Idaho Potato Commission
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The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) is a self governing agency of the State of Idaho that was established in 1937 as the Idaho Fruit and Vegetable Advertising Commission. It has many responsibilities, but its primary responsibility is to promote the Idaho potato through advertising, public relations, promotions and other marketing initiatives. It also supports research to help expand the market for Idaho potatoes.
[edit] Overview
Since its inception, the commission, which is one of the oldest commodity organizations in the country[citation needed], has been a trailblazer on many fronts. One of its greatest achievements was the use of broadcast advertising -- on radio and later television – when this type of marketing was in its infancy. In addition, the commission introduced the “Grown in Idaho” seal in 1959 to help elevate the visibility of Idaho potatoes and has become a symbol consumers actively look for when purchasing potato products. It's for these reasons that the Idaho potato is the best selling potato[citation needed] and is one of the most recognized and respected brand names in the United States.
The Idaho potato industry contributes approximately $2.7 billion to the Idaho economy, harvests approximately 13 billion pounds annually, produces roughly one-third of all the potatoes grown in the United States and employs 39,000 state residents.[citation needed] Additionally, many license plates in Idaho contain the phrase "Famous Potatoes".
Today, the commission is made up of nine commissioners that represent the growing (5), shipping (2), and processing (2) segments of the Idaho industry. These nine commissioners are nominated by their peers and appointed by the Governor to serve up to two three-year terms. In order to fund programs developed and approved by the commission, the industry currently assesses itself 12.5 cents per cwt on all potatoes used for human consumption. The grower pays 60% of this advertising tax and the handler pays 40%. It is estimated that $10 million will be available to fund IPC programs from the 2007 crop.
The commissioners serve in the capacity of a board of directors and hire a CEO to administer staff and carry out the programs it approves each crop year. The current executive staff of the commission consists of the CEO, and vice presidents of foodservice, legal/government affairs, and retail/international. In addition, an executive secretary serves the commission and keeps appropriate minutes, is custodian of records, and provides legal notification of meetings.
The vice president of foodservice has a field component of three foodservice promotion directors, which he supervises along with his overall foodservice advertising and promotion activities. They make weekly calls on foodservice distributors and wholesalers to set up promotional activities and provide printed materials featuring Idaho potatoes. They also attend trade shows with the vice president of foodservice. The VP of foodservice personally sets up operator promotional activities.
The vice president of legal and government affairs handles all the licensing activities of the commission and monitors compliance activities related to the proper usage of the registered certification and trademarks of the commission. He oversees governmental activities on both the state and national level that relate to IPC interest.
The vice president of retail and international handles retail promotion activities, and sets up corporate promotion while his field staff of four retail promotion directors call on division and store level people in the retail stores to set up Idaho potato promotions. Their calls are made on retailers, produce wholesalers and licensed repackers that are located in their assigned territories. They set up co-op advertising programs on a quarterly basis and monitor the produce departments for proper use of the commission's registered certification marks.
The commission contracts with outside agencies for professional services when warranted for consumer, foodservice and retail advertising, promotion and public relations programs.
Idaho Potato Commission 661 South Rivershore Lane, Ste 230 Eagle, ID 84616 (208) 334-2350 (208) 334-2274 fax
