Dec 11, 2023

Tour options available to 2024 Michigan Winter Potato Conference attendees

The 2024 Michigan Winter Potato Conference will feature four tour options of local facilities for conference attendees.

The tour options are:

• No. 1: Michigan State University’s Dave Douches, Jaime Willbur, Erin Burns, Ana Heck and Chris Long will guide a visit to the facilities used by potato researchers investigating the industry’s most pressing problems. The tour includes the potato breeding greenhouse, the pathology lab, the tissue culture lab, a research sprayer and herbicide resistance screening demonstration, and a potato finger printing demonstration. Participants will also have the opportunity to see hive equipment, discuss pollinator protection and stewardship and participate in honey tasting.
• No. 2: The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at MSU is a world-class research, teaching and training center. MSU operates FRIB as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, with graduate students engaging groundbreaking research.
• No. 3: MSU’s Anaerobic Digestion Research and Education Center researches, develops and evaluates technologies associated with integrated anaerobic digestion systems.
• No. 4: The MSU Product Center & Mobile Food Processing Lab is outfitted with food-grade equipment and capabilities to demonstrate and train students on the processes and technologies used to convert commodities into consumable food products. The mobile lab is part of MSU’s product center, which helps Michigan entrepreneurs and businesses develop and launch new product and service ideas into the food, ag and bioenergy markets. Robert Masterson, a leading nutrition expert at MSU specializing in athletic performance, will lead a tour highlighting the role nutrition plays in optimizing athlete performance.

Conference registration and agenda are available online.