Abstract: Background and Objective: Dickeya spp. was first reported as a potato pathogen from the Netherlands in the early 1970’s. Dickeya epidemics can initiate from very low inoculum levels, spread quickly and aggressively can be latent in plant material and may be multiply in subsequent generations. The objective of this study was to identify seed lots with high potential for losses owing to Dickeya when planted. Materials and Methods: Descriptive statistics were collected from emergence data from 2010-2015 potato seed winter grow-out tests. From this, an algorithm was developed to identify seed lots that exhibited poor emergence. One-tailed t-test created a conservative comparison value for identifying seed lots. Results: These seed lots with poor emergence have high potential for Dickeya contamination. Additionally, seed lots that precursed these high potential lots were identified with the algorithm. The algorithm was applied to 2017 emergence data from winter grow-out tests. Candidate potato seed lots were identified for removal from the Maine potato seed system using the algorithm applied to emergence data from post-harvest grow-out tests in 2015, with some of the data used to generate it. The algorithm was applied to 2017 emergence data from winter grow-out tests and identified seed lots to be purged. The application of the algorithm allows potato seed growers to identify seed lots that should not be planted, either on their or anyone else’s farm. This proactive approach has the potential to reduce the stand losses owing to Dickeya. Conclusion: This study presented a method to identify potato seed lots that have a high potential for Dickeya losses before they were planted. This proactive approach is highly beneficial to potato growers as no method exists to do so.