To the editor:

As potato farmers in the Sakonnet region, we must respond to Mimi Karlsson’s letter of September 20. First, Ms. Karlsson is completely mistaken on a very important matter of fact: we do not, and have never, and will never use Roundup (glyphosate) to kill potato plants prior to harvest.

We make no secret of using herbicides to desiccate the aboveground, leafy vines prior to harvest. Like the majority of potato farmers in the United States and Canada, we use a desiccant that kills the vines but does not penetrate underground. Harvesting after the vines die is a traditional practice that serves a number of purposes: it makes the skins thicken, helps to separate tuber from root more easily and it makes digging much more efficient. Additionally, the longer the plants live aboveground the greater the chance that bacterial infections such as blight spread to the potatoes to ruin some or all of the harvest.

Potato farmers would never use Roundup for vine killing, since it attacks the entire plant and would destroy the potatoes we have been working so hard to grow! There is a great deal of scientific literature on the disastrous effect of Roundup on potatoes. We would like to suggest to Ms. Karlsson that she follow her own advice and educate herself before spreading inaccurately dire misinformation. 

Second, we protest her hurtful labeling of conventional farmers in this area as "irresponsible" and under-regulated. We are GAP certified by the United States Department of Agriculture. This stands for Good Agricultural Practice, and requires that we follow protocols to ensure the safety of our land, our water, our workers and our produce, as verified by annual inspections of our farms. Also, as mandated by the state of Rhode Island, we maintain a Chemical Applicator’s License and comply with all the related requirements including strictly following all guidelines on every chemical's label for safe, approved use, and documenting the same.

We are not sure how anyone familiar with modern farming could suggest it “needs regulating” when we willingly follow so many rules designed to keep our produce and our land safe and healthy.

Jason M. Peckham, Ferolbink Farms, Tiverton

Tyler Young, Young Family Farm, Little Compton