Potatoes in Canada

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Canadian appointed director of World Potato Congress

July 24, 2014 – Anne Fowlie, executive director of the Canadian Horticultural Council, has been appointed a member of the board of directors of the World Potato Congress, joining Ron Gall of New Zealand and Dr. Nora Olsen of the United States. 

Fowlie embarked on a career in agriculture (1978) in New Brunswick, Canada. After 21 years contributing to the growth the potato industry there, she accepted the position of executive director of the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) in Ottawa, where she currently serves as executive vice-president.

Throughout her career, Fowlie has been involved in myriad agricultural sector issues including sales and marketing, organizational and sector strategic planning, trade dispute resolution, food safety and traceability and government relations. She has also participated in Team Canada trade missions and was a member of the Canadian industry delegation to the 2005 WTO negotiations in Hong Kong.

As a member of the International Federation for Produce Standards, she is well informed on issues related to the potato industry world-wide. The global potato industry is of particular interest to Fowler. She has attended numerous WPC events and is optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead for the industry, as well as the role WPC Inc can play in the future.

Ron Gall was a business manager with Horticulture New Zealand for more than 20 years until his retirement in 2012. He joined the New Zealand Vegetable & Potato Growers’ Federation in 1991.

As business manager of Potatoes New Zealand Inc., from 1994 until his retirement in December 2012, Gall focused on four core activities:
• Seed certification
• Export access to new markets and growing existing markets
• Research and development
• Education and marketing the nutritional & health value of potatoes

Gall has presented papers at various international conferences and represented the New Zealand Potato Industry at numerous World Potato Congresses. He was appointed to the International Advisory Committee of the World Potato Congress and in 2009 was congress manager for the 7th World Potato Congress in Christchurch.

Dr. Nora Olsen is a professor and extension potato specialist for the University of Idaho, located at Twin Falls. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in horticulture from Washington State University with emphasis on potato physiology and production. Her research and extension programs for the past 15 years, at the University of Idaho, have focused on potato field and storage management, sprout and disease control in storage, seed physiology and performance, cultivar evaluation, and food and farm safety. She has been the program director for the University of Idaho Kimberly Potato Storage Research Facility since 2003.

Olsen is currently serving as president of The Potato Association of America (PAA) and is the first woman elected as president of the organization. She has also served as a director of PAA and chair of the physiology and extension sections of this organization.

Olsen is also a processing editor for Potato Research, the journal of the European Association of Potato Research. She also served as the United States member of the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) Technical Advisory group on Sprout Inhibition.

 

July 24, 2014  By Potatoes in Canada



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