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Mike Gordon

World Potato Conference 2024

Recently, Shane Smith, Duncan McCleod, Nick Proudfoot and myself attended the World Potato Conference in Adelaide. 



With over 900 attendees from around the world, it was a great opportunity for networking and sharing insights. It’s especially wonderful to see growers from family farms in Canterbury, Manawatu and Pukekohe come together. Events like these really highlight the diversity and passion in agriculture. 


A well-structured, informative programme was offered which really enriched our experience and having experts share their insights added great value. 


A number of growers attended farm visits that we put on before and after the conference which were held at Mark Pye’s family business Parilla Premium Potatoes. 


Whether it's disease pressures, environmental issues or economic pressures it was quite comforting to know that we are dealing with the same problems here in NZ as they are over in Europe, even if the specifics vary. 


I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to Andrew McIntosh from Syngenta for hosting our team on Tuesday evening. It was fantastic to reconnect with old acquaintances, especially Steve Bitter, who previously worked in the Pukekohe area for Syngenta around five years ago. 


Events like this play a crucial role in fostering collaboration and innovation within our industry. Thank you again for the warm welcome and the opportunity to catch up!  

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