the Cover:
working
Foods has over 1,400 employees
to this issue’s interviewee, Morgan Forbush,
facility
she is field manager.
on a conveyor at McCain
chilled
harvest is in full swing at Paul Miller Farms of Hancock, Wisconsin, with the spuds heading into McCain Foods storage. McCain’s Plover production facility sources potatoes and vegetables, the latter for appetizers, from many contract growers and Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) members in the Central Sands and throughout the state. Interviewed herein, Morgan Forbush sits on the WPVGA Associate Division Board.
Meister
WPVGA Board of Directors: President: Alex Okray
Vice President: Randy Fleishauer
Secretary: Bill Guenthner
Treasurer: Mike Carter
Directors: John Bustamante, Wendy Dykstra, Josh Knights, Charlie Mattek & J.D. Schroeder
Wisconsin Potato Industry Board: President: Heidi Alsum-Randall Vice President: Andy Diercks
Secretary: Bill Wysocki
Treasurer: Keith Wolter Directors: John Bobek, John Fenske, Jim Okray, Eric Schroeder & Tom Wild
WPVGA Associate Division Board of Directors:
President: Julie Cartwright Vice President: Matt Selenske Secretary: Sally Suprise
Mission
Mission
of the
Badger Common’Tater
Treasurer: Paul Salm
Directors: Andrew Curran, Morgan Forbush, Ethan Olson & Andy Verhasselt
Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association Board of Directors: President: Roy Gallenberg Vice President: Matt Mattek Secretary/Treasurer: Andy Schroeder Directors: Charlie Husnick & Jeff Suchon
Wisconsin Potato Growers
Auxiliary Board of Directors:
President: Brittany Bula Vice President: Datonn Hanke Secretary/Treasurer: Heidi Schleicher Directors: Erin Baginski, Misti Ward, Becky Wysocki & Devin Zarda
Executive Director: Tamas Houlihan
Managing Editor: Joe Kertzman
Director of Promotions & Consumer Education: Dana Rady
Financial Officer: Karen Rasmussen
Executive Assistant: Julie Braun Program Assistant: Jane Guillen
15 2022 SPUD BOWL
Community Stadium at Goerke Park, 1 p.m. Stevens Point, WI
Wausau/Brokaw, WI
West Madison Research Station, 1 p.m. Mon. and 8 a.m. Tues. with Virtual Option
Verona, WI
27-29 THE GLOBAL PRODUCE AND FLORAL SHOW (formerly PMA Fresh Summit) Orlando, FL
8 AGGROW SOLUTIONS SUMMIT
The Inn at Sentry World
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
RSVP to Kenton, 715-630-4768 Stevens Point, WI
4-5 2023 POTATO EXPO
Gaylord Rockies Aurora, CO
7-9 2023 GROWER EDUCATION CONFERENCE & INDUSTRY SHOW
Holiday Inn & Convention Center Stevens Point, WI
16-17 INTERNATIONAL CROP EXPO
Alerus Center
Grand Forks, ND
28-30 61ST WPS FARM SHOW
Experimental Aircraft Association Grounds Oshkosh, WI
Church usually makes me feel good, but “Drive Your Tractor to Church” day has proven twice now to also be good for my soul. Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) Executive Director Tamas Houlihan forwarded an email to me from Bushmans’ Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mike Carter, asking if the WPVGA would donate potato chips to the 15th Annual Drive Your Tractor to Church. Mike also wanted to know if I’d be available to attend and cover the event for the magazine. While there, I captured the picture above. I didn’t have to be asked twice. I had attended the event at North New Hope Lutheran Church, in the town of New Hope, on one previous occasion and enjoyed it immensely. Not only are church members, guests, neighbors, and friends encouraged to attend the outdoor service, but to drive their antique, farm, lawn, and pedal tractors! And while that’s ultimately cool, for me, the best part is the New Hope Hay Balers bluegrass band playing for a half-hour before the service as well as picking songs during the ceremony, and the homemade “church ladies’ pies” afterward.
Other goings-on include basket raffles, lunch catered by Ambrosia Pub & Grill of Amherst, and proceeds from the event donated to the 4-H, FFA, Breakfast on the Farm and the Farmer’s Union. Ah, yes, it’s good for the soul! I figured the event deserved a full-blown feature article inside.
The Bagging and Packaging issue you’re holding in your hands is an unusual one. Typically, I interview someone from ThorPack, LLC, Volm Companies, Warner & Warner, or a WPVGA grower/shipper/packer that does its own bagging and packaging. Having exhausted a good deal of that list in recent years, I decided to interview WPVGA Associate Division Board member Morgan Forbush of McCain Foods in Plover. McCain is certainly a big player in the Wisconsin potato and vegetable growing industry, bagging and packaging much of its French fries, appetizers and desserts, and Morgan was a gracious and insightful subject. Enjoy the interview.
APRIL
18-20 UNITED FRESH CONVENTION & EXPO
San Diego Convention Center San Diego, CA
JULY
18-20 2023 WISCONSIN FARM TECHNOLOGY DAYS
Badger Steam and Gas Engine Club Grounds Baraboo, WI
Of course, the October issue wouldn’t be complete without the full WPVGA Associate Division Directory inside, including product and services listings, and contact names, emails, websites, phone numbers and addresses. Readers keep and refer to this issue year-round when business needs arise.
Please email me with your thoughts and questions. If you wish to be notified when our free online magazine is available monthly, here is the subscriber link: http://wisconsinpotatoes.com/blog-news/subscribe.
Joe Kertzman Editor
TITLE: Field manager
COMPANY: McCain Foods
LOCATION: Plover, WI
HOMETOWN: Stevens Point, WI
TIME IN PRESENT POSITION: 8 months
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT: Started as a field representative with McCain Foods in 2017
SCHOOLING: Michigan State University
ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS:
Associate Division Board member of the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA)
FAMILY: Fiancé, Hunter Smolarek, getting married in December HOBBIES: Spending time with family, traveling and being outdoors
Famous for French fries, appetizers, frozen and chilled prepared potato products, desserts, and more, McCain Foods “celebrates real connections through delicious planet-friendly foods.”
Servicing the retail and foodservice industries, the food processor became known for its French fries more than 60 years ago and is still making them today.
Potato or sweet potato French fries come in straight, crinkled, and thinor thick-cut and skin-on or skin-off varieties, and are either fried, oven baked or microwaved.
In addition, the processor transforms the versatile potato into such creations as “jacket potatoes,” wedges, roast potatoes, croquettes, mashed potatoes, lattice fries, spirals, potato pancakes, hash browns, potato smiles, potato patties, “Tasti Taters” and potato bites, to name a few.
The Plover, Wisconsin, production facility sources potatoes and vegetables, the latter for appetizers, from many contract growers and Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) members in the Central Sands and
throughout the state.
McCain Foods Field Manager Morgan Forbush sits on the WPVGA Associate Division Board of Directors and has forged her own career path, starting as a field representative with the company, in 2017, and becoming field manager with the retirement of long-time field department manager, Kerry Larson.
How long has McCain Foods had a processing plant in Plover, and can you give me a brief paragraph-ortwo history of the processing plant in Wisconsin? McCain is a privately owned, Canadian-based family company. McCain purchased the old Ore-Ida plant, in 1997, and through
Above: McCain Foods purchased the old Ore-Ida plant of Plover, Wisconsin, in 1997, and through the years has added increased production capacity. Morgan Forbush, shown in a California potato field during a Potato Industry Leadership Institute (PILI) trip, is the field manager for the McCain fry facility in Plover.
the years added increased production capacity.
Today, the plant operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The product mix is one of the most complex in the network. This “flex” facility has the capability of producing potatobased products that are conventional, and battered, fried and non-fried specialties.
How many other processing plants does McCain have in the United States and worldwide? McCain has nine plants across the U.S. and over 4,000 employees. Globally, we have 49 production facilities on six continents and nearly 22,000 employees.
How many full- and part-time workers does McCain employ in Wisconsin? McCain has over 1,400 employees in Wisconsin.
Does the plant in Wisconsin specialize in foodstuffs or operations that your other plants don’t? If so, explain. The Plover fry plant has three specialty lines and one mashed potato line other than the two conventional lines. On the specialty lines, the plant makes Smiles/Emojis/ Formed Hash Brown Patties and Tots.
You must be proud of your own history with the company, Morgan. How has your career progressed?
I started with McCain Foods in 2017 as a field representative working with the growers here in Wisconsin. I transitioned into the field manager roll in January of 2022 and have enjoyed the new position. I really enjoy working alongside the growers and collaborating on ways that we can ensure the Plover fry plant has the correct potatoes that we need to be able to make the finished product—French fries!
I believe your dad worked or works for McCain Foods, is that correct?
Left: On Mortenson Bros. Farms of Plainfield, Wisconsin, an early potato crop goes through a Spudnik Air Separator to make sure the spuds are clean for the McCain fry plant in Plover, Wisconsin.
Right: McCain Foods has test fields where the production facility grows around 30 species of potatoes.
And in what position? My dad does not work for McCain, but he does work in the potato industry. Working with my dad while in high school and college allowed me to
be involved in the potato industry and I quickly caught the bug/passion that all potato growers and industry members have around the world.
