b'Potato Associate SpotlightKen and his wife Cindy, along with theirculture of innovation in alignment with daughterHaley(freshmanatUMN- customersneeds,BASFstechnologies Duluth)andsonTucker(highschoolaim to ensure that crops grow healthier, junior)resideinWestFargo,Northstronger and more resistant to stress fac-Dakota.Inhisfreetime,Kenenjoystors, such as heat or drought. spending time at the family farm, hunt-ing and skiing, along with time with hisFarmingtodayismorecomplexthan family.ever before. The unpredictability of the weather, control of pest and weeds, and About BASF, farmers always strive to bescarcity of natural resources, all this in a the best stewards of their land, and theworld heading toward nine billion peo-mission at BASF is to help them achieveple. These challenges demand BASF to those goals. An industry leader with acontinueitscommitmenttocreating portfolio that comprises seeds and seedinnovativesolutionsforgrowerstack-Our Potato Associate Spotlight for thistraits,cropprotection,andseedtreat- ling the Biggest Job on Earth. month is Ken Diebert from BASF. Kenmentsolutionsforsoilmanagement, Deibert has been a Potato Associate forplanthealth,andpestcontrol,alongFormoreinformationonbecominga about 11 years now.with digital farming tools,that enablesPotatoAssociate,call218-773-3633or BASF to partner with farmers to imple- log on to our webpage at www.npga.org Ken is a District Sales Manager for BASFment sustainable practices while achiev- and click on the Potato Associate but-in Northwestern Minnesota and Easterningeconomicsuccess.Bynurturingaton. North Dakota.In his current role, Ken leads a team of eight business represena-tives in the crop protection space.Ken replacedBarryRongenwhoelectedto retire in January 2023.Priortohiscurrentrole,Kenwasa TechnicalServiceRepresentativefor BASFinNorthwesternMinnesotaand Eastern North Dakota.Prior to that, Ken wasinvariousTechServicerolesin Nebraska,Iowa,KansasandColorado forBASF.HewasalsoaRegional Agronomist&ProductManagerfor WinfieldSolutions,alongwithaSeed TreatmentSpecialistforBASFinthe Northern Plains and Pacific Northwest. KenhasbeenwithBASFforabout21 years now.KenholdsaB.SinCropandWeed Science and a M.S. in Weed Science from North Dakota State University.APRIL 2023 POTATO GROWER 5'