Ep. 3 – The Inaugural PSA Summer Symposium
After two years of Zoom meetings, PSA Board Chair Jolyn Rasmussen realized that it was time to get everyone together and build upon the momentum the Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA) had created throughout the pandemic.
“If we could just get together in a room with some whiteboards. I feel like an hour in a room working together probably would replace three or four hours of Zoom calls,” said Jolyn.
The inaugural PSA Summer Symposium launches this July in Boise, Idaho to bring members, non-members, and working groups together to discuss the future of the PSA program and some of the changes that need to be made to keep the important work of PSA at the forefront of sustainability.
Sponsorships are essential to help support events like the PSA Summer Symposium. Without the support from sponsors like J.R. Simplot and the 1, 4Group, the potato industry would not be able to come together to connect, learn and share with industry members, all while building momentum for the future of potato sustainability.
In addition to her role as the PSA Board Chair, Jolyn is the Senior Manager of Raw Development and Sustainability at J.R. Simplot. Jolyn shared what their sponsorship of the PSA Symposium means to her organization.
“Well, I think sustainability is in our blood here at Simplot. And it’s the entire J.R. Simplot Company, not just the food group. So it’s in our core mission and values, bringing those resources to life,” said Jolyn. “An opportunity to host all of my friends in the potato industry to come to talk about sustainability in beautiful Boise, to show everybody beautiful Boise, but also our campus, our headquarters office. I’m really looking forward to the event. And it fits in with our strategic priorities as a company.”
Bill Orr, Canadian Technical Service Rep from the 1, 4Group, also shared what their sponsorship of the PSA Symposium meant to his organization.
“As you said, after two years of lockdown and doing everything over phone calls and Zoom meetings, etc., it’ll be nice to do the face-to-face interactions and be able to talk to the members in general,” said Bill Orr. “So that is one of the big reasons why we wanted to join the Symposium and just meet everybody there. And I think one of our big reasons is we’re based out of Boise, Idaho, so it’s right in our backyard.”
The Inaugural PSA Summer Symposium will take place July 11 – July 14, 2022, in Boise, ID, at the J.R. Simplot offices. For more information about the Symposium and ways to get involved, visit our website here.
The complete list of sponsors for the Symposium are listed below:
Platinum Sponsor: J.R. Simplot
Gold Sponsors: 1, 4Group | Food Defend
Silver Sponsors: National Potato Council | Yara North America | Trimble
Bronze Sponsor: The Little Potato Company
Partner Sponsors: Potato Growers of Alberta | HZPC | Peak of the Market | Syngenta
Connect with:
J.R. Simplot – Twitter: @SimplotCompany, Facebook
Potato Sustainability Alliance – Twitter: @AlliancePotato LinkedIn
John Mesko – Twitter: @johnmesko
Resource Positive Agriculture – Twitter: @positiveagnow
Transcription
John Mesko: (00:06)
Resource Positive Agriculture describes what we all want, a food and farming system that makes full and responsible use of the natural world. In this podcast, I’ll explore how agriculture can be a force for good in everything from the environment to people and our society.
John Mesko: (00:32)
I’m John Mesko and welcome to episode number three of the Resource Positive Agriculture Podcast brought to you by the Potato Sustainability Alliance. Today, we are going to talk about a new event that’s never been held before. It is the PSA Summer Symposium. Now, this event is really exciting in that for the first time in a couple of years, due to COVID and due to the work that PSA’s been doing, we’re going to be bringing our membership together, our working groups, we’re inviting non-members to come to check us out. And we’re going to meet in Boise in July to discuss the kinds of things we want this program to be, the kinds of changes we need to make in order to keep the work that we’re doing at the forefront of sustainability, information, reporting, analysis, and distribution.
John Mesko: (01:28)
This is an important task. It’s important work, and we really need to be together face to face to do some of it. We’ve had a lot of meetings with Zoom. We’ve had a lot of meetings that have been remote, and this is a chance for us to bring our team together, bring our whole community together, face to face and work on some of these things, discuss some of these issues around sustainability, data reporting, as well as learn from one another. And I’ve got a couple of guests on this podcast to talk about the symposium and what it means to them. My first guest is Jolyn Rasmussen, who is the chair of the PSA Board of Directors. Welcome, Jolyn to the podcast.
Jolyn Rasmussen: (02:15)
Hi John. Thank you.