McCain Foods recently expanded its appetizer plant operations in Plover. Can you give me a few details? McCain is building a new processing line to support our cheese-based appetizers business. This expansion will create over 100 new jobs for the local region.
This is our bagging/packaging issue. What types of bagging/packaging machines does McCain Foods utilize? McCain mainly uses high-speed vertical bagging machines that allow for many different types of bags.
Has technology advanced in this area, and if so, how? Yes, the technology used has greatly increased the speed that our facility
Led by Morgan Forbush, the McCain Foods field department at the Plover fry facility includes, from left to right, Mac Bean, Howie Marceau, Mike Johnson, Alex Chisholm, Morgan, Rodney Stott, Samantha Thompson, and Cody Johnson.
can run, as well as decreased the manual labor done within the plant on the processing and packaging sides of the business.
Is there a large push from customers to go toward biodegradable and
compostable bags? We have made a large push to have more environmentally friendly packaging.
Who are your main customers— wholesales, retailers, other? The Plover fry plant makes a lot of retail
McCain-branded product as well as non-McCain branded retail. Along with retail, the Plover plant makes product for our food service and quick service restaurant customers.
McCain Foods is a WPVGA member. Why is this important for the company to be involved with the grower and Associate Division members? It is important for McCain to be involved in the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association because it allows us to collaborate with not only growers, but also other industry members within our community.
You also sit on our Associate Division Board, Morgan. Why, and what do you hope to get out of that personally and professionally? When I first stepped into the role of field manager, one of my goals was to get more involved in the industry, which includes learning about the companies that growers work side by side with in the Central Sands.
I believe sitting on the Associate Division Board has helped me do that.
I imagine processing in general and the processing plant, tools and machines have advanced greatly over the years. Any insight into what’s new and improved? Two of the improvements that have come to the French fry industry over the last
10 years are the PEF (Pulsed Electric Field, an efficient non-thermal food processing technique using short, high voltage pulses) and higherquality optical sorters.
Both technologies have allowed us
to decrease water usage and labor
Do you enjoy working with the WPVGA grower members and
If so, please expound.
Left: Morgan Forbush shared this image of a freshly planted potato field in the Wisconsin Central Sands.
Right: It’s all part of the process at McCain Foods when potatoes are sorted, and then graded and safely stored.
I do enjoy working with the WPVGA grower and Associate Division members. There is a passion in this industry that you just don’t see in other industries.
bag, no dump”
I really enjoy working with people who do what they love every day, and that is how the WPVGA grower and Associate Division members are.
As part of a Potato Industry Leadership Institute trip to California, McCain Foods Field Manager Morgan Forbush visited a Long Beach container terminal.
What do you hope for the future of McCain and its position in the Wisconsin potato and vegetable growing area, Morgan? For you personally in the future? I hope that we can continue the great collaboration that my predecessor, Kerry Larson, started. Collaboration is the key to success!
I hope to continue to be on the Associate Division Board until my term/terms are up. I see a lot of value added in being able to collaborate with other Associate Division members and growers through the WPVGA.
Is there anything I’ve missed that you’d like to add, Morgan?
Above: Great fries come from great places, such as Upper Knoxford, New Brunswick, Canada, where long-time McCain grower Eugene Antworth and his son, Ethan, are shown harvesting spuds.
Thank you, Joe, for thinking of McCain Foods for the bagging and packaging issue.
SNOWDEN
Farmers will tell you that driving their tractors is a form of church to them, though many are also commonly seen at Saturday evening, Sunday, or weekday worship services.
For one day every year for the past decade and a half, farmers in and around the town of New Hope (between Rosholt and Amherst, Wisconsin) literally drive their tractors to church. And if one had to be honest, it’s one of the most fun and engaging days of service a person can attend.
During the 15th Annual Drive Your
Tractor to Church event, August 14, 2022, hosted by North New Hope Lutheran and Faith Lutheran
were encouraged to bring their own tractors—of the antique, farm, lawn, or even pedal varieties!
The schedule of events included early bird tractor parking and registration; music by The New Hope Hay Balers bluegrass band; a one-hour worship service; a theme basket auction; and lunch provided by Ambrosia Pub & Grill of Amherst.
sandwiches with all the fixings for a cash donation, and kids enjoyed free hot dogs and potato chips, the latter donated by the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association.
Not to be missed were the famous New Hope “church ladies’ [and men’s] pies.” The Sunday school kids also manned a fresh produce stand.
The entire event was held outside, with the projected rain holding off nicely, and people encouraged to bring lawn chairs and enjoy yet more music by the Hay Balers during the worship service.
Proceeds from a free will offering during the service were donated to the local 4-H and FFA chapters, as well as to Breakfast on the Farm and the Wisconsin Farmers Union. The basket auction and free will offerings for the pies help fund the missions of both churches.
Perhaps most beautiful during the
Len Luedtke drove his 1949 John Deere Model A tractor to church, in New Hope, on August 14. The family had sold the tractor he grew up riding to a man who lived in Greenville, Wisconsin. He owned it for about 15 years before Len bought the family heirloom back. “I paid too much for it,” he admits.
event is the theme of the service itself, an offering of thanks to not only the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
but to the farmers who grow our food.
continued on pg. 16
In the words of Pastor Michael Peuse, who presided over the worship service, “We pray today for all the people who work hard to plant and harvest the tasty and nutritious foods we eat and enjoy.”
“The reality is that many of us rarely consider the people who are responsible for harvesting the foods we eat,” Pastor Peuse continued. “We rarely consider the sacrifices that go into our Sunday brunch or Friday night dinner.”
Another thought offered up was, “We fail to stand up for the farm workers laboring in the fields under oppressive heat with little to no shade and precious little water. Bring them to our minds.”
Best of all was the feeling of community and involvement one felt during and after the Drive Your Tractor to Church service, and appreciation for those who work the land to grow our food.
“Drive Your Tractor to Church” Day Celebrates 15 Years.
“We rarely consider the sacrifices that go into our Sunday brunch or Friday night dinner.”
– Pastor Michael Peuse
Many of us recall the 1980s as the era of excess, but it wasn’t always about big hair or loud music. Back
then, manual labor was the norm as packing facilities relied on large numbers of employees to weigh the
contents of each and every bag.
Not only was that process highly labor-intensive, but it was also imprecise. With many bags packed above and beyond their selling weight, facilities were not only absorbing high labor costs, but also giving away a substantial amount of product.
To help respond to that predicament, Volm Companies introduced automated weighing equipment to the North American marketplace.
As packing facilities that embraced the equipment quickly learned, this type of automation was a gamechanger. With reduced waste and
Above: Innovations in packaging include, from left to right, the HiC2 high-clarity, recyclable Code 2 pouch bag; a Bio-CLAF Pillow Pack mesh bag with a large label for branding; and recyclable paper packaging.
less labor, costs immediately shrank while production soared. And those businesses never looked back.
Fast-forward to 2022 and the industry is facing a new series of challenges. This time, packing houses are dealing with rising inflation, labor shortages and shifts in consumer preferences.
But while these challenges may be different from those in the past, the solution is largely the same. Innovation is again helping the industry overcome modern-day hurdles and thrive in a fast-changing economy.
The automation journey has, at times, been complex, but it has also been rewarding. Grading, weighing, bagging, baling, palletizing, and other options add up to a total equipment solution.
Particularly now as many businesses face ongoing labor challenges, technological advancements have provided customers with efficient, reliable, and cost-effective methods of getting their crops from field to fork.
We at Volm believe that these
advancements need to not only continue but accelerate. That is why we are continuing to invest in new research and development to ensure
Above: The Volm Companies headquarters, or head office, is in Antigo, Wisconsin, the heart of the state’s certified seed potato growing area.
continued on pg. 20
are going fast.
Visit with Wayne, Ann, Julie,Sammi, Emily, Mike and Bradytoday to secure the topperforming hybrids. Don’t delay,these seeds are growing fast! www. Jay-Mar.com Plover (715) 341-3445 800-236-2436
of
What’s Next in Packaging Innovation?. . . continued from pg. 19
packing facilities can become more automated, efficient, and productive.
As part of these efforts, Volm is gearing up to launch a new software solution that will provide metrics for an entire production line.
This latest advancement will provide a bird’s-eye view of output as a whole and is one more way for packing facilities to become data driven. This, in turn, will help maximize output and efficiency, allowing customers to get to that next level of automation.
Innovation, however, doesn’t stop at equipment. In fact, there are many packaging solutions that are responding to changing consumer habits.
One example of this is the pouch bag. Given the way it attractively showcases product in a store setting, this style of bag has emerged as an increasingly popular option.
If it’s gaining in popularity, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise. In fact, one should never underestimate the impact smart packaging can have.
Case in point, when one customer switched out their usual bag style
for a pillow pack, they noticed an immediate difference. Their new mesh bag with a large label for additional branding created a much more attractive product, and sales subsequently surged.
But shifts in the marketplace are
about more than just good looks. Increasingly, careful consideration is being given to the sustainability of products. Packaging providers must show strong leadership in this area as we continue to introduce new products.
Volm has a long history of bringing sustainable products to market. Our multiple paper options, for example, are recyclable and capable of running on a wide range of machines, both old and new.
