Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

The Tri-State Potato Breeding Program
As part of a multi-state, multi-institution partnership, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington have developed the Tri-State Potato Breeding Program-a research partnership, formalized through a cooperative agreement, between the USDA-ARS; the Idaho, Oregon, and Washington potato commissions; and researchers at the University of Idaho, Oregon State University, and Washington State University. Since its inception in 1985, the program has developed 30 new potato varieties that have been optimized for nutritional value as well as pest and disease resistance, and they are used by various market segments such as fresh pack, chipping, and processing. Tri-state breeders consult with growers, processing industry representatives, and state potato commission officials at every stage of variety development. New varieties have been protected by securing plant variety protection (PVP) certificates. These certificates have been licensed to the Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI), a nonprofit corporation controlled by the three states' potato commissions. PVMI's mission is to license and sublicense the new potato varieties resulting from the program. The creation of PVMI reflects the long-term financial commitment of the states' potato commissions to Tri-State's research partnership efforts. In the spring of 2009, 15 PVP certificates associated with the USDA-ARS were licensed to PVMI, which has entered into dozens of sublicenses with various growers, including foreign companies. Tri-State/PVMI is an extraordinary example of a research and technology transfer partnership involving ARS scientists, university researchers, and private sector growers. Recently released Tri-State varieties are now produced on over 140,000 acres in the Pacific Northwest, with the value to growers estimated to be approximately $505 million annually.