Potato Review

42 POTATO REVIEW JULY/AUGUST 2022 POTATOEUROPE 2022 P OTATOEUROPE 2022 Germany organisers recently held a successful kick-off meeting in conjunction with various event partners. Project Manager of PotatoEurope Germany, Wilfried Wolf said in his welcome speech: “The PotatoEurope trade fair, with trial fields focusing on potato varieties, an extensive machine demonstration programme and several so-called specials with different themes, will once again attract potato professionals from around Europe on September 7th and 8th, 2022.” First held in Germany in 2006, it is now the fifth time the event will be held at Rittergut Bockerode. Friedrich Henkels, owner and farm manager of Rittergut Bockerode, invited guests to look around the event location and said he was very much looking forward to hosting the industry event. The designated ‘On-Farm Potato Processing and Marketing’ section will be dedicated to storage, cleaning, packaging, further processing and marketing on farm. There will be practical examples and ideas for marketing your own potatoes, up to and including the development of your own brand and corresponding advertising. Exhibitors in this section will be all companies that offer potato growers technical solutions from sorting and cleaning POTATOEUROPE 2022 Organisers officially launch show and announce line-up. technology, packaging and processing to vending machines or online platforms. The Smart Potato Farming section is intended to provide the professional audience with an idea of the digital and autonomous solutions that they can anticipate in potato production over the next few years. Market-ready innovations or products that have successfully completed initial practical tests will be presented and there will be an opportunity to discuss future technologies and solutions with experts. There will be a focus on the automatic control of machine parts up to and including autonomous working machines as well as software that controls data transfer to the machine or between machines, from precision planting technology and autonomous planting control, through to maintenance and harvesting. Digital solutions for managing the potato store (climate, ventilation), or autonomous storage and packaging systems with barcodes or optoelectronic sorting of potatoes will also be showcased. A tent stand will also be set up in the outdoor area where visitors can talk to experts. Machinery Demonstrations promise to be a real highlight of PotatoEurope, which will be showcasing state-of-the-art potato equipment – planters, mechanical weeders, harvesters and transfer trailers.