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 32N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 28 POTATO GROWER Edoardo Poletti Has Traveled Far To Work With Potatoes We met Edoardo Poletti at the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association Annual Field Day. He is a graduate student from Italy and he is being sponsored by Dr. Gary Secor of North Dakota State University of Fargo, North Dakota. His responsi- bilities are to work with the NDSU Potato Team with their potato trials in North Dakota and Minnesota. He helps with management of the pota- to trials in all the different phases, from assessing plant and tubers to sowing and harvest. Edoardo grew up in Ferrara, Italy, in a province that was well suited for agriculture. For his educational path Edoardo chose a high school that specialized in agriculture. He decid- ed to continue to study agriculture in college. He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Plant Protection and a Masters Degree in Agricultural Science and Technology. Edoardo then started working with sugarbeets for a few years and then moved on to be a dealer for a small agricultural company selling agri- cultural products. He thought he would like to work abroad and gain a new life experience so through a work contact in Italy he learned of Dr. Gary Secor from NDSU and the program here in North Dakota. He contacted Dr. Secor and in May of this year he arrived in Fargo to work with the NDSU team on potatoes. He will be leaving on November 18th. Edoardo says, “From this experience I hope to improve my knowledge in agriculture, in particular in crop protection, which is the field I would like to work in. I hope to also improve my skills of the English language and form some lasting relationships. That is a challenge sometimes when you are continu- ing to learn the language and some- times that can limit you. I hope this helps my carreer to find employ- ment abroad or maybe even here, in the United States.” Edoardo would like to continue to work with potatoes in the future, he says “Working with NDSU and Dr. Secor has been a great privilege and a pleasure. The Potato Team of the Plant Pathology Department is a very good one. Dean Peterson and Russell Benz are very professional and prepared. Everytime there is something to learn they stop and explain it to me and show me what we are doing. The atmosphere of the team is very constructive and posi- tive.” Edoardo said he would like to express his gratitude to Dr. Secor and the NDSU Plant Pathology Department for the opportunity that he has been given. He thanks his colleagues and all the people that he has met for the friendship and hospitality that everyone has shown him. Edoardo Poletti (Left) and Russell Benz working in a field in Osage, Minnesota.