Letter to Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture - Senator Collins Calls for Direct Relief for Maine Potato Growers Amid COVID-19 Letter also offers recommendations to address supply chain backlog

Letter

Dear Secretary Perdue,
I am writing to echo the concerns and questions raised by representatives of the U.S.
Potato industry, including the Maine Potato Board, who are facing an unprecedented crisis due to
COVID-19. The groups have put forth productive recommendations in regards to the USDA's
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) that warrant your full consideration. I am also
requesting your assistance in helping to identify or make available USDA programs to help
potato growers with the safe disposal of surplus crop.
As detailed in the attached letter, over 1.5 billion pounds of fresh potatoes are currently
stuck in the supply chain due to the widespread closure of restaurants, food establishments,
hospitality businesses, and schools, as well as the cancellation of large events such as concerts
and fairs. While the impact to Maine's potato industry changes daily, it is estimated that more
than 1,500,000 hundredweight (cwt) of potatoes from the 2019 crop may not be sold, which
represents over 10 percent of the total Maine 2019 crop and is valued at over $15 million.
Furthermore, this backlog in the 2019 crop caused by the pandemic could result in growers
seeing as much as a 10 to 20 percent reduction in their planting contracts for the 2020 planting
season.
In years past, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program run by USDA's Natural
Resources Conservation Service has helped Maine potato growers properly dispose of excess
supply. If not adequately addressed, spoiled potatoes pose serious phytosanitary risks and
environmental risks and have the potential to spawn fungal outbreaks that can harm future crop
growth. We must ensure that the plight of the potato industry is not made worse by growers'
inability to appropriately dispose of the crop that was unable to be sold through no fault of their
own. To that end, I urge you to provide immediate technical and financial assistance to the
industry and, if adequate funding is not currently available for disposal services, to offer
guidance on the level of funding that might be necessary to implement these critical activities.
It is my understanding that when USDA attempted to quantify the negative effects of the
pandemic on potato sales, the Department did so by analyzing retail and grocery sales, rather
than those in the food service sector -- where the impact has been felt most acutely. In Maine, 40
percent of our annual potato crop is comprised of processed potatoes grown expressly for use
within the food service industry. I strongly urge USDA to rectify this methodology to ensure that
potatoes are fully eligible and the minimum payment levels in each category are meaningful for
growers.
I am hopeful that the USDA will work closely with the U.S. potato industry to manage
their backlog and to make certain that adequate direct relief is extended to producers. I stand
ready to work with you toward these goals and to address their urgent disposal needs. Thank you
for your time and effort on behalf of the potato industry in Maine and across the country.