Podcasts

Podcast: NPC Leadership Summit, Academic Scholarship, and political interference in Mexico

In this edition of the National Potato Council (NPC) podcast, Eye on Potatoes, ECOO Mike Wenkel calls in to talk about the upcoming Leadership Institute Alumni Summit, to be held July 13-15, which will virtually bring together graduates of the Potato Industry Leadership Institute to network, refresh skills, and learn new techniques to better position themselves for success in the potato industry. Plus, NPC CEO Kam Quarles joins the podcast for a trade policy discussion, including the ongoing standoff in Mexico’s Supreme Court.

April 20, 2021

Podcast: Colorado’s Strohauer Farms on adapting to challenging times

The challenging water situation in Northern Colorado in the early 21st century had Strohauer Farms looking to adapt. Today, the longtime potato growers not only grow conventional, but a wide range of organic and specialty potatoes. The father-daughter team of Harry and Amber Strohauer joins “The Potato Field” to share their farm’s evolution in the latest edition of the podcast series hosted by Spudman magazine.

March 25, 2021

UMaine Extension to host online presentations by potato specialists

University of Maine Cooperative Extension will host a one-hour Zoom meeting consisting of two presentations by potato specialists on Wednesday, February 24. Dr. Gary Secor, NDSU, will discuss how managing potato diseases can close the gap between what growers produce and what is possible to produce. Dr. Robert Larkin, UDSA-ARS, will give a presentation on Incorporating Disease-Suppressive Rotation Crops into Potato Cropping Systems.

February 21, 2021

PlanetPotato podcast: Time to look back, look forward and celebrate an unforgettable year

Potato-market expert Cedric Porter and his tuber-enamoured wife Anna Lambert present a cultural celebration of the potato in all its multi-faceted glory in their PlanetPotato podcast. In the 7th episode of the podcast, they say it’s time “to look back, look forward and celebrate the festive period the best we can” after a year that none us will forget and which has been tough for so many.

December 24, 2020

Potato Expo preview: Roy Spence and the Power of Purpose

Back by popular demand, Roy Spence is returning to Potato Expo. Roy is the co-founder & chairman of GSD&M, and co-founder & CEO of The Purpose Institute. He calls into this episode of the NPC hosted Eye of Potatoes podcast to give a preview of his session. Also, NPC CEO Kam Quarles provides insight into the new $900 billion COVID-19 relief package just announced by Congress.

December 22, 2020

Australia: Specialists explore effect of sanitisers and drying on post-harvest bacterial soft rot in potatoes

Management of rots, both in the field and post-harvest, is an ongoing challenge for potato producers around the world, also in Australia. The Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection (ICP) Partnership Network recently hosted a podcast during which two specialists from the US and Belgium discussed a trial that was set up in Australia to explore the effect of sanitisers and/or drying on the development of post-harvest bacterial soft rot in potatoes.

December 22, 2020

Disease-suppressive crops at work: The prevention and management of soilborne potato diseases

Disease-suppressive crops work in multiple ways: by not being a crop host to the disease, by actively lowering pathogen levels, and by boosting soil health so the overall growing environment is more resilient to disease. In a recent episode of Potatoes in Canada

December 17, 2020

Eye on Potatoes podcast: Potato Expo preview – The potato world post-COVID

Long-time senior vice president of the Food Marketing Institute and author, Michael Sansolo sits down with Eye on Potatoes to talk about some of the changes the pandemic brought about in 2020 and their potential lasting impacts for the food industry. Also: Kam Quarles, National Potato Council CEO, provides an update on the latest news coming out of D.C., including the nomination of former Secretary Tom Vilsack to return to USDA

December 15, 2020

Eye on Potatoes podcast: 2020 Election analysis and how the 2020 elections could impact the potato industry’s policy efforts

In this edition of NPC’s Eye on Potatoes podcast, leading agriculture political advisor Randy Russell of The Russell Group joins National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles and host Lane Nordlund for an in-depth discussion of the 2020 election results and how the potato industry will work with the new Congress and Biden Administration to advance its policy priorities. Additionally they discuss what the Lame Duck session might hold for growers and the rest of America.

December 7, 2020

The Potato Field podcast: Amanda and Braydon Wakasugi

In this edition of Spudman magazine’s new podcast series, Amanda and Braydon Wakasugi join Spudman editor Zeke Jennings to discuss their multi-farm San Acacio Seed potato partnership in Colorado

November 9, 2020

Yara podcast: ‘Changing the World Through Mineral Fertilizer’

Mineral fertilizers are the world’s most life-saving innovation. How this innovation has evolved since its invention? In this podcast, Yara’s Dr. Bill Easterwood, Director of Agronomic Services, Dr. Trey Cutts and Markus Braaten, Market Development Managers, join Scott Warr, Digital Farming Commercial Manager, to tell this amazing story – one that began with a dire problem and solved through collaboration between many individuals and companies.