John Mesko: (02:17)
Why don’t you give us your job title there at Simplot?
Jolyn Rasmussen: (02:21)
My title is Senior Manager, Raw Development and Sustainability. The raw development is agronomy and variety development, and then sustainability as well. And I work in the food group division in Simplot.
John Mesko: (02:35)
I think that you must have sustainability as the bulk of your work because the amount of time that you are involved in the things going on at PSA is always impressive. Certainly appreciate the time that you’ve invested personally. And the time that Simplot has invested to allow you to support PSA, serve as board chair, and really be involved on a number of different levels. How did you come to be involved with the Potato Sustainability Alliance through your work at J.R. Simplot?
Jolyn Rasmussen: (03:08)
Sure. I started this role in 2018. And at that time we had an agricultural sustainability manager who is on my team, and this role was the primary role involved in PSA. However, since then the demands and the importance and the strategic importance of Simplot have changed over the last four years. And so it was very important to us as Simplot that we are heavily engaged and involved in PSA. And so I started going to the meetings, getting involved, talking to the people, Don Macquarie suggested that I should be the vice-chair a couple of years ago. And I thought, here’s an opportunity to really get involved and help PSA evolve and grow into something that the entire industry needs.
John Mesko: (04:14)
Well, your comment about having or helping PSA to grow into an organization that can support the entire industry, you and I have had a lot of conversations around that. And I guess maybe the big secret here is that the symposium as we are developing it for the summer really came out of a conversation that you and I had back in March when we talked about, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get everybody together and just sit down face to face.” Tell the folks that are listening to a little bit about why that’s so important to you, to be face to face and coming together to work together as an entire industry.
Jolyn Rasmussen: (04:56)
Sure. We have the last couple of years, as everyone is aware, there’s been the COVID pandemic happening. It was really challenging because COVID came up about the same time that we had decided to go from PSI to PSA and be more of a roundtable and really change the program, to meet the industry’s needs. And then COVID hit, and we didn’t want to lose momentum, and we’ve worked really hard. We’ve gotten a lot done in the last couple of years, one Zoom call at a time. But I can’t help but think about what could we have done had we just had some in-person workshops? If we could just get together in a room with some whiteboards. I feel like an hour in a room working together probably would replace three or four hours of Zoom calls.
Jolyn Rasmussen: (05:55)
And so that’s why I’m really excited about bringing everyone together so we can really talk through some of the issues and think about, how are we going to make this program really meet the industry’s needs? And how do we accommodate different needs from the entire supply chain? And to me, working together and even… some of this will be done sitting in a room together, but some of it will be done even just over a meal or the time outside of the room too. Just one on one talking in person about, what do we need our organization to be and our program as PSA to be?
John Mesko: (06:43)
Yeah. I think that’s what really is the genesis, it’s the foundation behind the symposium. We’re going to hear from buyers who are going to share with us what their expectations are in terms of their needs for data going forward. We want to hear from farmers telling us what some of their struggles are to be able to supply the information. We want to hear from everybody in between about how the information that they’re currently using and supporting… There are a lot of folks in agriculture that are doing bits and pieces of this work. And if we can draw from them, we maybe don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Jolyn Rasmussen: (07:27)
Absolutely. By having all the sectors represented, it’s not only about what’s their needs, but it’s also about their experience. To talk about what they do know. So I don’t think PSA’s role is to go and reinvent the wheel, but we do want to get the industry-aligned around one sustainability program.
John Mesko: (07:53)
That’s right. And it’s going to be better for everybody if we can get there.
Jolyn Rasmussen: (07:56)
Yes.
John Mesko: (07:57)
One of the key things that came out in our initial conversation about this was you stepped up and said, “I want to see if we can get J.R. Simplot to host this event and to provide some support for it.” And you have been able to deliver on that expectation. And we certainly want to thank J.R. Simplot for being a platinum sponsor of the symposium. But how does that connect? Obviously, Simplot’s involved in sustainability and Potatoes, of course. But why would a J.R. Simplot this year, maybe a different organization next year, want to host this event and be a platinum-level sponsor?
Jolyn Rasmussen: (08:41)
Well, I think sustainability is in our blood here at Simplot. And it’s the entire J.R. Simplot Company, not just the food group. It’s in our core mission and values, to bring those resources to life, right? So that’s what we talk about a lot here. And so an opportunity to host all of my friends in the potato industry to come to talk about sustainability in beautiful Boise, to show everybody beautiful Boise, but also our campus, our headquarters office, I’m really looking forward to the event. And it fits in with our strategic priorities as a company. But it’s also because I want to bring all the people that I’ve worked with via Zoom the last few years, couple of years, to beautiful Boise and to work together.
