Online session will focus on storage turnover, sanitation, crop protection, and practical steps growers can take before the next crop enters storage
The North America Potato Storage Organization (NAPSO), in partnership with Spud Smart magazine, will host a free online webinar on June 19 aimed at helping potato growers, storage managers, and industry professionals close out the current storage season with confidence — and prepare more effectively for the next one.
The webinar, titled Storage Turnover: Finishing Strong & Preparing Ahead, will take place at 10:00 a.m. PST and will feature two experienced potato storage specialists: Tyson Arnold and Nathan Gelles.
For NAPSO, the meeting reflects exactly why the organization was created: to bring practical, science-informed storage knowledge directly to the people who manage one of the most important — and often most underestimated — parts of the potato value chain.
Potato storage is not simply the period after harvest. It is where a large share of crop value is either protected or quietly lost. Shrink, disease pressure, sprouting, poor sanitation, inadequate airflow, temperature mismanagement, and weak preparation between seasons can all erode returns. As growers face tighter margins and higher expectations from processors, packers, retailers, and consumers, storage management has become a frontline issue for profitability and crop quality.
Webinar to focus on storage turnover and preparation
The session will examine how growers and storage operators can finish the current storage cycle on a strong footing while putting the right systems in place ahead of the next harvest.
Among the core topics to be covered are the importance of beginning storage planning before harvest, the role of sanitation as the foundation of a successful storage program, how to select appropriate sanitation products for different storage materials, and why a potato storage facility should be treated as carefully as a “bank vault” before a new crop is loaded.
The webinar will also explore how growers can make better use of available storage management tools to protect crop quality and improve returns over the full storage period.
Expert speakers bring practical field and storage experience
Tyson Arnold brings more than 16 years of experience spanning farming, potato equipment sales, and potato storage management. His work has focused on helping growers, storage operators, and industry partners improve production efficiency, preserve crop quality, and reduce storage-related losses.
Nathan Gelles, North American Potato Business Manager for Decco Post-Harvest and founder of Saber Ridge Farms LLC, brings a background in agronomy, crop production, and long-term storage management. He holds a master’s degree in plant science and has worked across both commercial agriculture and smaller-scale production systems.
Together, the speakers are expected to offer practical guidance that growers can apply directly as they clean, reset, evaluate, and prepare storage facilities for the next crop.
Storage knowledge is becoming more important, not less
The upcoming webinar comes at a time when potato storage is receiving greater attention across North America. Weather variability, disease risk, rising energy costs, changing sprout control options, and the need to maintain marketable quality for longer periods are all adding pressure to storage systems.
For many growers, the difference between an average storage season and a successful one is not determined by one decision, but by a series of disciplined steps: field selection, harvest timing, temperature management, ventilation, sanitation, building maintenance, monitoring, and response to changing crop conditions.
NAPSO’s growing education efforts are designed to support that kind of practical, whole-system thinking.
As a new organization focused specifically on potato storage, NAPSO aims to connect growers, researchers, storage managers, technical specialists, and industry suppliers around the shared goal of improving storage outcomes. The organization’s mission is rooted in education, collaboration, and the belief that better storage knowledge can reduce losses, improve profitability, and strengthen the potato industry as a whole.
Free registration available
The Storage Turnover: Finishing Strong & Preparing Ahead webinar is free to attend. Growers, storage managers, agronomists, processors, packers, consultants, equipment suppliers, and all potato industry professionals with an interest in improving storage performance are encouraged to register.
The session will be held online on June 19 at 10:00 a.m. PST.
Those interested in attending can register through the official webinar registration page: https://event.webinarjam.com/62k8n/register/rk4pwbgy
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