World Potato Congress to be held in Idaho

WILDER, Idaho – Standing in their field Thursday, leaders of the U.S. potato industry heralded the coming of hundreds of international spud specialists to the World Potato Congress opening next week in the twice-baked capital of carbs.

“It seems like a no-brainer the World Potato Congress will be in Idaho,” said John Ganoe, director of the Virginia-based National Potato Research and Education Foundation. The Virginia-based group organized the weeklong symposium and exhibition that will be attended by 800 delegates from 40 countries.

Crews are erecting a warehouse-sized tent in the middle of a perfectly manicured potato plant field about 50 miles west of Boise. The latest in tuber technology will be on display. Demonstrations will include flights by a homegrown potato Predator, an unmanned remote-controlled aircraft that transmits digital video and aerial photographs of fields to farmers to help spot weed, pest and watering problems.

“For many years, the accepted practice was to rent an airplane and fly over the fields or go buy big blocks of satellite imagery, which takes a month to get the data back,” said Curt Pengelly of Simplot Agribusiness, the company that designed and built the craft, which looks like a large radio-controlled model airplane. “We’ve developed this remotely piloted vehicle as a low-cost way to get an instant snapshot back to the crop adviser and grower.”

The 40-acre exhibition farm is sponsored by Simplot, the Idaho company that provides approximately half of all the french fries to McDonald’s. It’s intended to show off the newest potato varieties, harvesting technology and crop treatment methods.

“No pressure, we just had to grow the crop the world is coming to see,” said Tom Basabe, Simplot Land & Livestock president. “With the weather we’ve had this year, we’ve had our fingers crossed since May.”

Agricultural suppliers such as Dupont, Syngenta and BASF have also been growing test plots since April of new potato varieties and crop treatments, although details of the exhibits are closely guarded.

“There’s a fear of espionage,” said Mark Randal, one of the directors of the farm exhibition. “The companies have had guys from other countries who literally put potatoes in their pockets and take them home to study the genetics to try to emulate the varieties, so they will have people from their staffs out there watching the plots.”

A coinciding symposium in Boise, opening Monday, will feature economists, scientists and government officials – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is scheduled to speak Tuesday, headlining panels with titles such as “Tuber Moth – An Invasive Pest of Global Proportions” and “Global Forces Pushing Potatoes into the 21st Century.”

This is the first time the World Potato Congress has been held in the U.S. since its inception in 1993. Idaho officials said the state’s selection as the site underscores its importance as the nation’s largest potato producer. Idaho farmers last year grew about 12.5 billion pounds of potatoes, contributing an estimated $2 billion to the state economy.

“We are one of the world capitals of potatoes,” said Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission. “Wherever I travel, as soon as I say ‘Idaho,’ in whatever language we are speaking, people say, ‘Potatoes.’ “