunities to expand the industry and to increase grower return on investment,” he stated. He is impressed with the impact the USPB programs have had in recent years. “I am excited about how our Best-in-Class model is promoting the sale of potatoes for retailers,” Alsum said. “I’m also encouraged by the successes we are having in expanding opportunities for international potato exports and by the new ideas coming from the Board’s innovation efforts.” Alsum noted the greatest challenge facing the industry is reversing the decline in fresh potato consumption by Americans. “However, this leads us to the great opportunity of providing consumers with positive information about the health and nutritional benefits of potatoes, as well as offering new ideas, recipes, and preparation techniques to re-position potatoes as an easy-to-use, flavorful part of the consumer’s diet. Likewise, we need to continue the efforts of our International Committee to open new export markets for fresh, frozen, dehy, chip, and seed potatoes.” Chairman Alsum became involved because he believes the USPB serves a valuable function in the US potato industry--to increase demand for potatoes and assisting growers in understanding the changing dynamics of the potato industry. In addition to the USPB, Alsum is a past board member of the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association where he served as chairman of the Promotion Committee from 1998-2000, vice president in 2002 and president in 2003. Alsum took the lead at Alsum Produce in 1981, a packaging and marketing company. Currently, he spends half his time as CEO and the other half is spent in sales. Alsum also grows 1300 acres of potatoes under the name of Alsum Farms, Inc., in Arena, WI. This certified public accountant graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a BA in Accounting. Alsum has served on the boards at Central Wisconsin Christian Schools, Randolph Christian School, and First Reformed Church in Friesland. He teaches Sunday school, is a volunteer fireman with the Friesland Fire Department and serves as a member of the Friesland Chamber of Commerce. Alsum and his wife, Paula, have been married for 31 years and have five children. Larry and Paula also have two grandchildren and are anticipating a third this summer.
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| USPB ELECTS NEW 2007/2008 LEADERSHIP
The United States Potato Board (USPB) grower membership elected new leadership during its Annual Meeting held in Broomfield, CO, March 14-16. The following sections list the leadership for the coming year.
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| Changing… minds, behaviors, the state of an industry
“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but escaping the old ones.” “We all know doing the same thing over and over will not produce a different outcome,” explained Tim O’Connor, President and CEO of the United States Potato Board (USPB), during the USPB Annual Meeting President’s Report, continuing his long-standing theme of challenging the industry to move beyond its traditional practices. What has changed is the arsenal of case studies and examples O’Connor has used over the years to demonstrate the potato industry’s need for change…the precarious risk in not changing…and the enormous, upside potential in embracing change. Diet Coke. Cadillac. Starbucks. Tyson. Panera Bread Co. Monterrey Mushrooms. Berries. Milk. Each of these products fulfilled the needs of the ever-changing consumer, adding value, even excitement, to purchase decisions. Without innovating, these companies risked losing market share—in fact, some already had and were digging themselves out of that hole. The investments made in new products, new “packaging” and enhancements to the existing product lines and services became the path to success. O’Connor illustrated how the potato industry could make many of the same investments to reverse the declining slope of demand for fresh potatoes. He admits he’s been encouraging the industry to change for eight years, yet only a handful has embraced the concept. Although change hasn’t necessarily been convenient or comfortable, that handful of innovators is making an impact. The problem, O’Connor realized, isn’t as much resistance to change (although it exists), as it is obstacles in the way of change. His message to the board-member and industry-leadership audience at this year’s Annual Meeting, March 15, was that the USPB, over the past eight years, has been doing the things the industry cannot:
From this work, a road map towards higher value for the industry in the future has been developed--everyone just needs to get on board to understand how to change; how to overcome the obstacles in the way of change. When newly elected USPB Chairman Larry Alsum humbly gave his acceptance speech on the final day of the USPB Annual Meeting, he echoed O’Connor’s challenge to the audience, comprised of grower board members and industry leadership: “What are you going to do with what you have learned this week? My challenge to you today is to choose to use the resources and ideas that are here.” “The future ain’t what it used to be.” -- Yogi Berra
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| KOREAN COOKING CLASS DEMONSTRATES US FROZEN POTATO ATTRIBUTES
International Marketing staff from the USPB recently attended and presented at a consumer cooking class for the public in “Monthly Cookand” at the La Cuisine Cooking Studio. Sixteen VIP subscribers attended the class where Susan Weller, International Marketing Manager, delivered a presentation on US frozen potato attributes and food trends related to potatoes in the US. A cooking instructor for Monthly Cookand presented three quick and easy recipes using frozen whole potatoes, hash browns, and wedge cuts. After the demonstrations and hands-on session, the attendees moved to a dining room to enjoy the prepared dishes. Conducting sessions such as these are an integral part of USPB’s International Marketing efforts to gain global consumer acceptance of frozen US potatoes and potato products by demonstrating their ease of use, versatility and nutritional attributes, thus stimulating market demand leading to increased US frozen sales.
