A P R I L 2 0 1 8 8 POTATO GROWER Potato DC Fly-In Attracts Strong Attendance and Speakers Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), immigration reform, trade agreements, the Farm Bill, pollinator health, regula- tory reform at the EPA and funding for potato research programs are hot but- ton items in the potato world. All these legislative topics and more were on the table during the National Potato Council’s 2018 Potato D.C. Fly- In. More than 125 potato growers, friends of the potato industry and the 20 members of the Potato Industry Leadership Institute (PILI) class came to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the nation’s potato industry last week. Compressed into three and a half days, from February 26 to March 1, the hours were long and activities non- stop, from sunrise to long into the Washington, D.C. nights. Fly-In attendees heard the latest updates from legislators, journalists, diplomats and federal agency officials on the key issues impacting agricultur- al policies in general and the U.S. pota- to industry specifically. The event began Monday afternoon with a presentation on agriculture immigration reform by Chuck Conner of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and on regulatory reform by Jeff Sands of the Environmental Protection Agency. Monday evening, Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican Ambass- ador to the United States, spoke on the tenuous relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. One of the observations Sarukhan made during his presenta- tion was that Mexico is the home to the largest U.S. expatriate community in the world. He noted that through NAFTA that Mexico, Canada and the U.S. are exporting North American goods through joint supply chains and platforms and their economies are more intertwined and integrated since NAFTA and 9/11. “Mexico buys more U.S. exports than China and Japan combined or all of Latin America and Central America,” Sarukahan stated. “Mexico is the num- ber one trade partner in 25 states.” Sarukhan said that changes to NAFTA would have come if the U.S. had stayed in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Tuesday morning saw a constant stream of speakers giving up to date analysis on current issues including the Endangered Species Act, ELD and trucking issues, Trump administration trade policies and prospects for the 2018 Farm Bill. NPC Mes sage by John Keeling, NPC Executive Vice President and CEO