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Journey to the East: D.C. Fly-In By Bill Schaefer Spudman Managing Editor A s the 2016 EXPO wraps up, John Keeling wants you to begin making plans for a journey to the east for the annual Potato D.C. Fly-In to be held from Feb. 22-25 in Washington, D.C. Keeling, National Potato Council (NPC) CEO and executive vice- president, wants growers and potato- industry representatives to come to the nation's capital to help promote and lobby for legislation important to the future of the potato industry. Keeling would be the first to acknowledge that Congress has been even less productive in the past year than in recent memory. Getting legislation passed by both the Senate and the House is a difficult task these days but Keeling is adamant that the potato industry shows up in force. He said that it is even more important now for the people to come to D.C. and spend a day walking the halls of Congress thanking legislators for their past support on legislation and to engage and reason with unsupportive legislators to persuade them why particular bills are good for farmers and good for the country. "It's easy for people to say right now it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to participate," Keeling said. "But right now is the time when it really does make sense to do it and particularly on these issues where we have strong facts behind us and a need within the industry to get those done." Keeling said that one of the big issues that should come before Congress is authorization of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. It's an expansive trade agreement that has been years in the making and one that is very beneficial to the potato industry, he said. "Without the right amount of energy, it ISSUE #2 Spudman Toda y JOURNEY continued on page 3 2016 Show Daily TODAY at a glance • Benjamin Sklarczyk 2016 ELA recipient, Page 6 • Damian Mason: Get ready for a wake-up call, Page 8 INSIDE [ [ www.spudman.com Thursday, January 14, 2016 John Keeling at the 2015 Potato D.C. Fly-In Photo by Bill Schaefer Show Hours Thursday, January 14 Trade Show 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Breakfast 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Agriculture: Trends, Topics and Tomorrow 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Expo Stage, Mirage Event Center Sponsored by Damian Mason, professional speaker, entertainer, writer, businessman, and farm owner. Join your colleagues and industry peers to be a part of Mason's energetic, hilarious and inspiring discussion. Maybe you will even leave with a few ideas to bring back to the farm or office with you.