b'didnt realize all that went into that. Imdefinitely going to take that home andanalyze what were doing and what wecandobetterasfarassourcingourseed.TheclassthenflewtoWashington,D.C.,forthreedaysofpresentationskills,leadership,media,andpolicytraining.AspartoftheFly-In,theyheard the latest in political forecastingfromfamedpoliticalanalystCharlieCook, learned about the industrys poli-cypriorities,andjoinedtheirfellowgrowersinadvocatingthoseprioritiesdirectlytogovernmentofficialsandtheir members of Congress.Bottom row (left to right): Susannah Cooper, Maine; Casey Folson, Minnesota;Laurie Richards, who oversaw the pres- Michael Wolter, Wisconsin; Tom Nilson, North Dakota; Sarah Noller, Colorado.entation,leadershipskills,andmedia Secondrow:UbaldoMartinez,Washington;LaurieWiddowson,Nebraska;JohnMorrison,Washington.Thirdrow:CliffShaw,Colorado;CarlLong,training classes, taught the class how to Pennsylvania;JaceJensen,Idaho.Fourthrow:AustinOchoa,Washington;shapeandsharemessagesaboutthe Jason Allen, Idaho; Doug Posthuma, Wisconsin; Jason Kimm, Montana. Fifthimportanceofpotatoestoconsumers row: Cody Fazio, Oregon; Damen Kurzer, Michigan; Derek Friehe, Washington;BenHarris,Colorado;GuthryLaurie,Michigan.Sixthrow:MitchellSearle,and local economies. This program is Idaho;BenSklarczyk,Michigan(GrowerLeader);BlakeMatthews,Idahonot only about helping participants be (Grower Leader)goodleadersintheindustry,itsalso Before accompanying their state delega- ities in common, he said.about helping them articulate how they tionstoCapitolHill,classmemberscontribute to society as a farm, an oper- were taught about the policy issues fac- Toanyoneconsideringapplyingforation,oraprocessor,Richardssaid. ing the industry, including agricultural PILI, Laurie Widdowson, marketing andThe better they are at articulating the laborreform,continuedfundingfor developmentmanageratCSSFarms,real value of potatoesfinancially and potatoresearch,transportationinfra- advisedtonothesitate.Itsagreatnutritionallythe better off the indus- structurefunding,increasedtruck investmentinyou.Itsagreatinvest-try will be. weightlimits,andexpandinginterna- mentinyourcommunitythatyouretional market access for potato exports. going to take these skills back to. AndCody Fazio, who works on the family itsagreatopportunitytomeetsomefarm north of Portland, Oregon, grow- Ubaldo Martinez, who grows 850 acres otherwonderfulpeopleinthepotatoingchippingpotatoes,saidthepublic ofpotatoesfortheprocessmarketin industry, she said.speaking workshop was challenging at Washington state, said his PILI experi-first.Imnotonewhoisgreatwith ence taught him that the problems he To raise the funds necessary to continuepublic speaking, but the class really got experiences are not unique to his farm. thePILIprogram,thenewPotatome out of my shell, Fazio said. By the Weallsharethesameproblems,but Leadership, Education, & Advancementend I was able to give a speech that Id whenyourebackhomeyouthink Foundation (LEAF) was launched at theneverbeabletodopreviously,andI youre the only one thats going through 2020 Potato Expo. For more informationrealizedtheresalotIcantalkabout them. In reality, we all share the same on how to donate to Potato LEAF andwhen Im passionate about it. issues,wereallfightingforthesame financially support future leaders of thebills to pass, we all have the same prior- potato industry, visit pleaf.org.APRIL 2020 POTATO GROWER 9'