Potato Conference draws record crowd
Royal Register Editor | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 11 months AGO
Royal City Catholic Church Deacon Frank Martinez, a member of the Washington Potato Commission, chats with his brother Luis Martinez, who works for the Washington State Department of Agriculture, at the annual Washington-Oregon Potato Conference.
KENNEWICK - It appears the 2014 Washington-Oregon Potato Conference in Pasco last week was the best attended conference so far.
The women who staffed the registration table said they would have final figures in about a week, but they all believed this was the biggest attendance ever. They noted that the parking lot around three Rivers Convention Center was completely filled throughout the three days.
The Conference featured updates on the latest technology and equipment in the potato industry. There were seminars and commercial displays, and some of the seminars were conducted in Spanish.
The conference was also an occasion for commiserating among old friends, and newcomers, in the industry which is vital to Grant County, the most productive potato county in the USA. They shared a potato bar lunch on Wednesday and a hosted lunch on Thursday.