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| 2007 SYMPOSIUM & SEED TOUR REGISTRATION BEGINS
Registration for the 2007 International Potato Symposium is open. The Symposium will kick-off the Seed Tour in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Caesar’s Palace, July 30, 2007. There will be an opening reception on July 29, 2007. USPB is hosting seed importers and growers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Uruguay. This is the first time Nicaraguan guests have attended the seed tour and will also be the first time a produce buyer and restaurateur from Uruguay will attend. Please see the attached information to register. Registration ends June 25, 2007. Please contact Leah Cochran at 303-873-2323 or lcochran@uspotatoes.com. 2007 Symposium Announcement Reg Form.pdf
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| The TAIPEI INTERNATIONAL FOOD SHOW–TABLE-STOCK GROWERS INVITED!
The Taipei International Food Show will be held at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall, Taipei, Taiwan, June 21-24, 2007. The USPB will have a booth at the show and would like US table-stock growers to join them in representing the US industry. This is the largest food and beverage show in Taiwan and is one of the premier shows in Asia, catering to the food industry and attracting companies from all over the world. Local food importers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and consumers attend this show. The USPB booth will be located in the USA Pavilion, which has been one of the largest USA Pavilions in the world for the last three years. Table space in the booth is limited, so respond as soon as possible to ensure your place. "This is a great opportunity to meet potential customers in person,” said Sarah Mahler, USPB International Marketing Manager. “And the price is certainly right!" For only the cost of your hotel and airfare, participants will receive many benefits including:
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity! Read more about the show or register today by visiting http://www.uspotatoes.com/820calendar.html. If you are interested, please e-mail Sarah Mahler at sarah@uspotatoes.com or call at 303-873-2334.
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| USPB DIETICIAN COMPARES FAD DIETS FOR CHANGE IN WEIGHT AND RELATED RISK FACTORS AMONG OVERWEIGHT, PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN USPB Registered Dietician, Dr. Kathie Beals, recently conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of a study recently published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) which compared the efficacy of four different, popular diets for weight loss and reduction in risk factors for metabolic syndrome (i.e., hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease) in premenopausal women. A number of recent clinical trials comparing low-fat to low-carbohydrate weight loss diets have found that while the low carbohydrate diets produce greater weight loss over the short term (i.e., < 6 months), over the long term, weight loss between the two dietary regimens is similar. Similarly, a recent meta analysis of weight loss studies concluded low-carbohydrate, non-energy restricted diets, were at least as effective as low-fat, high carbohydrate diets for up to 1 year. According to the authors of the current study, most of these studies were limited by small sample sizes, high rates of attrition and/or limited dietary assessment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of four popular weight loss diets representing a spectrum of low to high carbohydrate intake for weight loss and risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Three-hundred overweight or obese, premenopausal women (BMI 27-40 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to one of four diets for twelve months:
All groups received the appropriate book corresponding to their assigned diet. Participants then met with a registered dietitian weekly for one hour to review concepts in the book for the first two months of the program and were on their own for the remaining 10 months. Each group received specific target goals according to the emphasis of the assigned diet. The Atkins group aimed for 20- 50 grams/day (g/d) of carbohydrates; the Zone group’s primary emphasis was to maintain the 40-30-30 distribution of carbohydrate-protein-fat, respectively; the LEARN group aimed for 55-60% carbohydrate and < 10% saturated fat; and the Ornish group was to consume no more than 10% of calories from fat. The authors concluded women following the Atkins Diet had greater weight loss and more favorable overall metabolic effects at 12 months than women assigned to follow the Zone, Ornish or LEARN diets. Dr. Beals noted, “This was actually a well-designed and methodologically sound study. In fact, the only glaring “fault” that can be found with the study is the author’s conclusion, i.e., ‘The authors concluded that women following the Atkins diet had greater weight loss and more favorable overall metabolic effects at 12 months than women assigned to follow the Zone, Ornish or LEARN diets.’ In fact, the data indicated that the individuals following the Atkins diet had a significantly greater weight loss compared to only the Zone diet. Similarly, only HDL- cholesterol and Triglycerides were significantly improved on the Atkins diet compared to the other diets, LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, blood glucose and insulin levels were not significantly different between the groups.” “This data while not specifically damaging to potatoes, does serve to renew interest in low-carbohydrate diets and certainly re-ignite the debate over which diet is ‘best’”, stated Beals. “Nonetheless, given none of the diets produced a significantly large amount of weight loss, I believe the overriding message from this study is that these “popular diets” are relatively ineffective for promoting significant, long-term weight loss.” There has been a good amount of media coverage about this study, as can be expected, with stories released by the Associated Press, Health Day news, The Today Show, and others. While these stories continue the author’s conclusion that “Atkins dieters lost more weight,” each story gave a fair amount of attention to critics’ view of the study and the fact that long-term safety from eating the Atkins diet is unknown. Also, Newsweek printed an entire response by Dr. Dean Ornish online. The timing for publication of this study just happened to fall during National Nutrition Month. Ironically, the theme chosen by the American Dietetic Association for this year is “100% Fad Free” and several stories have ensued that educate consumers on why fad diets don’t work long term. Beals concluded, “This is serendipity at its best and good news for those of us working to counter interest in low-carbohydrate, high-protein, GI-based or other fad diets.”
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©2007 United States Potato Board |
