04/21/06 World Potato Congress

Farm and Ranch April 21, 2006 The Sixth Annual World Potato Congress is making its first U.S. appearance this year and it will be in Idaho. Cox: "There will be two and a half days of meetings and educational programs at Boise Center on the Grove Convention Center in downtown Boise, and then three days of working demonstration farm show out near Wilder." That's Monte Cox who is project manager for the World Potato Congress, which will run from August 20th to the 26th. He says about one-thousand potato industry representatives are expected to attend from around the globe. Cox: "Uruguay to Australia to South Africa to China. There will be delegations coming from all over the world." The opening day's session will feature Dr. Patrick Moore, co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace. His presentation will cover biotechnology as it relates to the environment and the global potato industry. Moore says the future of agriculture depends on advances in biotechnology. Registration for the World Potato Congress ranges from 145-dollars to 475-dollars depending upon which events are attended. For more information go to potatofoundation.com where you will also find links to register for the event. That's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report. Brought to you in part by the Washington State Potato Commission. Nutrition today! Good health tomorrow! I'm Bob Hoff on the Northwest Ag Information Network.