Herald and News: Association plans potato conference

Association plans potato conference

Discussions to focus on cooperative, potato cyst

BY TY BEAVER

H&N Staff Writer

January 11, 2007

CORVALLIS — The 40th annual Oregon Potato Conference is Jan. 25-26 in Corvallis. The Klamath Basin Growers Association organized the event for the first time since 1997, and took measures to increase attendance and participation from growers across the state.

When the association hosted the conference 10 years ago it was in Klamath Falls at the Shilo Inn. Attendance wasn’t high, partially because of cost of attendance and because it wasn’t in a major metropolitan area that offered a lot of entertainment and attractions, said Brian Charlton , extension cropping systems specialist. The association chose to have the conference in the Willamette Valley this year for that reason as well as pay up to 80 percent of registration fees for those attending.

Topics also were chosen to encourage people to attend the conference. Along with regular scientific talks, speaker panels will be available.

One panel will discuss issues surrounding the United Potato Growers cooperative. The growing organization has sought to increase profits by decreasing acreage, but issues such as how to enforce rules of the cooperative have led some growers to be skeptical.

“We tried to get a mix of growers that are both for and against it,” Charlton said of the panel.

Another panel will focus on retailers and what they are doing to increase demand for potato products and special varieties, as well as packaging and marketing.

In addition to the panels, Rick Walsh will give a talk on bio-diesel production, there will be an update on the discovery of the potato cyst nematode in Idaho in 2006 and a presentation on varieties being developed by the Oregon State University potato breeding program.

Registration after Jan. 1 is $50 for Oregon growers and applications are available at www .oregon spuds.com/publications/index.htm . Click on the “Registration form” link.