In the September 2011 Badger Common’Tater

Preparing for Potato Storage

By Dr. A.J. Bussan, UW-Madison Dept. of Horticulture

The 2010-2011 storage season presented a number of substantial challenges. Many storage managers were chasing one storage issue or the other. Heavy rains during the season and just prior to harvest led to open lenticels last summer and increased tuber infections with soft rot, pink eye, leak, late blight, and other diseases. Warm growing conditions led to low specific gravity and challenges with fry color – especially stem end defect in chipping potato.  As we prepare for the 2011-2012 storage season we need to first review the production season.  For the full story, read The Badger Beat column in the September 2011 edition of The Badger Common’Tater.

Packers Meet Goal!

Volunteers, many from the Wisconsin potato industry, pack over 200,000 meals for starving children

The packers met their goal, and there were many happy receivers.  No, we’re not talking about the Green Bay Packers (although they certainly met their goal as well). In this case, it was over 500 volunteers, many with ties to the Wisconsin potato industry, packing over 200,000 potato-based meals for the charitable organization, Feed My Starving Children. The WPVGA was a key sponsor of the mobile packing event which took place over three days, July 22-24, 2011 at the Noel Hangar in Stevens Point.  Check out the September issue of The Badger Common’Tater magazine for the full story as well as numerous photos from this amazing event.

WPVGA Board President Kirk Wille and his daughter, Nikki, work in tandem to seal a filled meal pack at the Feed My Starving Children event held in Stevens Point.