Snowe calls for scrutiny of Canadian potato wart data

PRESQUE ISLE – With potato farmers in Maine getting ready for spring planting, the issue of the potato wart virus found in part of Prince Edward Island 16 months ago is surfacing again.

This week, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe asked that officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture keep in mind the concerns of the Maine Potato Board when the federal agency reviews Canadian potato-wart test data from the 2001 growing season.

“We just want to make sure they base their decision on the scientific data we’ve agreed to,” Donald Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, said Wednesday. “It’s important to Maine.”

In October 2000, potato wart was found in a small section of a Prince Edward Island field, causing the United States to close the border to island potatoes for six months.

The disease, which causes unsightly growths on the tubers, can live in soil for up to 40 years, possibly wiping out an entire industry if left unchecked.

The USDA said the ban was aimed at preventing the spread of the disease, but Canadian officials charged that the United States was exploiting a minor outbreak of the fungus to benefit American potato growers

The ban was lifted in April 2001 after Canadian agriculture officials agreed to a strict three-year testing and inspection program for all P.E.I. fields and potatoes.

Under the plan, one-third of the island will be inspected each year for three years to make sure the land and potatoes are free of wart.

Adding to the controversy, however, is that neither U.S. nor Canadian officials will accept the credibility of each other’s scientific testing results.

The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is reviewing data from Canada to see if 2001 was potato-wart-free in areas examined.

If that is found to be the case, there would be two years left in which testing would be done. If there were questions, however, the USDA has the option of adding another year of testing.

Last year, the island was hit with a major drought. During a 10-week period, the region received less than 1 inch of rain.

Such dry conditions can prevent some potato varieties from exhibiting symptoms of potato wart. That being the case, the disease could be missed on potatoes that might find their way into Maine.

One requirement of the three-year plan is that data from at least four independent weather stations on the island be included. In that way, U.S. agriculture officials will know which parts of Prince Edward Island were hardest hit by the drought and could hold the potential for hidden wart.

According to Snowe and the Maine Potato Board, test information provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency uses data collected from only one weather station.

Flannery said the Maine Potato Board wants to make sure that all pertinent data called for in the three-year agreement are used by the USDA as it determines which parts of P.E.I. are free of wart.

“One of our concerns has been that they live up to all the conditions outlined in that agreement,” he said. “The agreement calls for data from at least four weather stations, and if they’re not doing that, how come?”

In her letter to Bill Hawks, undersecretary of USDA marketing and regulatory programs, Snowe asked that the federal agency seek more comments from the Maine Potato Board as the issue is decided.

“I ask that the department consider these concerns while reviewing the Canadian data, and further ask that USDA work closely with Maine’s potato industry before any final ruling is made,” Snowe wrote.