Ultratech mesh is lightweight, delivers a high strength-to-weight ratio, reduces shipping costs, and requires less space for storage.
Compostable netting and lightweight nets use fewer raw materials to produce. And biodegradable bag closures contain 100% U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified, bio-based content while still offering the range of color, shape, and size options that customers have come to expect.
Looking ahead in our packaging innovation journey, we’re also excited about the launch of HiC2, a high-
Volm Companies was instrumental in introducing automated weighing equipment such as the Volmpack weigher and wicket bagger to the North American marketplace.clarity, recyclable Code 2 pouch bag.
Traditionally, pouch bags were not eligible to be recycled because of the way they were constructed. But given recent technological enhancements, this pouch bag will be recyclable while still maintaining its best assets.
Rigidity, clarity, and a zipper option for sealing will remain strong selling features, not to mention the fact that the pouch bag is made in the United States.
All in all, this is an exciting new development that marries a top trend in packaging with the need to be more eco-friendly, so stay tuned for more details.
Don’t be fooled by false advertising when it comes to being recyclable or compostable. When making a packaging selection, it’s important to make sure that the product has the required certification.
Before introducing a new offering into the market, Volm takes the time and care required to make sure it’s been tested, trialed, and certified before we make any claims.
Conducting this type of due diligence ensures that the product is living up to the required compostable or recyclability standards and that it’s not simply providing lip service to the demands of retailers and consumers.
And since we’re talking about retail, we cannot ignore the issue of inflation. From the grocery store to the gas station, rising prices have had a significant impact on the cost of living, as well as the cost of doing business.
Because of these pressures, keeping costs down remains top of mind. To mitigate the impacts as we continue to innovate, we at Volm are making every effort to ensure our own production facilities are run as efficiently as possible so that we can
continue to pass on those savings.
While we can’t change the overall spike in the cost of goods, we can continuously leverage our strong strategic partnerships and strengthen our efforts to source competitively.
All these efforts ensure we can continue to provide the best value for our customers no matter what
happens in the global economy. The path to progress sometimes takes unexpected turns, but the important thing is that we continue to push forward. At Volm, we’re looking forward to continuing with our industry’s rich tradition of promoting innovative change—innovation that will continue this decade and beyond.
“Innovation is again helping the industry overcome modern-day hurdles and thrive in a fast-changing economy.”
– Wayne DeCou, sales director, equipment and engineered solutions, Volm Companies
Central Wisconsin Farmers Collaborative invites guests to Hay Meadow Creek watershed
On August 19, the Central Wisconsin Farmers Collaborative Producer-Led Watershed Protection Group hosted
an educational field tour of the Hay Meadow Creek watershed in Portage County.
Above: The Central Wisconsin Farmers Collaborative Producer-Led Watershed Protection Group hosted an educational field tour, August 19, of the Hay Meadow Creek watershed in Portage County.
Wisconsin Wetlands Association Executive Director Tracy Hames talked about how water moves through agricultural landscapes and how farmers and landowners are protecting and maintaining the health of their waters and watersheds.
Wisconsin Wetlands Association Executive Director Tracy Hames talked about how water moves through agricultural landscapes and how farmers and landowners are protecting and maintaining the health of their waters and watersheds.
Hames also explained how to apply simple on-farm wetland and water management practices to slow the flow of runoff, improve water quality, reduce soil loss and erosion, and promote the overall health of the watershed.
Hames described how upper watershed wetlands and floodplains help manage water movement and improve water quality.
Tracy Hames (fourth from right, pointing), executive director of the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, explains how watersheds work during the Central Wisconsin Farmers Collaborative Field Day in Hay Meadow Creek. Hames described how upper watershed wetlands and floodplains help manage water movement and improve water quality.
Titan Machinery Inc., a leading network of full-service agricultural and construction equipment stores, announces the strategic acquisition of Heartland AG Systems, Heartland Solutions, and related affiliates for an aggregate $110 million.
Heartland AG Systems is the largest Case IH application equipment distributorship in North America, providing application-focused solutions for commercial applicators. The acquisition forms the largest and most capable farm, application, and construction equipment dealer group in the industry. A press release announcing the acquisition was issued on July 11, with an expected closing date of early August.
Day-to-day business will not change, and the Heartland AG Systems brand will remain committed to continuing industry-leading, application-focused product sales and service.
Heartland AG Systems has been the most focused application equipment distributor in the industry. Since 1965, the company has been committed to one thing: customers’ application business.
In 2019, Heartland Ag and AG Systems merged to form the largest Case IH commercial application dealership in North America. In 2021, Ag West Distributing was acquired to create a footprint across 17 states.
In addition to selling a complete line of application equipment for more than 50 years, Heartland AG Systems has also been a manufacturer of dry and liquid fertilizer handling equipment.
Heartland
Systems
trailers,
Titan Machinery has roots spanning over four generations and operates 73 Case IH agriculture, New Holland and Case construction stores in a core footprint that includes Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.
Titan serves its customers with a strong commitment to parts and service support. Not only is Titan Machinery Case IH’s largest dealer, but also its biggest dealer in sales and support of self-propelled sprayers to the farm/ranch segment.
In addition, Titan Machinery has over five decades of experience working with and supporting commercial application customers with the Case IH Steiger Tractor product.
Both companies have been
successful and experienced growth in recent years, investing in people, technologies, and facilities. They intend to continue investing in people, facility, tool and vehicle resources to best serve customers well into the future.
Benefits of the acquisition:
• Increased inventory of parts and equipment with more locations to better serve customers
• Can now facilitate a full line of agricultural equipment, including tractors, wheel loaders, forklifts, etc.
• Provides the most convenient, capable, and efficient customer support footprint in the upper Midwest, with over 700 qualified
technicians throughout 79 Heartland AG Systems and core Titan Machinery locations
Titan locations are currently stocked with parts for Case IH Patriot sprayers and Tridents.
Moving forward, the plan is to include parts for Case IH Floaters, RBR, Salford, New Leader, and the Heartland AG Systems manufactured products.
More information on the Titan Machinery acquisition of Heartland AG Systems can be found at www.heartlandag.com or www.titanmachinery.com.
If you have any questions, please call the Hutchinson, Minnesota, office at 320-587-4030.
Board meeting held at Glacier Wood Golf Club before players hit the course
On August 23, 2022, an annual tradition continued as the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) held its Past Presidents Golf Tournament at Glacier Wood Golf Club in Iola, Wisconsin.
Though current WPVGA Board President Alex Okray chose the course this year, as is tradition, he was unable to attend with the busy harvest season underway. The annual tournament honors the current and past presidents of the WPVGA Board of Directors, who often invite their spouses and family members. The event is a good opportunity for the potato and vegetable growers to catch up and have some fun.
In addition to other WPVGA members who joined in, the past presidents participating in the golf tournament included Larry Alsum of Alsum Farms & Produce, Mark Finnessy from Okray Family Farms and Bob Guenthner of Guenthner Potato Company.
A day that began with a WPVGA
Board meeting continued with a four-person scramble golf outing and ended with dinner at the course and anticipation of playing another round in 2023.
Past WPVGA Board presidents participating in the golf tournament included, from left to right, Mark Finnessy of Okray Family Farms, Bob Guenthner from Guenthner Potato Company, and Larry Alsum of Alsum Farms & Produce.
Above: WPVGA Board Vice President Randy Fleishauer of Plover River Farms hits a solid chip shot during the Past Presidents Golf Outing.
Above: While Shannon Finnessy (left) putts, her teammates, WPVGA Executive Director Tamas Houlihan (center) and Randy Fleishauer of Plover River Farms, wait their turns.
WPVGA bumps up meeting a year to zero in on areas of scientific urgency
“We have a very compressed day today,” began Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) Executive Director Tamas Houlihan. “We didn’t want to take a whole day away from growers, some of whom are harvesting, but we have some new emerging issues.”
“We typically hold the Research Summit every five years,” Houlihan noted, “but we moved it up a year.”
The WPVGA Research Summit, held August 17 at the Farm Operations Technology and Training Center of Heartland Farms in Hancock, Wisconsin, is an every-five-year gathering of University of Wisconsin (UW) scientists, professors, retired researchers, potato and vegetable growers, and association members
and staff.
The goal of the summit is to identify research priorities and areas of urgency at a local and then national level.
“So, if there are primary issues that
During the WPVGA Research Summit, August 17, Dr. Russ Groves (right) asks his fellow researchers and potato and vegetable growers to identify and rank scientific priorities. From left to right are Professors Emeritus Larry Binning and Walt Stevenson, and WPVGA grower members Corey Kincaid and Dennis Zeloski.
are being unrepresented,” explained Dr. Russell L. Groves, UW-Madison Department of Entomology, “we want to pinpoint them and think about large, challenging questions facing our industry, whether regionally or nationally.”
“Every year, the Research Committee prioritizes assessments, so an outcome today will be a renumeration of those to see what will come out from our conversations,” Groves added.
“If you think insect pest management is falling short, taking my own area as an example, or there are underrepresented directions, we want to get it down on paper and identify them,” he concluded.
