Providing of consulting services has a rich tradition in Potato Research Institute Havlíčkův Brod. From its beginning it has been connected with the transfer of most recent R&D findings into agricultural practice. At present, consulting services are provided in several forms:
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In 1997 a specialized department of consultancy was established, directed especially to economic consultancy. The main activity of the department is providing of consulting services for agricultural entities, especially in the field of economic consultancy and also technological consultancy and cross compliance. Further activities involve consulting within the Operational Programme Environment (compilation of operating rules, basic risk assessment regarding environmental damage and applications for supports for purchase of machines reducing ammonia emissions from animal production). Staff of the department is engaged in PRI presentation during exhibitions and contributes to publication activity of the institute.
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Individual PRI departments and/or specialists in individual fields provide technological consultancy (personal, phone and e-mail contacts). Four consultants from PRI are registered and accredited by Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic and can provide consultancy in the framework of Rural Development Plant, in the area of agriculture, sub-area soil cultivation, plant production, animal production, optimization of agricultural enterprise management and phytosanitary measures in agriculture.
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Poradenský svaz Bramborářský kroužek established in 1998 associates 35 potato producers, especially from the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. For its member, it provides several consulting activities, such as sending of regular updates of pest, disease and weed occurrence in potato crops and control ways, information about late blight forecast, incl. reports from individual automated meteorological stations, specific recommendations how and when treat potato crops and what use for the treatment, recommendations for vegetation ending, right harvest date with regard to utility type of potato growing, information about post-harvest treatment, storage and ware potato sprout inhibition, organizing of special workshops directed to potatoes and possibility of individual consultancies regarding potato growing and storage.