John Mesko: (09:40)
Well, that sounds great. I am looking forward to that, as well. I know I have, since starting in this role almost a year ago now, I have been looking forward to seeing, as you said, the campus and the headquarters and working with a lot of folks face to face. And this is what is really exciting for me. But if you could think about one reason, for somebody who’s listening to this podcast, maybe they’re part of a member organization of PSA, maybe they’re part of an organization that is considering becoming a member, why would somebody listening to this, why do you think they should attend? And how would you invite them?
Jolyn Rasmussen: (10:21)
For those that have been involved with PSA, here’s an opportunity to get away from the Zoom calls and really connect with people and build your professional network. Yeah, it’s around sustainability, but it’ll be professional networking across the whole industry. It’ll be our way of really getting a lot of work done. And for those who aren’t yet involved, here’s an opportunity to really get to know peers and colleagues in the industry with similar goals, trying to provide a sustainability program. We have a lot of commonalities in sustainability. And so this is an opportunity to get involved, network, meet new people and work together on sustainability.
John Mesko: (11:12)
Yeah. And maybe have a little bit of fun along the way too. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Jolyn Rasmussen: (11:15)
Oh, yeah. Yes. Absolutely.
John Mesko: (11:19)
That makes-
Jolyn Rasmussen: (11:20)
Well, I think it’s going to be fun just working together in a meeting room. But there is a lot of fun in Boise, including for those who don’t know, we have a lot of tractors on our campus and we’ll be offering a tractors tour as part of the visit.
John Mesko: (11:34)
Well, that sounds great. And speaking of extra events and side events, people can learn more about the symposium on the PSA website, potatosustainability.org. The news and blog tab has underneath there a section on the symposium where they can learn about it. This is the first time, I mentioned earlier, the first time we’ve ever held this event. Very hard to pull off a first-time event without other people helping us. And as I mentioned, Simplot is a platinum sponsor. We have a number of other sponsors, the 1,4GROUP, as well as Food Defend. They are gold-level sponsors. National Potato Council and Yara North America have stepped up as silver-level sponsors. The Little Potato Company is a bronze-level sponsor. And our partner-level sponsors are Syngenta, Peak of the Market, Alberta Potatoes and HZPC.
John Mesko: (12:34)
That is our sponsor list, as of this recording. We are still taking sponsorships, of course. And we couldn’t put this on without the community coming together, not only to work together but to also help offset some of those costs. So thank you to everyone there. And thank you, Jolyn, for joining me today, and I’m looking forward to working together next month in Boise.
Jolyn Rasmussen: (12:56)
Great. I look forward to seeing everyone
John Mesko: (13:02)
Well, this is the part of the podcast where we would like to have a sponsor message. A little 30 seconds or one-minute blurb from a sponsor about what they’re doing in sustainability, how they’re advancing a positive approach to agriculture’s mitigation of climate change, or other related topics. And we would certainly welcome organizations who are interested in connecting with our audience, interested in connecting with our message, to consider sponsoring the Resource Positive Agriculture Podcast. You can learn more by contacting me at, mesko@potatosustainability.org. Thank you.
John Mesko: (13:44)
I’m John Mesko, the Executive Director of the Potato Sustainability Alliance. My guest today is Bill Orr, who is the Canadian Technical Service Rep for the 1,4GROUP, a PSA member, and a sponsor of the upcoming PSA Summer Symposium. And I’d like to talk with you, Bill a little bit about your organization’s involvement in PSA. As we were talking a little bit beforehand, people are really familiar with the processors that are involved in PSA, the grower groups, the fresh marketers, and the buyers. But you’re part of the allied industry group, organizations that really support the potato industry with products or services. So tell us a little bit about your involvement with PSA and why getting involved in PSA is so important to 1,4GROUP.
Bill Orr: (14:38)
Well, thanks, John. Yes, it has been very important for us to join PSA. 1,4GROUP, as I mentioned earlier, we’re a company that’s solely focused on the storage side of the potato industry. And in joining the PSA, we want to bring the light onto and help bring more awareness of the storage side of the potato season, to bring it into the sustainability talks in general.