Prior to the Research Summit, Houlihan had surveys sent to WPVGA member potato and vegetable
growers asking them to rank research priorities. The rankings identify 13 categories grower members pinpointed. The 2018 survey did not include some of these topics, so a few were added, with some being placed in an “other” category.
The 13 topics are: Soil Health; Potato Breeding; Variety Development; Disease Management; Insect Management; Weed Management; Potato and Vegetable Production; Seed Production and Certification; UW-College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and UW-Extension Restructuring; Water Research; Sustainability/Healthy Grown/ Regenerative Ag; Storage Research; and Other Topics.
With 22 researchers, growers and WPVGA members in the room and another eight on a Zoom conference call, there were plenty of ideas, opportunities, challenges, and
priorities shared for each topic, with the end result being the start of a gameplan for the next five years of research.
With the information gathered and areas of concentration identified, a more inclusive roadmap to research priorities and a solid scientific plan can be developed and implemented for the next few years and beyond.
Dr. Jeff Endelman (left) stresses a point during the WPVGA Research Summit, August 17, held in the Farm Operations Technology and Training Center of Heartland Farms in Hancock, Wisconsin.
The University of Wisconsin (UW)Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) is proud to announce the selections for its 2022 Honorary Recognition, Distinguished Alumni, and Distinguished Service Awards.
CALS will present the Honorary Recognition Award to Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) members Andy and Steve Diercks of Coloma Farms, Liz Henry and George Siemon; its Distinguished Service Award to Richard Straub; and its Distinguished Alumni Award to Barry Jacobsen and Jenny Scott.
These are the highest honors bestowed by the college. The Honorary Recognition Award, now in its 112th year, recognizes
communities, and the university.
The Distinguished Service Award, first
members. The Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement and service by college graduates, was established in 2009. The awards will be presented at the CALS Honorary Recognition Banquet on Thursday, October 13, in Union South. For more information and to register for the event, visit www.cals. wisc.edu/honorary/.
Father and son duo Steve and Andy Diercks have had a significant impact on Wisconsin agriculture, CALS, the state, and the nation for over 50 years, having held leadership roles in local, college, state, and national agricultural organizations.
They are among the state’s leading potato growers and have put into practice some of the most modern production systems on their farm. The Diercks have worked closely with faculty, staff, and students from UW-Madison across a range of CALS departments and have supported research and outreach efforts in CALS
Extension.
Diercks family led the effort
establish the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Storage Research Facility at the UW-Madison Hancock Agricultural Research Station,
they were critical to the establishment of the Wisconsin Potato Industry
Graduate Fellowship
UW Foundation
Potato Industry Donor Advised Fund.
They have served on the National Potato Board (now Potatoes USA)
represented Wisconsin in many important initiatives at the national level.
Andy currently serves on the CALS Board of Visitors and has been a college representative for the Council for Agriculture Research, Extension and Teaching.
Congratulations to Andy and Steve, as well as to all the awardees, namely Liz, George, Richard, Barry, and Jenny.
Nathan Bender, a 16-year agribusiness veteran and co-founder of baby potato category leader Tasteful Selections®, has assumed the role of president at the organization he helped establish in 2010.
Nathan, the Tasteful Selections chief operating officer (COO) since January 2019, will succeed his father, Bob Bender, as president. Bob will remain with Tasteful Selections as chief executive officer (CEO).
As part of Tasteful Selections’ comprehensive succession plan, when Bob steps down as CEO in 2023, he will remain on the Board of Directors. Bob will also oversee special projects in addition to commencing an advisory role.
“I have every confidence that Nathan’s vision will take us to new levels,” Bob says. “Since day one, Nathan has worked tirelessly to help build the company from the ground up.”
The Benders are Nebraska natives. Nathan earned a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness from the University of Nebraska. In 2004, Bob relocated from the Cornhusker state to California’s San Joaquin Valley. In 2007, Nathan joined his father in starting the baby potato operation.
Tasteful Selections has grown to more than 22,000 baby potato acres from its 250-acre humble beginnings. The
baby potatoes are grown in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California. Red, gold, and purple offerings are packed and distributed in Arvin, California, near Bakersfield.
Prior to becoming COO, Nathan served as plant manager, director of plant operations and vice president of plant operations for Tasteful Selections.
In his new role, Nathan will be transitioning to have full company oversight of all day-to-day activities.
Can pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) irradiation be used to control pink rot, pythium leak, and late blight?
By Amanda Gevens, chair, professor and extension specialist, and Shane Hansen, Ph.D. student, University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Department of Plant Pathology
We also gratefully acknowledge our collaborators, Stephen Jordan, Monica Chen, Madalyn Frank, Afona Irabor, Matthew Pereyra, Olee Lam, and Julia Wild.
Potato post-harvest storage diseases, especially those caused by oomycete or water mold pathogens, can cause substantial product loss and are notoriously challenging to control.
Treatment options are limited, with heavy restrictions on pesticides being applied directly onto fresh produce. Fungicides with single-site modes of action can lose efficacy over time as pathogens develop resistance. There is a need for effective, sustainable, and non-chemical treatment alternatives.
We evaluated pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) irradiation as a treatment method on potato tubers to control pink rot, pythium leak, and late blight storage diseases, caused by Phytophthora erythroseptica, Pythium ultimum and Phytophthora infestans, respectively, (Figure 1).
In our initial work with ultraviolet treatment strategies, we found that non-pigmented or colorless pathogen structures were best controlled.
Pathogens with pigment including the silver scurf pathogen (Helminthosporium solani), which
Figure 1. A) The potato storage research facility (SRF) is shown at the University of Wisconsin Hancock Agricultural Research Station; B) Illustrated is a Xenon Model X-1100 pulsed light system with LH-912 lamp housing and LC-912 sample chamber; and C) An air flow system and storage bins are pictured here in a temperature and humidity-controlled pathology locker at the SRF.
in part protects the structures from light, are more resistant to ultraviolet treatments.
We also assessed PX-UV for potential deleterious effects on tuber quality.
During 2021-2022, inoculated and non-inoculated storage trials were conducted with Dark Red Norland (DRN), Russet Burbank (RB), and Snowden (SN) potato cultivars.
In brief summary, pulsed Xenon irradiation:
• Offered significant control of P. erythroseptica and Pythium ultimum, but not of P. infestans
continued on pg. 32
Figure 2: This is an example of disease outcomes from one of the replicates in the pink rot disease trial exploring PX-UV irradiation on potato tubers of Dark Red Norland, Russet Burbank, and Snowden cultivars. Tubers were inoculated and stored at 55 degrees Fahrenheit with 95% relative humidity for 28 days.
• Had no impact on sugar content or fry quality of potato tubers
• Had no impact on germination of potato tubers
Overall, PX-UV or Xenon is a
promising tool for reducing potato diseases caused by oomycete pathogens. The treatment reduced the incidence of pink rot by approximately 22-54% across all potato cultivars tested, including Snowden, Dark Red Norland, and
Figure 3: Illustrated is the percent of disease incidence on tubers after PX-UV or xenon treatment on three potato cultivars. Tubers for the late blight, pink rot, and pythium leak storage trials were inoculated, treated, and stored at 55 degrees and 95% relative humidity for 35, 28, and 21 days, respectively, prior to evaluation.
Russet Burbank (Figures 2 & 3)
PX-UV irradiation reduced the incidence of Pythium leak by 22-33% for Dark Red Norland and Russet Burbank potato tubers. There was no significant reduction of Pythium leak for Snowden in our work, but there was low incidence of the disease overall. The treatment did not significantly reduce the incidence of late blight.
Tuber glucose and sucrose content did not significantly differ for Russet Burbank and Dark Red Norland (Figure 4).
Subsequent fry and chip color tests showed no differences between the PX-UV treated and non-treated tubers. Specific gravities for all cultivars did not differ across PX-UV treatments (Figure 4).
results indicated that there
Figure 4: Sugar content and specific gravity of tubers are shown after PX-UV treatment on three potato cultivars. Tubers were treated and stored for 30 days at 95% relative humidity and 55 degrees for Russet Burbank and Snowden varieties, and at 38 degrees for Dark Red Norland.
was no impact on quality or marketability of tubers after exposure to PX-UV, a necessary outcome for implementation of this technology in
on pg. 34
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PX-UV did not have an impact on germination of the tubers (Figure 5). By weeks 3 and 4, all tubers had sprouts longer than 5
This indicates that the PX-UV technology could be used in potato seed as well as commercial production systems.
are continuing to evaluate the effectiveness of ultraviolet strategies
Figure 5: Shown are the germination impacts of PX-UV on three potato cultivars within three to four weeks after warming them to 72 degrees.
to manage disease in potato with a goal of developing an approach for commercial application in the near term.
We appreciate the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, the staff at the Hancock Agricultural Research Station, including Troy Fishler, Amber Walker, and Paul Sytsma, and our industry collaborators.
Thanks to Wesley LaPorte for sharing his expertise on UVC (ultraviolet C) sanitation. Further thanks to Gary Hansen and the Gevens UW Vegetable Pathology Lab for their help in conducting this trial.
research was funded by a Wisconsin Specialty Crop Block Grant.
