Report on Seed Industry Event - 11th & 12th November 2004

The BPC organised the annual Seed Industry Event which was held at Crieff Hydro, as it was last year. It is a good venue for a conference and this has contributed to the very high attendance � over 220 delegates from all parts of the potato industry including David Higgins, Richard Dannatt and me. It is noticeable that there are fewer and fewer growers from either Scotland and England, but an increasing number of agronomists, scientists and traders who are all competing for a living in an industry which is not overflowing with spare cash.



First onto the podium was Prof David Hughes, who gave an excellent interactive speech on

consumer trends and their impact on the potato industry. He gave many examples of other food products which had increased market share due to customer perceptions of quality, health benefits or convenience. The challenge is how this can be applied to potatoes. The low point of the afternoon was a crushingly boring talk from Bidwells on the impact of the Single Farm Payment on the potato industry, in particular relating to rented land. The audience was a sea of glazed

expressions and it is no wonder that there is a lot of confusion at farm level. Thankfully, we regained consciousness with the promise of a coffee break and the next two papers were much easier to digest.



The evening part of the conference comprises a reception at the exhibition area, followed by a meal. One company was using cask strength whisky tasting to promote it�s product which was a good idea, if I could only remember the name of it.� After the meal a pleasant hour or three was spent in the bar putting the industry right.



Breakfast was very welcome next morning, although the conversations were a lot less animated than the night before. The morning consisted of a series of workshops and they were quite

rewarding, but always seem to be a bit of a BPC promotion.



The event as usual was judged a success, although with the uncertainty over the BPC, there was a little doubt as to whether it would take place next year. It would be a pity, as the industry needs an event like this to act as a talking shop and allow everyone to meet up and renew acquaintances.