Potato Grower

December 2017

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60 POTATO GROWER | DECEMBER 2017 60 POTATO GROWER | DECEMBER 2017 COME ONE, COME ALL Idaho Potato Conference to celebrate golden anniversary The first annual University of Idaho Potato Conference (or Potato School, as it was once called) was held in 1969. Precursors to the first conference were known as the University of Idaho Extension potato schools and conferences, and they were held in the early 1960s through 1968. Featured topics back then included insect control, water use by potatoes, computerized irrigation, planting dates, soil fumigation, weed control and potato viruses. Also featured were sessions that targeted wives, such as a wig demonstration, flower arranging with both artificial and fresh flowers, and furniture antiquing and finishing, which were offered during "Women's Day" at the 1967 Idaho Potato Conference. The ladies were often invited to the potato talks. Sometimes they got the best of more than one world, such as in 1970, when they were treated to a luncheon at the Bannock Hotel in Pocatello with Hazel Schoenberg, associate director of Good Housekeeping, to discuss consumer education and other critical potato issues while the husbands were stuck with a sack lunch back at the Potato School in the Westwood Village mall. Although some things have changed since those early years—for example, women are more recognized today for the active roles they play in agriculture—other things have stayed the same. There will always be a need for new and relevant information University of Idaho By Kasia Duellman & Pamela J.S. Hutchinson Co-Chairs, Idaho Potato Conference on managing issues related to diseases, weeds, insects, irrigation, storage, varieties and nutrients. The 50th University of Idaho Extension Potato Conference will be held 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17, and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18, in the Pond Student Union Building at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. This will be the 36th year the Potato Conference has been held at a single location. (Prior to 1982, it was a series of smaller Potato Schools at several locations across the state.) As in the past two years, a featured speaker session will be held Wednesday morning and will include a presentation by grower Doug Gross, CEO of Gross Farms, Inc. and Gross Seed Co. in Wilder, Idaho. Concurrent sessions preceding and following the featured lineup will be held throughout both days to address various aspects of potato production. A wi-fi hotspot will once again be offered. Pesticide applicator and handler recertification credits from the Idaho and Washington Departments of Agriculture, as well as CCA credits. The increasingly popular Spanish-language sessions will also be held. The 39th annual Eastern Idaho Ag Expo runs Jan. 16-18 and 17 at ISU's Holt Arena. New at this year's event will be the Grower-Speaker Social— or, as they called it in 1969, the Attitude Adjustment Symposium. The Social will be at the Stephens Performing Arts Center Rotunda the evening of Jan. 17. Schedule and registration information can be found at www.uidaho.edu/cals/potatoes/ conferences/idaho-potato-conference. The Place to Go for Potato Equipment Contact Our Specialists! 5806 N Industrial Way, Suite A Pasco, WA 99301 800-572-0391 potatoes.eiijd.com PO Box 548, Othello, WA 99344 Travis Chlarson.............509-750-4747 Gary Hoffer....................509-331-6160 Let our specialists help you plan and configure the equipment to meet your needs, including: planters, harvesters, eliminators, seed cutters, pilers, etc. They can integrate any combination of products. 162108EveImp13h.indd 1 10/24/17 10:38 AM

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