Time Well Invested
By the time you read this, the Potato Expo 2016 will be but a distant memory of Vegas days walking the aisles of the trade show and attending seminars and loud, glitzy nights attending receptions.
Looking at the calendar, every week of January and February is filled with conferences and trade shows, and it ends with the National Potato Council’s (NPC) Potato D.C. Fly-In. There never seems to be enough time in the day at the conferences to catch up with friends and to take care of all the interviews. It’s the nature of the beast, I suppose. By the end of the two months, I’m ready to close the door on all travel and read a good, long book.
Just the same, I want to put in a plug for the Fly-In. I’ve been covering the Fly-In for the past four years, and I always enjoy going to the Capitol and covering the various state delegations meeting with their elected representatives.
It’s true that Congress hasn’t accomplished much over the past four years, but if you stop participating in the process you’ll soon find yourself outside looking in.
If you can find the time to come to the Fly-In, I know you won’t regret the time invested.
Speaking of friends and conferences, two people I often see at conferences and the Fly-In are Rex and Melva Calloway. I met the Calloways during my first Spudman road trip in eastern Washington during the harvest. We go way back, so to speak, six years and counting.
From day one, Rex has been a person who would tell it to me straight, giving unvarnished answers, whatever the question about the industry.
Both Rex and Melva are strong advocates for the potato industry. Throughout the years I’ve seen them at the Fly-In and USPB and NPC meetings. Rex is currently serving his second three-year term in the USPB. Dave Fairbourn has put together a great profile of Rex and his extended family’s journey to eastern Washington.
We have a lot of interesting stories in this month’s issue. Everett Brazil III takes a look at the current state of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Enjoying something of a fad status, the UAS phenomenon already has real applications in the field, and there’s more to come. Read about it on Page ??.
Melanie Epp tackles the question of acrylamide, and where the industry is positioned, in both Europe and North America, to meet the concerns of consumers in 2016. It’s a very interesting read, on Page ??.
It’s a Leap Year, so enjoy February’s extra day of political campaigning and know that this, too, shall pass.
