The Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA) has released its 2025 On-Farm Assessment Report, highlighting continued participation and measurable sustainability performance across potato production in the United States and Canada. The report shares results and insights from the PSA Program's annual on-farm assessment, which supports growers in measuring and improving their management practices through a standardized, outcomes-based approach.

In 2025, a total of 496 assessments, representing 646,313 potato acres across the United States and Canada, were completed through the PSA Program using the Sustainability Outcomes in Agriculture (SOA) Standard in the Cropwise™ Sustainability (CWST) app. Participating growers represent more than 50 per cent of all potato acres across North America, demonstrating the continued growth and impact of the PSA Program.

Since transitioning to the SOA Standard in 2023, participation has grown by 76 assessments while represented acreage has increased by more than 57,000 acres. Growers completed assessments between October 1 and December 19, 2025 and received personalized regional Benchmark Reports, allowing them to compare their sustainability performance with anonymous results from growers in their pre-defined region.

Growers receive immediate feedback on their sustainability performance and gain insights from other participants in their region through a personalized benchmark report. The SOA Standard framework evaluates six sustainability outcomes: Optimal Production, Water Impact, Soil Health, Biodiversity & Habitat, Human & Animal Health, and Community Leadership.

Figure 1. Map of participating states and provinces by survey region, with the corresponding assessments and represented potato acres by region.

Participating growers maintained an overall High sustainability performance score in 2025, consistent with 2024. Community Leadership, Human & Animal Health, Optimal Production, and Water Impact all maintained High performance, while Biodiversity & Habitat remained at Medium. Soil Health shifted from High to Medium, identifying an opportunity for renewed focus while still reflecting widespread adoption of beneficial soil management practices across participating farms.

"The results continue to demonstrate the strong sustainability performance of potato growers throughout North America," said Natalie Nesburg, PSA program manager. "Maintaining a High overall performance, driven by the widespread adoption of beneficial management practices, while identifying new opportunities for improvement is exactly how continuous improvement should work. These insights help us develop resources and programs that support growers in achieving even greater sustainability outcomes."

A significant milestone in 2025 was the launch of the PSA Program's Third-Party Verification Framework. During its inaugural year, 20 on-farm verification reviews were completed to confirm the accuracy of grower-reported assessment responses and identify opportunities to strengthen the program. Findings from these reviews will guide targeted improvements to participant training, assessment resources, and verification procedures, further enhancing the credibility and value of the PSA Program.

The report also identifies opportunities for continued improvement across several sustainability outcomes. These insights will help shape future PSA Education Portal content, participant training, assessment guidance, and collaborative learning opportunities, while continuing to recognize the strong management practices already demonstrated by participating growers.

The 2025 On-Farm Assessment Report can be downloaded at potatosustainability.org/the-psa-program.

Source:  Potato Sustainability Alliance July 29, 2026 news release