OMERNIK & ASSOCIATES INC
MICHAEL OMERNIK
PLOVER, WI (715) 341-9036 mike@accounting-offices.com www.accounting-offices.com
AGRICAIR FLYING SERVICE INC
JIM PERRIN
BANCROFT, WI (715) 335-4470 agricair@uniontel.net www.agricairflyingservice.com
CURT MEISTER PLOVER, WI (715) 341-9393 office@reabesprayingservice.com www.reabesprayingservice.com
AGRI-PEST CONSULTING INC TIM GROSS MILTON, WI (608) 208-5049 agripest89@gmail.com
ALLIED COOPERATIVE
MATT SELENSKE
ADAMS, WI (608) 339-3394 info@allied.coop www.allied.coop
DANIEL EHR
APPLETON, WI (920) 739-3392 daniel.ehr@bakertilly.com www.bakertilly.com
CLA (CLIFTON LARSON ALLEN LLP)
JIM HALVORSEN
MARSHFIELD, WI (715) 221-3037 jim.halvorsen@claconnect.com www.claconnect.com
JOSHUA KAUFMAN
EDGERTON, WI (608) 931-0257 jkaufman@crop-search.com www.humland@crop-search.com
DEVERON CORP
AARON BREIMER
CHATHAM, ON, CANADA (519) 401-0264 abreimer@deveron.com www.deveronuas.com
ELLINGSON COMPANIES
SIMONE STEISKAL WEST CONCORD, MN (507) 969-9919 ssteiskal@ellingsoncompanies.com www.EllingsonCompanies.com
FOCUS ON ENERGY
LAURA LANE
CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI (888) 623-2146 business@focusonenergy.com www.focusonenergy.com/agribusiness
MOERKERKE CONSULTING
BOB MOERKERKE
CORNELIUS, OR (715) 360-7975 bob.moerkerke@gmail.com
NELSON'S VEGETABLE STORAGE SYSTEMS
HOLLY NELSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6660 holly@nelsonsveg.com
PESHTIGO NATIONAL BANK MICHAEL JAJE PESTIGO, WI (715) 582-4512 mjaje@peshtigobank.com www.pnbwi.com
POSSIBILITIES UNLIMITED
ELLIE WOMELDORF MARSHFIELD, WI (715) 281-1743 ellie_womeldorf@yahoo.com
PROVISION ANALYTICS
DANA SLAGLE
CALGARY, AB, CANADA (720) 492-5885 dana.slagle@provision.io www.provision.io
ROCK RIVER LABORATORY INC
BUFFY UGLOW
WATERTOWN, WI (920) 261-0446 buffy_uglow@rockriverlab.com www.rockriverlab.com
SYNAGRO LLC
MATTHEW MIELKE
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-1866 mmielke@synagro.com www.synagro.com
VAS AGSOURCE LABORATORIES
CHRIS CLARK BONDUEL, WI (715) 758-2178 chris.clark@vas.com www.vas.com
AG INSPECTION
AG WORLD SUPPORT SYSTEMS LLC
BRYAN HENNINGER
MOSES LAKE, WA (509) 765-0698 bhenninger@aginspections.com www.aginspections.com
A & L GREAT LAKES LABORATORIES INC
DAVID HENRY
FORT WAYNE, IN (260) 483-4759 dhenry@algreatlakes.com www.algreatlakes.com
FOX PACKAGING AND FOX SOLUTIONS
VICTORIA LOPEZ MC ALLEN, TX (956) 682-6176 victoria.lopez@foxbag.com www.foxbag.com
BRIAN KRUSKO
BARABOO, WI (608) 356-2244 sales@glacierv.com www.glacierv.com
THORPACK LLC
MARTIN KOLPACK
BRYANT, WI (715) 627-7333 mkolpack@thorpack.com www.thorpack.com
MARSHA POZZA
ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4826 marsha.pozza@volmcompanies.com www.volmcompanies.com
JAY WARNER
PLOVER, WI (715) 341-8563 jay.warner@warnerpackaging.com www.warnerpackaging.com
BROEKEMA BELTWAY USA INC
JEFF EILERS
PINE CITY, MN (320) 629-3900 jeff.eilers@broekema.us www.broekemabeltway.com
BAYER CROP SCIENCE
KYLEEN BREMER WAUPACA, WI (715) 467-7695 kyleen.bremer@bayer.com www.bayer.com
BECKY HECK
BARNEVELD, WI (715) 450-1291 bheck@gowanco.com www.gowanco.com
SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION
KEN CLEVELAND
MARATHON, WI (608) 642-3717 ken.cleveland@syngenta.com www.syngenta-us.com
1,4GROUP INC
JOHN BERGMAN
FARGO, ND (701) 261-0289 jbergman@14group.com www.14group.com
ALBAUGH, LLC
KEITH MILLER
TROY, IL (314) 306-7444 keithm@albaughllc.com www.albaughllc.com
ALLEN SUPPLY COMPANY INC
JASON ALLEN
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 341-7635 jason.allen@allensc.com
ALLIED COOPERATIVE
MATT SELENSKE
ADAMS, WI
(608) 339-3394 info@allied.coop www.allied.coop
AMVAC CHEMICAL CORP
RALPH FREDERICK DULUTH, MN (218) 340-1609 ralphf@amvac.com www.amvac.com
BASF
JUSTIN TUSS
APPLETON, WI (920) 570-2686 justin.tuss@basf.com
CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE
ROBERT HAUS
JOHNSTON, IA (515) 535-6290 robert.j.haus@corteva.com www.corteva.com
BRIAN MADIGAN
BRILLION, WI (920) 754-4320 bmadigan@cvcoop.com www.countryvisionscoop.com
GREENLIGHT BIOSCIENCES
CATIE LEE
MEDFORD, MA (888) 262-0893 clee@greenlightbio.com www.greenlightbio.com
HELIAE
MARK IMMEL
PESHTIGO, WI (715) 923-5550 mimmel@heliae.com www,PhycoTerra.com
HYDRITE
DARIN SNAZA
BROOKFIELD, WI (262) 792-1450 darin.snaza@hydrite.com www.hydrite.com
ICL
JUDSON MOORE
GARRETSON, SD (800) 492-8255 judson.moore@icl-group.com www.icl-sf.com/us
INSIGHT FS
MIKE DAILEY
ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4844 mdailey@insightfs.com www.insightfs.com
JAY-MAR INC
TONY GRAPSAS PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com
NACHURS
SIMON LARSON BELOIT, WI (800) 622-4877 silarson@nachurs.com www.nachurs.com
NATURE'S SOURCE
TOM BALLINGER
ONALASKA, WI (507) 273-4095 tballinger@ns-pf.com www.naturessourceplantfood.com
NICHINO AMERICA INC
CAROL MAYR WILMINGTON, DE (302) 476-8402 cmayr@nichino.net www.nichino.net
NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS
JIM BEACH BELOIT, WI (970) 518-2685 jim.beach@nutrien.com
ORO AGRI INC
KEVIN BOEHM DANE, WI (608) 697-5949 kevin.boehm@oroagri.rovensa.com www.oroagriusa.com
T H AGRI-CHEMICALS INC
ROBERT ZIMPEL PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6343 thag@thagrichemicals.com www.thagrichemicals.com
TELEOS AG SOLUTIONS
MELODY CRISP HAMLET, NC (833) 679-1942 mcrisp@teleosagsolutions.com www.teleosag.com
TRIEST AG GROUP INC
LAUREN ROBERSON GREENVILLE, NC (844) 878-5178 lroberson@triestag.com www.triestag.com
UPL NA INC
RUSSELL GIBSON WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN (309) 207-2580 russell.gibson@upl-ltd.com www.upl-ltd.com
VALENT USA LLC
BRAD GUNNINK
SUN PRAIRIE, WI (608) 213-7309 brad.gunnink@valent.com www.valent.com
VIVE CROP PROTECTION
ROB VINCENT
MISSISSUAGA, ON, CANADA (416) 260-8889 rvincent@vivecrop.com www.vivecrop.com
WILBUR-ELLIS COMPANY LLC
KURT DEPORTER
ALMOND, WI (715) 366-2500 kdeporte@wilburellis.com www.wilburellis.com
WINFIELD UNITED
JOE NAGEL STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 347-0411 janagel@landolakes.com www.winfieldunited.com
COMMUNICATION
FOX VALLEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE NICHOLAS SCHNEIDER APPLETON, WI (920) 831-4369 schneidn@fvtc.edu www.fvtc.edu
UNITED POTATO GROWERS COOP OF WI
DANA RADY
ANTIGO, WI (715) 623-7683 drady0409@gmail.com www.unitedpotatousa.com
ALTMANN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY INC
TAMMY MEYERS
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-2550 altmann@altmannconstruction.com www.altmannconstruction.com
CENTRAL DOOR SOLUTIONS
CHRIS BROOKS PLOVER, WI (715) 342-4153 cbrooks@centraldoorsolutions.com www.centraldoorsolutions.com
COUNTY MATERIALS CORPORATION
SCOTT BEHNKE MARATHON, WI (715) 870-4654 scott.behnke@countymaterials.com www.countymaterials.com
KELLER INC
KATIE BAUKNECHT
KAUKAUNA, WI (920) 759-3335 kbauknecht@kellerbuilds.com www.kellerbuilds.com
M.P.B. BUILDERS INC
DOYLE POKORNY
RIPON, WI (920) 748-2601 doyle@mpbbuilders.com www.mpbbuilders.com
MCGOWAN RICE INC
MARK RICE BOISE, ID (208) 863-7242 mrice@mcgowanrice.com www.mcgowanrice.com
MIDLAND GARAGE DOOR MFG CO
DOUG LARSON
WEST FARGO, ND (701) 282-8136 dougl@midlandgaragedoor.com www.midlandgaragedoor.com
RHINEHART METAL BUILDINGS INC
CHAD RHINEHART
ADAMS, WI (608) 339-9109 chadr@rhinehartmetalbuildings.com www.rhinehartmetalbuildingsinc.com
K&S FUEL INJECTION INC
JASON MAKI
WESTON, WI (715) 359-1000 jmaki@ksfuel.com www.ksfuel.com
ADAMS-COLUMBIA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
JEREMY HUHNSTOCK
FRIENDSHIP, WI (608) 339-5428 jhuhnstock@acecwi.com www.acecwi.com
