Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/407782
www.potatogrower.com 69 though, was his ability to gather infor- mation—data. Without it, he simply wandered about in an information vacu- um, trying to make sense of things. It turns out that no enterprise, from exploring a new continent to manag- ing a complicated business, succeeds to a degree greater than the information upon which it bases its decisions: Better information begets better decisions, and better decisions beget better results. This is immutable and unchallengeable. From my vantage point—and it is doubtful anyone has a better one—the most im- portant decision you make each season is how much, and what you produce. And it is astonishing to me that such a critical decision is made with so little and such inaccurate information…a true informa- tion vacuum. Even more astounding to me is under- standing how absolutely critical knowing the right answer to that question is in determining a farm's profitability. "What should my farm produce to profitably fit into my 'local supply' and 'national sup- ply?'" If you guess wrong and there is oversupply, the operating line goes un- settled. If there is too little production, the market starves. What do you do? The principal reason potato growers created the United Potato Growers of America was to come up with this very answer, the number upon which all as- pects of the potato world turn. A farm's P&L statement responds first and most intensely to local supply, then to national supply, and finally to global supply. Re- stated: Be it a contract price or an open fresh-market price, farm-gate price for a hundredweight of potatoes responds only minimally to any other inf luence than keen supply management. Next year's potato information world begins with Potato Expo 2015, to be held Jan. 7-9, at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla. (Go to www.potato-expo. com to register and learn more.) Open- ing Expo is the annual Potato Business Summit to be held the morning of Jan.7 (www.potatobusinesssummit.com). No potato grower should miss this discus- sion of current and future potato mar- kets and critical business information by some of the best minds in the potato industry. I hope to see you there. PG 148698IdaPow12v.indd 1 9/24/14 11:51 AM • Variable rate fumigation for nematodes and diseases • Variable rate fertilization • Soils • Nematodes • DNA • Consulting • GAP • All viruses • Tissue • Irrigation Scheduling www.westernlaboratories.com 800-658-3858 WESTERN LABORATORIES 140539WesLab16h.indd 1 5/30/14 11:35 AM