University of Idaho Extension potato specialist Nora Olsen wrapped up her year as president of the Potato Association of America (PAA) in July at the group’s annual meeting in Spokane, Wash.
A native of northeastern Washington, Olsen graduated from Washington State University before joining the UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty.
The annual meeting also brought association members close to eastern Washington’s major potato production area giving Olsen and others the chance to mingle with potato industry professionals from the U.S. and worldwide.
Olsen traveled to Belgium earlier this year to participate in Europe’s meeting of potato professionals, the European Association of Potato Research. Last week, the World Potato Congress board of directors named her its new director. She presented at that group’s meetings in 2012 in Scotland and in 2000 in Amsterdam.
The PAA gives professionals the chance to discuss and relay research and Extension information across the continent and to hear from global experts. The PAA’s 2015 meeting will be in Maine.
Holding the meeting in different locations allows members to see different markets’ preferences and producers’ and processors’ practices, Olsen said.
Meeting participants also get a sense of market shifts, such as the rising popularity of baby baker and fingerling potatoes. “We as researchers can learn about integrating different varieties into our research and forces that are helping to drive the market,” she said.
UI Extension potato specialist Mike Thornton from the Parma Research and Extension Center was just elected as the group’s vice president, which puts him in line to serve as president in 2016-17.