Bruce Huffaker developed his first econometric model of the US potato industry in 1977, as a graduate student in Management Economics at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He honed his modelling skills and understanding of commodity markets while working as a commodity analyst, first for Clayton Brokerage Company and then for the Pillsbury Company. Though the scope of his work extended far beyond potatoes, he was seldom far removed from the industry.
In 1988 Bruce accepted a promotion to become a senior food buyer for Burger King Corporation, a Pillsbury subsidiary at the time. After he assumed the role of French Fry buyer for the company it became apparent that supply and demand information on potato markets was fragmented and not easily understood.
In November 1992 Bruce took on a mission to remedy that situation by founding North American Potato Market News. Since then, the newsletter has been published 48 times per year. Its goal has been to be the premier source of potato market information for the North American potato industry. While we believe that the newsletter has achieved that objective, we continually make improvements to keep up with a dynamic industry.
In July 2021, Eborn Agribusiness LLC, owned by Ben Eborn, assumed the responsibility for publishing North American Potato Market News, along will all other functions previously performed by North American Potato Market News, Inc.
Ben has an M.S. degree in agricultural economics from the University of Idaho. His graduate studies focused on commodity marketing, along with farm and ranch financial management. He spent 12 years working as a county extension agent, followed by six years as an extension agricultural economist. His work focused on production economics, farm and ranch management, and farm succession. He has been responsible for creating the Idaho potato costs and returns estimates since 2016.