PotatoEurope 2010 offers 186 exhibitors from 16 countries

PotatoEurope offers visitors an open air exhibition "all about the potato” with trial plots, machinery demonstrations and discussion forums on 8/9 September 2010 at the Rittergut Bockerode Estate in Springe-Mittelrode near Hanover.

This top event in the international potato industry will be held at the Riittergut Bockerode Estate in Springe-Mittelrode near Hanover on 8 and 9 September 2010.

With 186 exhibitors from 16 countries, the DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – German Agricultural Society) reports excellent stand bookings. According to Project Manager Dr. Werner Mutz, this represents an increase of some four per cent by comparison with the premiere event in 2006. It is most encouraging that some 44 per cent (2006: 35 per cent) of the exhibitors come from outside Germany, the largest contingent hails from the Netherlands (42). Other exhibitors from Austria, Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA will be there too.

The excellent stand registration results confirm the claim of this special event with its trial plots, exhibition stands, machinery demonstrations and discussion forums to be the top meeting place for international potato professionals this year. Important signals for modern potato production and processing will be transmitted at PotatoEurope 2010. The event is being organised by the DLG and the German potato industry association, Union der Deutschen Kartoffelwirtschaft (UNIKA), as patrons in cooperation with K+S KALI GmbH (Kassel).

 
The DLG reports brisk visitor interest among German potato farmers and their partners in the market. PotatoEurope is arousing great interest outside Germany too. Delegations of visitors, for instance from Argentina, Belarus, China, Denmark, Russia and Ukraine, have already announced their coming. The DLG is expecting altogether 10,000 visitors.

 
Complete exhibition programme

The exhibitors, who come from the areas of breeding, fertilising, plant protection and machinery and equipment for production and processing as well as from the trade, will be providing a unique programme of information covering all aspects of the potato on a total exhibition area of 23 hectares. The potato experts will be able to gather current and new information on producing high-grade products at first hand. They will also find important impulses for promoting the position of potatoes among consumers and developing new market potentials. Current varieties and differentiated fertilising and plant protection strategies will be presented on demonstration plots. This will give farmers key recommendations for future potato growing. On the campus site the programme will be rounded off by stands on the grass and in a large tent hall. In this area exhibitors will be presenting the complete spectrum of the exhibition programme, from breeding through production and processing right up to marketing. The industry, science and research, agricultural organisations and associations will be represented there and provide information about varieties, cultivation methods and machinery and equipment, advice on cropping, potato conditioning and storage, as well as management and marketing issues and services.
 
Twice as many machines on trial as in 2006

This year twice as many machines as in 2006will be shown in the demonstrations. Eight machines from five manufacturers will take part in the planting demonstration. Four-row and eight-row machines have been registered for this. In addition eight manufacturers will be presenting altogether 17 lifters, including single, double and four-row machines, both as bunker and as transfer systems, as well as self-propelled machines. Five companies will be showing loading lines. The demonstrations of all the machines registered with a commentary by Dr. Rolf Peters from the Experimental Station Dethlingen in Munster will be held between 10.00 and 12.00 h on both days of the event. PotatoEurope 2010 will have a new offering – in the afternoons the exhibitors will be presenting their machinery and equipment on separate demonstration areas between 14.00 and 16.30 h. Machinery advisers from the manufacturers will be available on site for an intensive exchange of opinion and experience with visitors and to provide product-specific information.
 
Current topics at forum events

Impartial additional information will be available for visitors to PotatoEurope 2010 at the compact discussion events in the PotatoEurope Forum Tent. These forums will essentially be managed by UNIKA. Every day on the hour current topics will be presented and discussed. Farmers and experts from the fields of extension and advisory work, industry and academia will present the latest findings and developments from the areas of potato breeding, quality production, fertilising, market developments, eco production and harvesting, and ventilating and cooling machinery and equipment. Sufficient time for discussions with visitors to PotatoEurope is planned at these events too.
 
Kartoffelherbstbörse (potato industry forum) at PotatoEurope again

The annual meeting place of the potato dealers, the Kartoffelherbstbörse, is once again being integrated into PotatoEurope. The traditionally eagerly awaited market outlook for the beginning season with medium-early and late-maturing potatoes will be the focus of interest for the trade at 13.00 h on Wednesday, 8 September 2010. The German potato trading association Deutsche Kartoffelhandelsverband e. V. as organiser of the Kartoffelherbstbörse will have its own stand at PotatoEurope 2010 and thus establish a contact centre for its members.