Potato Grower

28 POTATO GROWER | JANUARY 2020 By Tyrell Marchant 1. INTERNATIONAL DEMAND FOR U.S. POTATOES While the sticky trade situation with China won't disappear overnight, there is a definite recognition of the quality of U.S. potatoes, says Potatoes USA chief operating officer John Toaspern. Toaspern expects that a recently agreed-to limited trade agreement between the U.S. and Japan will reduce the tariffs on U.S. potatoes and products in line with concessions already granted to our competitors, which would be a boon for U.S. exporters hoping to sell potatoes in a major international market. 2. SPEED AND EFFICIENCY FOR AGROCHEMICALS Growers are likely to continue to consolidate practices at an increasing rate—such as planting while simultaneously applying liquid fertilizer, fungicides and insecticides. "Agricultural chemical products will need to be foolproof," says Dan Bihlmeyer, vice president of sales and marketing at Vive Crop Protection. "Increased tolerance and resistance to various actives will result in multi-product combinations, which will in turn provide multi-modes of action." 3. INCREASED ENVIRONMENTAL SCRUTINY "Farmers have to be able to tell their sustainability story in a positive way," says Bihlmeyer, "both locally to consumers and processors, and to others throughout the food supply chain." This dynamic should increase the demand for biologicals and reduce fuel and water use. Unfortunately, Bihlmeyer believes this will also create even more complexity in the agrochemical conversation, forcing farmers to apply more products that are less environmentally friendly and more difficult to use. 4. FEWER ACTIVE INGREDIENT DISCOVERIES AND REGISTRATIONS The trend of mergers and acquisitions in the ag chem industry isn't likely to subside. With the timeline to register new products already long and cost-prohibitive, Bihlmeyer predicts that figuring out how to use existing actives in different ways will become a higher priority. 5. TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY WILL HELP SOLVE MANY CHALLENGES. Vive specializes in nanotechnology, which creates different ways to use existing actives. For example, Vive's AZteroid FC 3.3, a nanotechnology-enabled azoxystrobin product, is able to be mixed with liquid fertilizer and applied at-plant, saving a trip across the field, saving water, and providing a different way to use an existing AI. 20 FOR '20 Industry trends to look for in the coming decade In this super-extended version of our "Top 5," we take a look into the future. We asked several of our much more intelligent and well- informed friends—the Zoltars of the industry, if you will—to gaze into their respective crystal balls to predict what's coming for the potato industry in the 2020s.

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