Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
M A R C H 2 0 1 6 POTATO GROWER 9 hard working productive potato growers and that is shown through his genuine interest and passion in leading NPC in a direction that will benefit the industry as a whole. There will be many challenges and hurdles for the new president but there is plenty of confidence amongst Tiedes peers that he will meet them head-on and prevail. He is connected with elected represen- tatives and has proven effective in relaying the real concerns of potato growers to them. These concerns call for voting in favor of funda- mental and scientific sound legisla- tion and not playing politics with issues that are crucial to our indus- try. By recruiting and encouraging potato growers to advocate for the industry Tiede will show Capitol Hill and federal agencies that we are serious. Previous NPC presidents have done a tremendous job in fur- thering the councils legislative agenda so their forward momen- tum will be an added benefit for him. The upcoming year will be pivotal for the potato industry on Capitol Hill with so many important issues including increasing truck weight limits federal preemption on food labeling approving the Trans- Pacific Partnership TPP and fund- ing potato breeding and research. It is equally important to stay engaged with federal regulators at USDA and EPA on issues that affect how potato growers go about their daily lives such as the regulation of our water- ways and preserving the bee popula- tion without over regulating impor- tant pesticide tools. With the Potato D.C. Fly-In com- pleted in February growers will set their sights on the NPC Summer Meeting this July 13 through 15 in Park City Utah to discuss what issues are left on the table and strategize how to close out the year in a positive fashion for the potato industry. The skill and determina- tion that Tiede has shown in the past leaves little doubt that the out- come of 2016 will complement NPCs track record of advancing and improving the potato grower com- munity.