The Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA) has released its 2024 On-Farm Assessment Report, showcasing broad participation and measurable progress in sustainable potato production across the U.S. and Canada. The report shares results and insights from the PSA Program annual on-farm assessment, which supports growers in measuring and improving their management practices through a standardized, outcomes-based approach.

In 2024, a total of 474 growers, representing 640,002 potato acres across the U.S. and Canada, participated in the PSA Program. 

“Participation in the PSA Program gives growers the opportunity to measure, benchmark, and share the sustainability efforts already happening on farms across North America,” says Natalie Nesburg, PSA program manager. “By taking part, growers not only demonstrate leadership but also help shape industry-wide understanding of what sustainable potato production looks like today.”

Growers receive immediate feedback on their sustainability performance and gain insights from other participants in their region through a personalized community benchmark report. The SOA Standard framework consists of six broadly applicable sustainable agriculture outcomes that result from the adoption of various management strategies, practices, and technologies: Optimal Production, Water Impact, Soil Health, Biodiversity and Habitat, Human and Animal Health and Community Leadership.

In this report, participating growers achieved an overall performance score of High, increasing from Medium in 2023. The High performance score reflects the broad implementation of advanced practices and technologies that promote long-term profitability, reduce risk, conserve natural resources and generate value beyond the farm.

“While this is a strong result, a high score signals progress, not completion. There are still valuable opportunities to improve and learn,” notes Nesburg. “The level of adoption and collaboration across the value chain reflects a shared commitment to achieving long-term sustainability outcomes.”

Key findings in the Soil Health outcome indicate 82 per cent of growers participate in projects that support and measure nutrient management for soil health (up 9% from 2023). Additionally, 50 per cent of growers adopted a new practice to reduce tillage and compaction at the field level in the past three years.

In the Water Impact outcome, data reflects that 99 per cent of growers who irrigate are using a crop production irrigation plan that has been optimized over time to consider long-term water availability and challenges in the area. Of the participating growers, 58 per cent collaborate with others in their area on watershed or aquifer initiatives to improve water quality (up 6% from 2023).

The report also identifies strategic opportunities for continued improvement. These are practices that are moderately adopted by 50-70 per cent of participating growers and are closely associated with higher performance scores. Examples include mapping sensitive environmental areas, enhancing biological pest control, and participating in knowledge-sharing networks. PSA will use these insights to guide the development of educational resources, peer learning opportunities and collaborative projects.

Source:  Potato Sustainability Alliance August 13, 2025 news release