Growers from across the United States are currently in Nashville, Tenn. for the National Potato Council (NPC) Summer Meeting. The two-day event features presentations on public policy and organizational updates.
“To be able to meet in person again feels really refreshing. It’s nice to see people face to face and it allows you to have conversations that you just can’t have over a zoom call or over the telephone. It allows us to be able to discuss things at a personal level, what affects us in the industry and allows for the industry to come back together as a whole and coalesce around the challenges we have,” says Jared Balcom, president of NPC.
The first day of the conference featured presentations on:
- Jessica Schulken from The Russell Group and Kam Quarles from the National Potato Council speaking on how the events of 2022 will impact the ag economy, Farm Bill and potato industry
- Matt Lantz from Bryant Christie Inc. and Quarles speaking on trade issues in 2022
Highlights from the first day include:
- Farm production expenses are through the roof, says Schulken.
- Farm Bill is a nutrition bill, with a little bit of relation to production agriculture. The math matters, says Quarles.
- We have not won the war, the battlefield has changed. Now, it’s how the Mexican government reacts and how the U.S. gov will respond to Mexico, says Quarles.
- The best hand we have to play is to not have pest finds. It will undermine exports, so the little things matter, says Lantz.
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