It's the end of another long day at the Comfort Inn in Kennewick. Started the day at 8 a.m. with the first seminar of the second day and between the seminars and attending the booth.

I've just settled down in my room after attending the Industry Leadership banquet that honored Robert Thornton, Ph.D. Thornton has been an integral part of the development of the potato industry here in Washington state. A long-time researcher and teacher at Washington State University.

I spent the dinner discussing the politics of potatoes with David Fairbourn and David Fraser of the United States Potato Board. We talked about future stories for the magazine about, "Linda," the prototypical consumer of potatoes.

I've included a photo of Warren Seely. A teenage from Clatskanie, Oregon Warren has spent the past three years constructing model farm equipment out of Legos. It's a popular exhibit at Wednesday's potato conference.

The past month I've traveled to Orlando for the National Potato Expo, attended the Idaho Potato Conference in my backyard of Pocatello and now I'm winding up this month of conferences in Kennewick. One thing I've appreciated during the past month is the friendly welcomes I've received throughout the community of growers, researchers and industry specialists.

I have enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone I've met during the past month. I've learned a lot about the industry and more about the people. I'm looking forward to the next issue and all the coming issues. Now I have to get busy meeting my deadines for the next Spudman.- William Schaefer, Spudman Editor

Labels: Industry Leadership Banquet, Ph.D, Robert Thornton, Washington State Potato Foundation, Washington-Oregon Potato Conference

It's lunch break at the Washington-Oregon Potato Conference on Wednesday, January 27. The Potato bar is in fill operation. Another overcast day here in Kennewick and the day started off slowly at 8 a.m. but crowds picked up through out the morning.

Keynote speaker Todd Buchholz finished his presentation prior to lunch. Buchholz is a former White House economic policy advisor and author of "New Ideas from Dead CEOs."

During his presentation Buchholz said that rampant real estate speculation brought down the U.S. economy. He expressed concern that the result of the recession would be a backlash against capitalism and global trade.

Buchholz defended Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's policy to buy down debt and push down interest rates, at the same time Buchholz was critical of the TARP funds and Congress's miserly, limited release of funds.

Buchholz sees the economy improving slowly, in stops and starts, calling the recovery "tepid, halting." He said that the economy is still lousy but it's beginning to have "plus signs." Some of the indicators he cited as positive signs are increasing discretionary spending and the depletion of inventories.

Finally, Buchholz advised the audience that success is contingent upon how they harness the changing tastes in American and international consumers.- William Schaefer, Spudman Editor

Labels: Todd Buchholz, Washington-Oregon Potato Conference