Oct 24, 2025Roundtable to highlight role of women in potato industry
A full slate of discussions and networking at Potato Expo 2026 will include a roundtable of three women making an industry impact hosted by Spudman magazine.
“From Field to Future: Women Transforming the Potato Industry” will take place from 11 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, on the Expo Stage. The panel will highlight the voices of women who are redefining what leadership looks like in the potato industry as they share insights and experiences demonstrating resilience and innovation.
Panelists are Laurie Widdowson, senior director, Global Markets & External Marketing, CSS Farms; Addie Waxman, manager of North American Potato Storage, McCain Foods; and Kelly Turner, executive director, Michigan Potato Industry Commission (MPIC). Melinda Waldrop, managing editor of Spudman magazine, will moderate the question-and-answer discussion.
Widdowson has been at CSS Farms for 11 years. The vertically integrated farming company in Kearney, Nebraska, has provided potato chip processors nationwide with high-quality chipping potatoes for more than 20 years. In her LinkedIn bio, Widdowson describes her role as “championing the talented and dedicated farmers of CSS Farms with positive messages, important information, and pride in what we do.”
Waxman joined McCain in 2019. She previously served as global director of research and development for 1,4Group, a role she held when she was named Spudman’s Spudwoman of the Year in 2017 — the same year she earned her Ph.D. in plant sciences from the University of Idaho.
Turner, the 2024 Spudwoman of the Year, has led MPIC since 2019. No stranger to the agricultural industry, she grew up on a central Michigan farm, baling hay beside her father. Her career has included 11 years with the Michigan Farm Bureau.
The roundtable takes on added significance in 2026, declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer by the United Nations General Assembly. A February 2024 resolution invited international organizations to increase awareness of the crucial role that women farmers around the world play in agrifood systems, as well as their contributions to food security, nutrition and poverty eradication.
“The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 will serve as a platform for the adoption of effective policies and actions against the barriers and challenges that women farmers face across agrifood systems, as well as to promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women in agriculture,” according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Expo details
Potato Expo 2026 will be held Jan. 6-8 in Dallas at the Gaylord Texan. The event kicks off with a welcome reception on Jan. 6.
Other discussion topics will include potato agronomy, pest and disease management, international trade, potato breeding and nutrition. National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles will join Randy Russell, president of industry advocate The Russell Group, and host Lane Nordlund for a live Eye on Potatoes podcast discussing defending and enhancing potatoes at the federal level Jan. 8 at 10 a.m.
In 2025, 2,170 potato growers and industry representatives from 22 countries gathered at Potato Expo in Orlando, Florida — the second-largest attendance in the show’s 17-year history. The event featured 201 exhibitors and more than 40 educational sessions. Discussion topics included the use of artificial intelligence in farming, ag labor challenges and export market access issues.
Potato Expo is an annual forum designed to foster collaboration between international, national and state potato associations. Groups including Potatoes USA, United Potato Growers of America, United Potato Growers of Canada, Potato Sustainability Alliance, Alliance for Potato Research and Education and Potato LEAF attend the event.
