12/26/07 40th anniversary potato conference

Agricultural sustainability, water supply status and the impacts of global warming are among the topics at the University of Idaho's 2008 Potato Conference to be held January 23rd and 24th in Pocatello. Conference chairman Phil Nolte says the 40th anniversary event is like preparing for a wedding. NOLTE "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. In fact that's kind of what we put together because we have a balance of things that we know that people are going to want to hear about year after year." Nolte says there are several new issues this year that the potato industry didn't face one year ago such as the finding of potato cyst nematode in Alberta, Canada. NOLTE "Don't know where it's going yet. We're definitely in the middle of a developing situation. Possibly by the time the potato conference comes around we'll have some good information for everybody on that subject. The other one of course that's got a lot of people's attention is potato virus Y or PVY issue." Keynote speaker and author Jay Lehr will share his expert opinion on environmental issues, groundwater hydrology and climate change as they affect agricultural sustainability. The conference will be held at the Idaho State University Pond Student Union Building beginning at 8 AM on January 23rd. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott