Potato conference starts Monday

KENNEWICK, Wash. — The three-day long Washington State Potato Conference kicks off Monday at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

The event was previously held in Moses Lake, with some portions at the Grant County Fairgrounds and other segments at Big Bend Community College.

Attendance numbers decreased by roughly 500 people over the last four years. It was one indicator people wanted the event held under one roof, said Karen Bonaudi, assistant executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission.

More than 1,500 people attended the conference last year. In 2005, 2,000 people were at the event.

This year, event organizers are planning for roughly 2,000 people, Bonaudi explained.

“We’ve been asked how many people we expect,” she said. “It’s really hard to say being at the new site.

Bonaudi said the new location is removed from the Moses Lake area and other parts of the Columbia Basin.

She added they hope industry people from the Columbia Basin will travel to Kennewick for the conference.

The commission held its quarterly meeting at the conference center to gain comfort with the site, she said.

During that time, commissioners met conference center staff and toured the building.

After last year’s conference, an analysis was done examining where attendees came from.

“We were surprised at how many people came from outside the state,” she said.

The areas included Canada, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, the Midwest, Nevada, California, Ohio, Texas, Alaska and Alabama, she said.

According to last year’s figures, Columbia Basin growers attending the event represented 73 percent of the total attendees.

One hundred sixty-five South Columbia Basin growers came to Moses Lake for the event, or 22 percent.

Although more people attended the event from the North Columbia Basin, there’s more potato acreage in the South Columbia Basin, she said.

Bonaudi said it is hard to say if more money is represented in the South Columbia Basin, as some growers rent or lease their land.

Washington state is the second largest producer of U.S. potatoes, produces the most French fries in the country and exports the most U.S. potatoes, according to the commission’s Web site.

For more information, visit www.potatoconference.com/pc/TradeShow.cfm/pc/TradeShow.cfm.