December Potato Stocks

Dec 16, 2014

Potato Stocks in Michigan on December 1, 2014, were estimated at 9.4 million hundredweight (cwt), accounting for 60 percent of production, according to the USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Regional Office.

The 13 major potato States held 263 million cwt of potatoes in storage December 1, 2014, down 3 percent from 2 years ago. Potatoes in storage accounted for 66 percent of the 2014 fall storage States' production, the same as 2 years earlier.

Potato disappearance, at 136 million cwt, was down 2 percent from December 1, 2012. Season - to - date shrink and loss, at 13.8 million cwt, was the same as 2012. Processors in the 9 major States used 74.4 million cwt of potatoes for the season, down 1 percent from December 2012.

Source:usda.gov

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.