MOTORS AND CONTROLS OF WI LLC
KEVIN KONOPACKY PLOVER, WI (715) 344-0010 sales@macowi.com www.macowi.com
LINCOLN FINANCIAL AGRIBUSINESS SERVICES
ART LITTLEFIELD
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LINCOLN FINANCIAL AGRIBUSINESS SERVICES
ART LITTLEFIELD
NAPERVILLE, IL (630) 408-0110 art.littlefield@lfg.com www.lincolnagservices.com
VISTA FINANCIAL STRATEGIES LLC
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APPLETON, WI (920) 731-4572 scott@vistafinancialstrategies.com www.vistafinancialstrategies.com
FARM EQUIPMENT
CROP IMS LLC
BARRY BEWLEY
EFFINGHAM, IL (217) 342-5063 bbewley@cropims.com www.cropims.com
EDNEY DISTRIBUTING CO, INC
MARISSA SHAFFER
LAKEVILLE, MN (888) 443-3639 marissas@edneyco.com www.edneyco.com
LEMKEN USA
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LANGFORD, SD (507) 951-2494 j.halbert@lemken.com www.lemken.com
PICKETT EQUIPMENT
BRADY OLSON BURLEY, ID (208) 678-0855 bolson@pickettequipment.com www.pickettequipment.com
QUINLAN'S EQUIPMENT INC
TOM QUINLAN
ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4331 info@quinlansequipment.com www.quinlansequipment.com
RIB FALLS REPAIR
ROY THORNE
ATHENS, WI (715) 257-0001 michael@ribfallsrepair.com www.ribfallsrepair.com
RIESTERER & SCHNELL INC
HEATHER RIPP
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SAND COUNTY EQUIPMENT
PAUL CIESLEWICZ paul@sandcountyequipment.com
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SERVICE MOTOR COMPANY
DEVYN VAN CAMP STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 592-4111 devyn.vancamp@servicemotor.com www.servicemotor.com
SWIDERSKI EQUIPMENT INC
MELISSA HEISE MOSINEE, WI (715) 693-3015 mheise@sei247.com www.swiderskiequipment.com
UNIFIRST CORPORATION
BENJAMIN RAKOW NEENAH, WI (920) 721-1217 benjamin_rakow@unifirst.com www.unifirst.com
VANTAGE NORTH CENTRAL INC
SEAN TIMM PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-4474 sean@vantage-northcentral.com www.vantage-northcentral.com
FERTILIZERS
BIO-GRO INC
BRUCE ANDERSEN CEDAR GROVE, WI (608) 354-1123 bruce@biogro.com www.biogro.com
MILK SOURCE LLC
AVI STERN FREEDOM, WI (920) 759-4673 astern@milksource.net www.milksource.com
T I P INC
STEVE TATRO CUSTER, WI (715) 592-4650 tip@tipinc.net www.tipinc.net
FERTILIZERS - CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC
FARM FIXATION LLC
MARK J KLISH MOSINEE, WI (715) 347-0545 mark@farmfixation.com www.farmfixation.com
FINANCIAL
ABBYBANK
NATALYN JANNENE ABBOTSFORD, WI (715) 223-2345 marketing@abbybank.com www.abbybank.com
AGCOUNTRY FARM CREDIT SERVICES
MARK GROHOLSKI
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 800-7618 mark.groholski@agcountry.com www.agcountry.com
BMO HARRIS BANK PAUL SALM ALTOONA, WI (715) 726-0718 paul.salm@bmo.com www.bmoharris.com
CLA (CLIFTON LARSON ALLEN LLP)
JIM HALVORSEN MARSHFIELD, WI (715) 221-3037 jim.halvorsen@claconnect.com www.claconnect.com
COMPEER FINANCIAL CATHY SCHOMMER PRAIRIE DU SAC, WI (608) 370-6792 cathy.schommer@compeer.com www.compeer.com
COVANTAGE CREDIT UNION
JULIE BOHR WAUSAU, WI (715) 627-4336 julie.bohr@covantagecu.org www.covantagecu.org
FIRST STATE BANK RICHARD WILCOX STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 214-5368 rwilcox@bankfirststate.com www.bankfirststate.com
INCREDIBLE BANK
ROB WYMAN WESTON, WI (715) 584-4203 rwyman@incrediblebank.com www.incrediblebank.com
METLIFE INVESTMENT MGMT AG FINANCE
TROY FISCHER ROCKFORD, IL (815) 234-2600 tfischer@metlife.com www.metlife.com/ag
NICOLET NATIONAL BANK
CRAIG ROGAN STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 254-3450 crogan@nicoletbank.com www.nicoletbank.com
NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL
BRIAN D BLINK
ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-2865 brian.blink@nm.com www.brianblink.nm.com
PREVAIL BANK
DALE SANKEY
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 254-0596 dsankey@prevail.bank www.prevail.bank
THE PORTAGE COUNTY BANK
JEFF ZWIEFELHOFER
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 341-8808 jeff@portagecountybank.com www.portagecountybank.com
VISTA FINANCIAL STRATEGIES LLC
SCOTT D SCHEER
APPLETON, WI (920) 731-4572 scott@vistafinancialstrategies.com www.vistafinancialstrategies.com
FOOD SAFETY CONSULTANT
QAFS INNOVATION LLC
CHARILE GALLENBERG
BUENA VISTA, CO (970) 630-5830 cgallenberg1@aol.com
CONDON OIL COMPANY
MARK BELAU
RIPON, WI (800) 452-1212 mbelau@condoncompanies.com www.condoncompanies.com
FENCIL URETHANE SYSTEMS INC
NICK LAUDENBACH
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 424-4200 nick@fencilurethane.com www.fencilurethane.com
AGCOUNTRY FARM CREDIT SERVICES
MARK GROHOLSKI
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 800-7618 mark.groholski@agcountry.com www.agcountry.com
C & D PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE SERVICES LLC
DAVE LOKEN
SALLY SUPRISE sesuprise@ruralins.com
WAUPACA, WI (715) 258-8830 dploken@ruralins.com
COMPASS INSURANCE SERVICES
JUSTIN YACH
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 303-3679 justin.yach@compassinsurance.net www.compassinsurance.net
continued on pg. 42
COMPEER FINANCIAL
CATHY SCHOMMER
PRAIRIE DU SAC, WI (608) 370-6792 cathy.schommer@compeer.com www.compeer.com
FAMILY INSURANCE CENTER
ERIC GREENING
ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4302 egreening@mccormickklessig.com www.familyinsctr.com
M3 INSURANCE
JEN PINO-GALLAGHER MADISON, WI (608) 273-0655 jen.pinogallagher@m3ins.com www.m3ins.com
MT. MORRIS MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
DANIEL FENSKE COLOMA, WI (715) 228-5541 melissa@mtmorrisins.com www.mtmorrisins.com
OKRAY INSURANCE AGENCY LLC
KYLE OKRAY PLOVER, WI (715) 335-4549 kyle@okrayins.com www.okrayins.com
PROGRESSIVE AG
RAY GRABANSKI FARGO, ND (701) 277-9210 rlg@progressiveag.com www.progressiveag.com
R & R INSURANCE
ANDREW CURRAN
APPPLETON, WI (920) 931-3265 andrew.curran@rrins.com www.myknowledgebroker.com
RURAL MUTUAL INSURANCE CO
MICHAEL LUBAHN MADISON, WI (608) 828-5591 mlubahn@ruralins.com www.ruralins.com
SECURA INSURANCE
DAVE SCHLICHTING NEENAH, WI (920) 830-4394 dave_schlichting@secura.net www.secura.net
THZ INSURANCE GROUP RYAN CHAMBERS SEYMOUR, WI (920) 833-6871 rchambers@thzins.com www.thzinsurance.com
VINE VEST NORTH INC
CHAD GLAZE WAUSAU, WI (715) 675-1829 chad@vinevestnorth.com www.vinevestnorth.com
VISTA FINANCIAL STRATEGIES LLC SCOTT D SCHEER APPLETON, WI (920) 731-4572 scott@vistafinancialstrategies.com www.vistafinancialstrategies.com
ZINDA INSURANCE GROUP-RURAL MUTUAL INSURANCE JENNIFER ZINDA-MANCL STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 341-5808 jzinda@ruralins.com www.ruralmutual.com/agent/jennifer
INSURANCE - LIFE, DISABILITY, LONGTERM CARE NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL BRIAN D BLINK ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-2865 brian.blink@nm.com www.brianblink.nm.com
HORTAU INC
CODY JONES
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA (920) 246-9130 cjones@hortau.com www.hortau.com
NORTH CENTRAL IRRIGATION INC
SCOTT POLZIN PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6368 scott@valleynci.com www.valleynci.com
OASIS IRRIGATION INC
KATHY JO KNUTSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-8300 kathyknutson@tcpenguin.net
REINKE MANUFACTURING CO INC
VERN HINNENKAMP SAUK CENTRE, MN (402) 365-7251
vernhinnenkamp@reinke.com www.reinke.com
ROBERTS IRRIGATION CO INC
RICH ANDERSON PLOVER, WI (715) 344-4747 randerson@robertsirrigation.com www.robertsirrigation.com
SENTEK TECHNOLOGIES
SEAN PULS
KEARNEY, NE (308) 224-4867 spuls@sentekusa.com www.sentektechnologies.com
SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGIES INC
MIKE THUROW AURORA, IL (815) 436-4440 mthurow@specmeters.com www.specmeters.com
ANDERSON O'BRIEN LLP LISA J HANSEN
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-0890 lhansen@andlaw.com www.andlaw.com
BOARDMAN & CLARK LLP
JEFFREY J STORCH BARABOO, WI (608) 356-3977 jstorch@boardmanclark.com www.boardmanclark.com
DEWITT LLP
JORDAN LAMB MADISON, WI (608) 252-9358 jkl@dewittllp.com www.dewittllp.com
RUDER WARE
LISA O'FLYNG WAUSAU, WI (715) 845-4336 loflyng@ruderware.com www.ruderware.com
CONDON OIL COMPANY
MARK BELAU RIPON, WI (800) 452-1212 mbelau@condoncompanies.com www.condoncompanies.com
PACKAGING
FOX PACKAGING AND FOX SOLUTIONS
VICTORIA LOPEZ
MC ALLEN, TX (956) 682-6176 victoria.lopez@foxbag.com www.foxbag.com
GREEN BAY PACKAGING INC
JEFF LEOPOLD
WAUSAU, WI (715) 845-4201 jleopold@gbp.com www.gbp.com
Packaging Equipment
SYMACH - BW FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS
HARM GEURS
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (612) 782-1200 harm.geurs@bwpackagingsystems.com www.bwflexiblesystems.com
THORPACK LLC
MARTIN KOLPACK
BRYANT, WI (715) 627-7333 mkolpack@thorpack.com www.thorpack.com
VERBRUGGEN PALLETIZING SOLUTIONS INC
DALE BATES
PASCO, WA (509) 531-7350 d.bates@verbruggenusa.com www.verbruggen-palletizing.com
VOLM COMPANIES INC
MARSHA POZZA
ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4826 marsha.pozza@volmcompanies.com www.volmcompanies.com
WARNER & WARNER INC
JAY WARNER PLOVER, WI (715) 341-8563 jay.warner@warnerpackaging.com www.warnerpackaging.com
ALLAN EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING LTD
DAVID HUESTIS YORK, PEI, CANADA (902) 672-2510 dlh@allanequipment.com www.allanequipment.com
BIG IRON EQUIPMENT INC
ZACHARY MYKISEN
STACY GROSHEK
PLOVER, WI (715) 344-3401 bie@bigironequipment.com www.bigironequipment.com
ELLIPS USA LLC
JOHN R ALBERT
WENATCHEE, WA (206) 915-4962 john.albert@ellips.com www.ellips.com
GENERAL METAL FABRICATION LTD
GERALD BAUMAN WINKLER, MB, CANADA (204) 325-9374 gerald@generalmetal.ca www.generalmetal.ca
As Wisconsin’s #1 farm insurer, Rural Mutual is dedicated to helping the agriculture community stay safe and properly protected.
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pg. 44
HARVEST MASTER
HUTCH DANIELS
LOGAN, UT (435) 753-1881 Hutch.daniels@junipersys.com www.harvestmaster.com
MAYO MFG
MIKE DELISLE
EAST GRAND FORKS, MN (218) 773-1234 mikedelisle@mayomfg.com www.mayomfg.com
MODERN PRODUCE EQUIPMENT
TOM WIERSEMA
FREMONT, MI (800) 663-8640 tom@modernproduceequipment.com www.modernproduceequipment.com
NOFFSINGER MANUFACTURING CO
GREG CAPPAERT
GREELEY, CO (800) 525-8922 gcappaert@noffsingermfg.com www.noffsingermfg.com
OEM FABRICATORS INC
THOMAS AABY WOODVILLE, WI (715) 698-7323 toma@oemfab.com www.oemfab.com
SAND COUNTY EQUIPMENT
PAUL CIESLEWICZ paul@sandcountyequipment.com BANCROFT, WI (715) 335-6652 cheryl@sandcountyequipment.com www.sandcountyequipment.com
SMART VISION WORKS
SCOTT A PARROTT
OREM, UT (385) 204-5479
scottparrott@smartvisionworks.com www.smartvisionworks.com
T I P INC
STEVE TATRO CUSTER, WI (715) 592-4650 tip@tipinc.net www.tipinc.net
TOLSMA USA
CAMERON FOLMER BOISE, ID (208) 401-9217 cameronfolmer@tolsma.com www.tolsmagrisnich.com
TOMRA FOOD
AMBER AMADOR
WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (916) 388-3900 amber.amador@tomra.com www.tomra.com/food
TRISTEEL MANUFACTURING COMPANY INC
SCOTT HOMSTAD GRAND FORKS, ND (701) 772-5591 scotth@tristeelmfg.com www.tristeelmfg.com
VOLM COMPANIES INC MARSHA POZZA ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4826 marsha.pozza@volmcompanies.com www.volmcompanies.com
SPECTRA PRINT HEIDI OKRAY STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-5175 hokray@spectraprint.com www.spectraprint.com
CHIPPEWA VALLEY BEAN CO INC
CHARLES WACHSMUTH
MENOMONIE, WI (715) 664-8342 charleswachsmuth@cvbean.com www.cvbean.com
MCCAIN FOODS USA INC
TANI CREGO
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 422-8104 tani.crego@mccain.com www.mccain.com
JOSHUA PARSONS
RHINELANDER, WI (715) 365-1640 joshua.parsons@pepsico.com
SYMACH - BW FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS
HARM GEURS
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (612) 782-1200 harm.geurs@bwpackagingsystems.com www.bwflexiblesystems.com
THE LITTLE POTATO COMPANY
DANIEL SNYDER
DEFOREST, WI (608) 842-2713 daniel.snyder@littlepotatoes.com www.LittlePotatoes.com
MID-STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE
BOBBI DAMROW
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 422-5421 bobbi.damrow@mstc.edu www.mstc.edu
EXIT REALTY CW
BRANDON TAYLOR
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 498-3794 brandon@exitcw.com www.exitcw.com
NELSON'S VEGETABLE STORAGE SYSTEMS
HOLLY NELSON
PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6660 holly@nelsonsveg.com
RETIREMENT PLANNING
VISTA FINANCIAL STRATEGIES LLC
SCOTT D SCHEER
APPLETON, WI (920) 731-4572 scott@vistafinancialstrategies.com www.vistafinancialstrategies.com
MIKE CAVES RUST STOP LLC
MYRON A CAVES PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 572-9510 mcrockingc@hotmail.com www.profleetcare.com
ALSUM FARMS & PRODUCE INC
HEIDI ALSUM-RANDALL FRIESLAND, WI (920) 348-6703 heidi.randall@alsum.com www.alsum.com
BUSHMANS' INC
MICHAEL GATZ
ROSHOLT, WI (800) 826-0200 michaelg@bushmansinc.com www.bushmansinc.com
LANGLADE POTATO DISTRIBUTING INC
JIM KAPUSTA
ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4873 jimk@langladepotato.com
PLANT GROW HARVEST
JIM CORNEILLIE WILLIAMS, MN (701) 335-9255 jc@pgh.farm www.pgh.farm
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Plainfield, WI: 715-335-6368
Beloit, WI:
www.valleynci.com
RPE INC
RUSSELL WYSOCKI
BANCROFT, WI (800) 678-2789 jenny.bula@rpespud.com www.rpeproduce.com
SEED
JAY-MAR INC
TONY GRAPSAS
PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com
SUNRAIN VARIETIES LLC
BRIT WHITE
IDAHO FALLS, ID (208) 552-3096 bwhite@sunrainseed.com www.sunrainseed.com
MICHIGAN SEED POTATO ASSN
JEFF AXFORD GAYLORD, MI (989) 732-4433 jwamspa@gmail.com www.mipotatoindustry.com
pg. 46
MINNESOTA CERTIFIED SEED
POTATO GROWERS ASSN
JUSTIN DAGEN
KARLSTAD, MN (218) 686-1734 jdagen@wiktel.com
WISCONSIN SEED POTATO CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
BROOKE BABLER
ANTIGO, WI (715) 623-4039 brooke.babler@wisc.edu
SOFTWARE REDLINE SOLUTIONS
TODD BAGGETT
SANTA CLARA, CA (408) 562-1700 tbaggett@redlinesolutions.com www.redlineforproduce.com
JAY-MAR INC
TONY GRAPSAS PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com
SPRAYER PARTS
JAY-MAR INC
TONY GRAPSAS PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com
CONTREE SPRAYER AND EQUIPMENT COMPANY, LLC
DAVID VON BEHREN
BEAVER DAM, WI (920) 356-0121 davev@contree.com www.contree.com
HEARTLAND AG SYSTEMS
GUY MATHIAS
DEFOREST, WI (800) 523-2350 guy.mathias@heartlandag.com www.heartlandag.com
SPROUT CONTROL
1,4GROUP INC
JOHN BERGMAN FARGO, ND (701) 261-0289 jbergman@14group.com www.14group.com
NELSON'S VEGETABLE STORAGE SYSTEMS
HOLLY NELSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6660 holly@nelsonsveg.com
RON'S REFRIGERATION &
AIR CONDITIONING LLC EUGENE MANCL WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-1525 emancl@coolsys.com www.ronsrefrigeration.com
1,4GROUP INC
JOHN BERGMAN FARGO, ND (701) 261-0289 jbergman@14group.com www.14group.com
CENTRAL DOOR SOLUTIONS
CHRIS BROOKS PLOVER, WI (715) 342-4153 cbrooks@centraldoorsolutions.com www.centraldoorsolutions.com
LINEAGE LOGISTICS
KELLY KITOWSKI