John Mesko: (15:05)
Well, as we were discussing this, we do spend an awful lot of time talking about the production side, the soil, water, potato varieties, this kind of thing. And it is easy to forget that there is another component of this on-farm, in most cases that contributes to the overall sustainability footprint of potato production. One of the things that is exciting for me in thinking about the summer symposium is getting together with people really, for the first time in a while, and because of COVID and really because we’re an organization that is growing and evolving, and I’m looking forward to meeting people and working with people side by side. When you think about 1,4GROUP’s sponsorship of the event and your own involvement, what kinds of things are you looking forward to?
Bill Orr: (15:58)
It’ll be, like you said, after coming out of two years of lockdown and doing everything over phone calls and Zoom meetings, etc, it’ll be nice to do the face-to-face interactions and be able to talk to the members in general. Just to have a very light and easy discussion that’s a little harder to do, was more challenging to do over the last couple of years. So that is one of the big reasons why we wanted to join the symposium and just meet everybody there. And I think one of our big reasons is we’re based out of Boise, Idaho so it’s right in our backyard too.
John Mesko: (16:32)
Yeah. I think that’s a big plus for sure. We’ve got a number of Idaho-based organizations that are supporting us as well as others in this event. And so we’re very excited to have you there. When you think about the kinds of things that the symposium will do for, and the kinds of things that 1,4GROUP can do in this context of having a get-together, as you’re saying, what kinds of things do you think other groups who maybe are not yet registered or not yet sponsoring the event, what kinds of things can they be interested in? Or what is the driving force behind maybe some reasons you might think other listeners would want to attend?
Bill Orr: (17:16)
I think other listeners would want to attend just to see how the market is moving, to be on that leading edge before society directs the messaging to us on sustainability. I think it gives everybody the opportunity to talk and be involved in shaping the message about sustainability and how we want to move forward in the future.
John Mesko: (17:40)
Yeah. I think what you’re saying is to work together, collaboratively to shape the future. Collection, analysis, distribution, and sharing of sustainability data, rather than run the risk of having some process or some regulation imposed on us as an industry.
Bill Orr: (18:01)
Yes. Exactly. Just coming back from the WPC in Ireland, there were some talks on sustainability there. And that was one of the key things I picked out from one of the talks was, that we have the chance to shape the message and not have the message dictated to us. And I think it’s a great opportunity for that.
John Mesko: (18:19)
I think it’s great too. I’m really glad that you’re seeing it that way. I think it’s a challenge. I’ve likened it a little bit to saving for retirement, right? It’s not something we’re going to use necessarily in the moment, the things that we do are hopefully setting us up for success in the future, and every dollar you put away for retirement now is not going to impact you in the short run, but certainly, in the long run, it’s something that we all know we need to do.
Bill Orr: (18:48)
Yes. And I think we definitely need to do that as before, just for future generations to keep everything running environmentally friendly. Talking about the greenhouse gases and the carbon footprint, that’s how it’s going to be moving forward. And that’s how it’ll help future generations.
John Mesko: (19:04)
Yeah. I couldn’t agree more, Bill. Well, I want to thank you again for the 1,4GROUP’s sponsorship of the PSA Summer Symposium. As I mentioned, when we first talked about this, we can’t really do this without additional sponsorships. So thank you very much for being a part of it. Thank you for your involvement in PSA. And I’m looking forward to seeing you in Idaho, in July.
Bill Orr: (19:28)
Oh, you’re very welcome. I’m looking forward to the symposium and meeting with everybody face to face. It’ll be a great time.
John Mesko: (19:34)
Well, that’s it for today’s episode of the Resource Positive Agriculture Podcast. I’d like to thank my guests, Jolyn Rasmussen and Bill Orr for sharing with us a little bit about their interest in and their plans for the PSA Summer Symposium. You can learn more about the symposium and register to attend or inquire about sponsorships at our website, potatosustainability.org, under the News and Blog tab. I’m John Mesko. Thank you for joining and we’ll see you soon.
John Mesko: (20:11)
Thanks for tuning into today’s episode. To hear more podcasts like this, please rate, review and subscribe to Resource Positive Agriculture. We want to hear from you. Remember to visit potatosustainability.org for show notes from this episode, leave your feedback, and to learn more about how PSA is collaborating for potato sustainability. Thank you. And remember, stay positive.