Potato Expo Reaction
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The potato industry was out in full force last week in the Lone Star State for the Potato Expo in Austin.
Elated with the venue, National Potato Council CEO Kam
Quarles says it was bigger and better than the last time the
Expo was held in Austin …
QUARLES … “Truly bigger and better, Bob. We had 40% more exhibitors this time than five years ago. We had over 30% more attendees.”
In fact, Quarles says, bigger and better than ever …
QUARLES … “Biggest Expo we’ve ever had. We broke our attendance record by well over 15%. So, we’re really happy, and I think that means the industry’s happy. They’re clearly energized and wanted to be here, so Austin was good to us.”
The Potato Expo moves around from year to year and the NPC makes it look easy …
QUARLES … “Well, thank you. We really appreciate that. We’ve got a great staff. If it looked like it was easy, it’s sort of like the duck sitting on the water. There was a lot of, the feet were moving pretty fast under the water.”
And, Quarles says they’re already prepping for next year …
QUARLES … “Las Vegas, we’ll be in Vegas next year. Vegas tends to be one of our biggest draws. So we’re very hopeful that we can replicate this great enthusiasm. We’re looking forward to Vegas 2025, but we’re kicking of 2024 pretty good with this one.”
Quarles says it’s a great time for the industry to gather and educate each other on their past, present and future successes and challenges.