October 27, 2020

The Potato Field podcast: RJ Andrus of Idahoan Foods

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October 25, 2020

NPC CEO on accessing COVID relief aid; Potato Expo 2021 update

In the latest Eye on Potatoes podcast, NPC CEO Kam Quarles calls in to discuss how potato growers are accessing $14 billion in aid available through USDA’s new CFAP 2 program and the latest Congressional efforts to fund the government until early December. Kam also provides an update on Potato Expo 2021, currently scheduled for January 6-7 as an in-person and online hybrid event and NPC’s Annual Meeting, moved to coincide with February’s Potato D.C. Fly-In.

October 14, 2020

UK: AHDB’s ‘Agronomy Week 2020’ to be hosted online

Agronomy Week will run from Monday 30 November to Friday 4 December. It will comprise a series of webinars aimed at agronomists on important issues in contemporary agronomy. This years’ conference will be entirely online and free to attend. To help delegates get the most out of this new format we have expanded the event into a week-long programme of digital events called ‘Agronomy Week’. Delegates can register for a series of webinars and interactive discussion sessions covering important issues on contemporary agronomy.

September 22, 2020

Podcast: NPC’s CEO reacts to USDA’s COVID-19 relief announcement

On Friday, Sept. 18, the National Potato Council welcomed the announcement that USDA will implement an expansion of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program — CFAP 2 — which will provide an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs due to the government-imposed food service disruptions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. NPC CEO Kam Quarles calls in from DC to react to the breaking news and to thank USDA for taking this additional step toward relief for the members of the potato industry who have experienced significant economic hardships in 2020.

September 18, 2020

Podcast: ‘The rightful place of potatoes in the 2020-2025 dietary guidelines for Americans’

In this edition of the Eye on Potatoes podcast, NPC President Britt Raybould calls in from Idaho to talk about the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), which are currently being drafted by USDA and U.S. Health and Human Services, as well as NPC’s efforts to advocate for the inclusion of potatoes in all forms in the recommendations. It is anticipated that the final DGAs will be published before the end of 2020.

August 19, 2020

Propagating potato via True Seed: NAPB Borlaug scholar Natalie Kaiser

The 2020 meeting of the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) continues! Borlaug Scholar Natalie Kaiser is a Ph.D candidate in the Potato Breeding and Genetics Program at Michigan State University. Kaiser is employing molecular and genomic tools to understand the genetic architecture of host plant insect resistance and to develop Colorado potato beetle (CPB) resistant diploid potato breeding lines.

August 18, 2020

Which haulm topper? AHDB Potatoes trialled four machines for potato desiccation

With growers in the UK no longer able to use diquat to desiccate their potato crops, AHDB Potatoes trialled four different haulm toppers at Strategic Potato (SPot) Farm North. You can also listen to an AHDB hosted podcast titled “Desiccation: solutions for the first season without Diquat”. AHDB Potatoes will be showing the results of trials from this year during two following upcoming webinars.

August 17, 2020

Eye on Potatoes podcast: NPC’s Federal Agency Farm Tour goes virtual

In the latest edition of Eye on Potatoes: More than 160 participants from EPA, USDA, and throughout the potato industry joined NPC

August 8, 2020

Podcast: ‘Focusing on the Future by Investing in Agronomy Research’

A new podcast by Eye on Potatoes is now available for listening. At Potato Expo 2020, Eye on Potatoes sat down with some of the industry’s leading researchers and specialists for a discussion on the current research and where future efforts need to focus. Plus, NPC CEO Kam Quarles calls in to provide an update on USDA’s decision to revise the payment rates for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).

July 21, 2020

Latest PlanetPotato podcast: Off to Idaho, and learning why a potato makes an ideal block printer

World Potato Markets travels to Idaho and tries its hand at potato printing in the latest episode of its PlanetPotato podcast. Presenters Anna Lambert and Cedric Porter discuss why Idaho established as the US

July 10, 2020

Talking Biotech: Where did GMOs come from? Former Monsanto scientist Robb Fraley recounts the advent of biotech crops

On the five-year anniversary of the Talking Biotech podcast published on the Genetic Literacy Project (GLP) website, host and plant geneticist Kevin Folta sits down with former Monsanto chief technology officer Robb Fraley. He recalls the race to transform plants and his work as a leader at Monsanto. While the company did important work to advance crop biotechnology, Fraley says, Monsanto made little effort to explain genetic engineering to food companies, the media and consumers and was thus unprepared for the backlash against GMOs in the 1990s.

June 28, 2020

Podcast: You are invited to relax with PlanetPotato

The latest PlanetPotato podcast urges you to relax with a potato. It whisks you off to the Kartoffel Hotel in Germany where – as well as enjoying dozens of delicious potato dishes – you can be pampered in its potato spa! Chill out and detox with a potato mash wrap or luxuriate in a potato bath and let the cares of the world float away… The podcast also speaks to Elin Tornblad of Swedish start-up Potato Plastics, which is using potatoes to replace a whole range of plastic products from cutlery to cling film.

June 25, 2020

Podcast: Tackling disease management and soil health

Disease-suppressive crops work in multiple ways: by not being a crop host to the disease, by actively lowering pathogen levels, and by boosting soil health so the overall growing environment is more resilient to disease. Robert Larkin, USDA-ARS research plant pathologist, joins Potatoes in Canada for this podcast to discuss the different ways crops can lower disease pressure, what farmers in Maine are doing, and all about soil health more broadly.

June 19, 2020