The latest edition of the levy-funded magazine for the Australian potato industry, Potatoes Australia, showcases some of the best of the last few months in the industry — and also dives into the archives for a look at old research that’s still relevant today.

In the wake of the 2018 AuSPICA (formerly ViCSPA) Potato Industry Conference in August, we’ve published a recap of some of the highlights of this two-day event, including the ‘Make Potatoes Great Again’ panel and Potatoes New Zealand CEO Chris Claridge’s discussion of New Zealand’s response to the incursion of tomato potato psyllid (TPP) and the zebra chip complex.

There’s also the latest update from AUSVEG National TPP Coordinator Alan Nankivell about Australia declaring area freedom for Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum and an analysis of New Zealand’s A.S. Wilcox & Sons following a recent visit by an AUSVEG-led leadership and development mission.

Dusting off some older research, the October/November 2018 edition of Potatoes Australia also takes a look back at two R&D projects from over 20 years ago focussing on common scab and soil insect pests of potatoes like the whitefringed weevil and the African black beetle. We think these reviews aren’t just good for resurfacing previous research to produce further value from these levy-funded projects — they’re also good for benchmarking how far we’ve come in the time that’s passed since the projects were undertaken.

After these looks at the present and the past, we’ve got plenty for you about the future as well, including two profiles of some up and coming figures in our industry. Ryan Densley is a new recruit at South Australia’s Virginia Farm Produce, and Rachel Gill (pictured above) is a Seed Potato Field Officer at Simplot Australia in Tasmania, and both of them talked to us about their visions for their future in the industry.

As always, there’s plenty more besides, so if you’re not already receiving Potatoes Australia, subscribe to receive future editions of the magazine for free by emailing communications@ausveg.com.au.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 23 October 2018. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!