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Story and photos by Dave Alexander, Publisher
The answer to the question “why are you here at Potato Expo?” is most often some form of “networking.” In essence, it’s something like, “we’re here because you’re here.”
Perhaps Justin Dagen with Dagen Heritage Farms in Karlstad, Minnesota, said it best.
“The networking has gone exponential. Everybody from the industry is here, regardless of segment. It’s a great place to be. I’ll come here until I die,” Dagen said.
Dagen is one of the founders of Expo, serving on the National Potato Council (NPC) board at the time of inception. So it only makes sense he comes every year. But he still finds the time spent valuable, especially the networking.
Potato Expo is like a snowball rolling downhill, gaining momentum, packing more snow as it goes, growing ever larger.
The NPC planners of Expo just plain “get it.” At Expo, things go off on time and without a hitch. Booths are busy. The venue is beautiful and filled with helpful signage. Speakers are prepared. People have fun.
Records were set at Potato Expo 2024, held Jan. 10-11 in Austin, Texas, both in numbers of attendees and vendor booths. Aside from their impressive coordination, planning and marketing blitz, even the NPC team will admit they don’t fully know why this event is now and has been the de facto gathering spot for those in the potato industry.
We talked to some attendees to get their thoughts.
Thoughts on Expo
This year was the second Expo for trade show vendor Sam Chavosi with Agnema. He came to expose his testing service to more people and a larger market.
“Here, we are showing other businesses that we are active, we are a part of the industry, and we are contributing to the same cause,” Chavosi said.
Tommy Caldon with Caldon Farms in Sanford, Colorado, said he came to Expo primarily to meet people and to learn. The first-time Expo attendee has been growing spuds for about 10 years in small quantities, but this year spuds will be his main crop.
“We’ve got a lot to learn, but that’s why we’re here,” Caldon said.
Another first-timer, Blake Thorland, came to Expo from Greenville, Michigan, for Frito-Lay meetings and to see “new stuff.” He said he had always wanted to attend and the meetings gave him “a good excuse to get here and see the show.”
William Johnson with Hampton Potato Growers in Essexville, Michigan, has been to most previous Expos when they were in the South. The chip grower and his family like to combine a vacation with Expo when the event is in a warmer climate. Johnson was attending this year for the first time since the pandemic to meet with his buyers face-to-face.
Brad Walter with Schoonover Farms comes to Expo every year. The chip grower from Odessa, Washington, mostly comes for networking. He is able to meet with his buyers, Frito-Lay, Lamb Weston and Simplot, during the show.
“This is the one place that you can meet them all and get it essentially over with,” Walter said.
He also wanted to find out more about what is going on in the market.
“It’s pretty hectic right now on the processing side, anyway. Last year, you could sell every potato, up until June, July, you saw in your life. Now you just about can’t give them away,” he said.
One of only two potato growers in Oklahoma, Chris Slagell with Triple S Farms in Hydro, Oklahoma, hadn’t been to Expo in a few years, but used to attend regularly when he was on the board. He came to catch up on what is going on in the industry, to check out new products and also to meet with his buyer, Frito-Lay.
The processor is asking its growers to have net zero emissions by 2030 and to cut back on center pivot use to save water. To work toward saving water, Slagell met with Dragon-Line at the trade show and will try some of the company’s pivot-to-drip conversion technology this year.
New Crop Protection
We found two new crop protection products at Potato Expo, both of which we believe will have a huge impact on the industry.
Salibro from Corteva is a new nematicide using the brand new proprietary active Reklemel. According to Corteva, this new and unique mode of action controls nematodes while preserving soil health. What makes Salibro unique is that the formulation won’t harm beneficial nematodes, beneficial soil fungi or soil bacteria and it is easy and safe to use. Federal registration is completed and state registrations should be done (except for California) in time for in-furrow planting.
Britt Beane with Corteva said Salibro will help put growers on a path to sustainability and will be “another tool in a fumigant-free future.”
New Velum Rise from Bayer CropScience is the same formulation as nematicide/fungicide Velum Prime, which uses fluopyram as the active, with proprietary active penflufen added. So basically, all the benefits of using Velum Prime are available in Velum Rise, but Velum Rise can also control Rhizoctonia, black dot and Verticillium wilt. John Martin with Bayer CropScience said Velum Rise will be an easy choice for growers already using Velum Prime.
“With the penflufen in there, it’s an easy, more cost-effective way to control Rhizoc,” Martin said.
Rolling On
If you’re interested in upping your networking game, getting more education and/or seeing new technology, make plans to attend Potato Expo 2025 on Jan. 14-15 in Las Vegas. We’ll be there because you’ll be there.
