New Potato Varieties: A Sustainability Tool, Chris Long
This session will focus on the latest variety developments in the chip, russet and table market sectors. The industry will be made aware of the 2025 on-farm trial performance of the top varieties in each market class. You will leave the session with an awareness of what new potato varieties will improve the growers' operational sustainability in relation to tuber yield, raw tuber quality and disease resistance. This information will aid a farm operation in remaining on the cutting edge of variety innovation.
Thursday, January 29
12:00pm-12:45pm
Cheboygan Room
About The Speaker
Chris Long
As Senior Potato Specialist and Leader of the Potato Outreach Program (POP), Long serves as the liaison between the Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences Department at Michigan State University (MSU) and the Michigan Potato Industry Commission (MPIC). As Program Lead of the POP, Long works to cultivate the potato industry through applied collaborative research. This is achieved through on-farm research and demonstration trials, grower focused informational meetings, and industry directed publications. The Potato Outreach Program’s responsibilities include conducting on-farm variety trials, coordinating research with faculty, agri-businesses and potato growers to achieve the application of newly developed technology. The Potato Specialist serves as a program advisor for the annual research farm field day at the Montcalm Research Center. Long also serves as the coordinator of the B. F. Cargill Demonstration Storage, and coordinator of the MPIC Annual Research Report. Long is an Ex-officio Board member of the Michigan Potato Industry Commission and Michigan Seed Potato Association. As the Potato Specialist, Long serves on the following industry related MPIC committees: Variety Advancement and Innovation Committee. The POP also conducts the national, SNAC-International and National Fry Processing Trials in Michigan. Long is a program manager for the Potatoes USA National Chip Variety Trial Program (NCVTP) and is a technical advisor to SNAC-International on potato production topics. Long also serves as the Managing Director of Norika America.
