Date: Friday 22 August 2025

Time: 12:30 - 3:30 pm, commencing with lunch.

Location: Thorpdale bowling club, Thorpdale, Victoria (to be confirmed)

Join PotatoLink for an upcoming event facilitated by Nigel Crump, exploring effective seed handling and storage for improved quality and crop performance, and all things irrigation. Speakers include:

Nora Olsen, Professor at the University of Idaho - Effective seed and processing potato storage, seed bruising management, experiences with zebra chip and fungicide resistance management
Steph Veskoukis, Irrigation extension officer at Agriculture Victoria - Irrigation planning and soil moisture sensing
Nigel Crump & Steph Tabone, PotatoLink representatives - a regional focus discussion on the future of potato production

Speaker Bio’s

Nora Olsen - University of Idaho

Nora is a professor in the university’s Department of Plant Sciences. Her interests include evaluating seed potato quality and performance; supporting efficient, effective and sustainable potato production and storage management; and conducting and circulating research on management practices and technology

Nigel Crump

Dr Nigel Crump is a potato pathologist with over 20 years’ experience working in the Australian potato industry. Nigel is the General Manager for the Australian Seed Potato Industry Certification Authority (AuSPICA), an industry-based organisation that operates the seed potato certification Scheme in South Australia, Victoria and northern New South Wales.

Steph Veskoukis

Stephanie Ann Veskoukis is an Irrigation Extension Officer with Agriculture Victoria. With a background in plant and soil science, her work spans research and extension in agricultural adaptation and intensification, integrated pest management and insecticide resistance. She currently supports irrigators in Gippsland by providing technical advice, assisting with irrigation farm planning, facilitating industry collaboration, and running on-farm demonstrations and workshops. Her presentation will explore system design considerations, and the operational costs linked to centre pivot end gun use in crop production.

Contact the host of Thorpdale: Effective seed and irrigation management in potatoes