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If you had only one food to eat that would keep you alive it would be potatoes
American potato
expert Dick
Okray, right,
with Tasmanian
farmers Hayden
Richardson, left,
Lauchie Gleeson,
Will Wishaw, Flynn
Tueon and Paul
Woodward at
Carrick on Friday.
High praise for humble spud
LANA BEST
US visitor Dick Okray and local potato growers inspect a pivot
irrigation system and drainage works with WD drainage manager
Will Wishaw at Heazlewood’s Lane, Whitemore.
FRESH from the 12th annual World
Potato Congress in Adelaide, American potato expert Dick Okray is touring Tassie this week, giving freely his
knowledge to some of the state’s top
growers.
Dick is from Winsconsin and a
retired president of Potatoes USA and
former chair of the United States Potato
Board.
He has also spent 16 years with
Potato Growers of America, a cooperative that has long fought to ensure
fair prices for growers.
Like the rest of the 800 attendees at
the Congress, he was there to have an
open exchange of knowledge and ideas.
Delegates came from 40 different countries, from China to Poland
to South Africa to Peru – and a large
contingent of 50 Tasmanians were also
in the room.
“We were talking a lot about arti昀椀cial
intelligence and how it’s going to
change agriculture going forward,”
Dick said.
“It can be used to 昀椀nd pests in the
昀椀eld and identify better methodologies
– how to grow more with less and produce higher yields on the same amount
of land.
“Some of it comes back to breeding,
but it’s also about pushing potato production into places where they have
not been traditionally grown.”
Following the Congress Dick has
been the guest of Thirlstane potato
grower Nathan Richardson, and the
pair were in Carrick on Friday checking out irrigation setups on nearby
farms.
Irrigation is key to growing potatoes
in impoverished countries, with the
bene昀椀ts being enormous.
A potato has more vitamin C than
an orange and more potassium than a
banana, and with 3.5 grams of protein
in a small potato, it is truly some of
the best food that you could possibly
eat, Dick said.
“If you were stranded on a desert
island and had only one food to eat
that would keep you alive it would be
potatoes. It is a fantastic food stuff.”
Around the world there are nearly 18
million hectares of potatoes growing,
and Tasmania has long held a reputation for producing some of the best.
Nathan said there is a lot to learn
from fellow growers around the world.
“I’ve been to 昀椀ve congresses and
what I get out of it is a sense of unity
and collaboration that everyone has
– scientists, researchers, extension
people, growers, machinery dealers
– they’re all a part of the industry that
has the best intention for everyone, not
just themselves,” he said.
“They all want to see potatoes grown
in countries where there isn’t enough
to eat. Where the industry could bring
in enough money to educate children
and ensure communities are thriving.”
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TASMANIAN COUNTRY Friday, July 5, 2024 7