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 544-4565 kkitowski@lineagelogistics.com www.lineagelogistics.com
MCGOWAN RICE INC
MARK RICE BOISE, ID (208) 863-7242 mrice@mcgowanrice.com www.mcgowanrice.com
TECHMARK INC
PATRICK MORRIS LANSING, MI (517) 322-0250 pmorris@techmark-inc.com www.techmark-inc.com
STORAGE CONTROL SYSTEMS
NELSON'S VEGETABLE STORAGE SYSTEMS
HOLLY NELSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6660 holly@nelsonsveg.com
STORAGE/VENTILATION/ REFRIGERATION/HUMIDIFICATION
RON'S REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING LLC
EUGENE MANCL WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-1525 emancl@coolsys.com www.ronsrefrigeration.com
TIRES AND SERVICE
SCHIERL TIRE & SERVICE DOUG EICHTEN
STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 572-2246 douge@teamschierl.com www.schierltire.com
MERCHANTS FLEET
JONATHAN ST PIERRE HOOKSETT, NH (603) 270-5464 jonathanstpierre@merchantsfleet.com www.merchantsfleet.com
WISCONSIN KENWORTH
ERIC ANTONSON
MOSINEE, WI (715) 693-3900 Eric.antonson@csmtruck.com www.csmcompanies.com
CENTRAL WI WINDSHED PARTNERSHIP GROUP SHANNON ROHDE HANCOCK, WI (715) 249-5424 cwwp@uniontel.net www.co.portage.wi.us/department/ planning-zoning/
TRUCK DEALER
BRICKNER'S OF WAUSAU CRAIG STECKLING WAUSAU, WI (715) 842-4646
csteckling@bricknerfamily.com www.bricknersofwausau.net
ISTATE TRUCK CENTER
ERIC GABEL
MARSHFIELD, WI (715) 486-8800 eric.gabel@istatetruck.com www.istate.com
KRIETE TRUCK CENTER - STEVENS POINT
SAM STEVENSON STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 997-9002 sam.stevenson@kgtruck.com www.krietegroup.com
MARK TOYOTA OF PLOVER
BRENDAN OLINYK PLOVER, WI (715) 342-5040 brendan@markmotors.com www.marktoyota.com
MID-STATE TRUCK SERVICE INC
JAY WEIDMAN PLOVER, WI (715) 344-2931 p.trucksales@midstatetruck.com www.midstatetruck.com
WHEELERS CHEVROLET GMC
OF MARSHFIELD
BRIAN STROETZ
MARSHFIELD, WI (715) 387-1200 brian.st@wheelersgm.com www.wheelersgm.com
GZA GEOENVIRONMENTAL INC
JAMES F DROUGHT
MILWAUKEE, WI (414) 831-2540 james.drought@gza.com www.gza.com
VISTA FINANCIAL STRATEGIES LLC
SCOTT D SCHEER
APPLETON, WI (920) 731-4572 scott@vistafinancialstrategies.com www.vistafinancialstrategies.com
ROBERTS IRRIGATION CO INC
RICH ANDERSON PLOVER, WI (715) 344-4747 randerson@robertsirrigation.com www.robertsirrigation.com
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Auxiliary News. Let’s chat about the State Fair.
The Wisconsin State Fair, August 4-14, 2022, was another success filled with family fun, animals, exhibits, and of course, baked potatoes!
We experienced great weather and an impressive turnout this year, and it’s always wonderful to see how excited people get for their yearly baked potato.
As in previous years, we had an extra special visitor in our booth, Alice in Dairyland. The 75th Alice in Dairyland, Taylor Paige Schaefer, swung by with her team to interview our State Fair coordinator, Jody Baginski, two of our Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary board members, Becky Wysocki and Heidi Schleicher, and grower Luke Wysocki. Schaefer took the opportunity to chat
with our members about the history of the baked potato booth and what causes proceeds from baked potato sales go toward.
Schaefer even learned how to make her own baked potato and fearlessly chanted our “works” cheer with the group. She was a natural. You can
Furthering the tradition of the Auxiliary running a baked potato booth at the Wisconsin State Fair every year, three generations from one family volunteered to help. From left to right are Hailey Kostuch, Catherine Kostoch and their grandma/mom, Carole Gagas. Group 1 Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary (WPGA) State Fair baked potato booth volunteers, Linda Vollmar, chairwoman, and including the 75th Alice in Dairyland, Taylor Paige Schaefer Group 2 WPGA State Fair baked potato booth volunteers, Tara Jameson, chairwomanhead over to the Alice in Dairyland Facebook page to check out the interview.
We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without our 11 wonderful groups of volunteers pictured herein, so thank you all for generously helping our industry.
Another big thank you to Alsum Farms & Produce and Okray Family Farms for providing delicious potatoes.
This was my fifth year returning to the baked potato booth, and let me tell you, it may be hard work, but we also have a blast. If you’re interested in helping down at the State Fair next year, reach out to the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association office, 715-623-7683, and we will get you more information.
I hope you all have a great harvest season, and I’ll be in touch next month!
Reverse condensers pull heat through potato piles rather than pushing cold air through them
With units already in operation within North America, KLIM’TOP Controls of Hardifort, France, offers fully automated refrigeration systems designed as crop storage solutions.
A designer and manufacturer of cooling systems, ambient ventilation, re-heating and humidification units, and Internet remote controls, KLIM’TOP Controls specializes in box and bulk storages of potatoes and vegetables.
The reverse-condenser refrigeration system sucks air through potato piles, pulling the heat through and out of the storage rather than pushing cold air, until the whole facility meets optimal temperature and humidity conditions. Moisture is also sucked out of the building.
The fully automated refrigeration
system allows growers to extend their seasons, increase quality coming out of storge and have a more marketable crop for their customers. With the system in use, the warmest spot in a potato or vegetable storage is always nearest the condenser, so thermometers and atmospheric controls give the most accurate readings at all times, meeting optimal temperature in the whole facility and keeping even the center of the pile cool.
When outdoor temperatures are optimal, variable controls, or PLC’s (Programmable Logic Controllers), draw free, cool, outside air in and through the facility, thus saving money and electricity.
For more information, contact KLIM’TOP Controls, attention Eric
The KLIM’TOP Controls fully automated refrigeration system, installed here at a potato and carrot storage building in Ontario, Canada, uses reverse condensers to suck air through potato piles, pulling the heat through and out of the facility rather than pushing cold air through the stored produce.
Colpaert, +33 (0)328-500-981, eric. colpaert@klimtop.eu, http://www. klimtop.eu/.
Fresh Solutions Network and NNZ team on russet potato packaged in specialized baking film
NNZ Inc., along with Fresh Solutions Network/Basin Gold Cooperative, debuted the Amazables! microwaveable potato at the International Fresh Produce Association’s Foodservice Conference, July 28-29, in Monterey, California.
Steve Greenfield, director of sales and marketing for NNZ Inc., Lawrenceville, Georgia, says, “This product is a microwaveable russet potato that is packaged in a specialized film that actually bakes the potato and crisps the skin.”
“The result is an oven-baked potato from the microwave,” Greenfield states. “We are currently in a pilot test with a major retailer, but we also
thought this product is perfect for a few foodservice vertical markets.”
Amazables! makes a healthy vending machine option for hospitals, college campuses, and company breakrooms, according to a news release.
It’s also perfect for hotel pantry areas as a nutritious, great-tasting option for guest room microwaves, according to the release.
“Since 2014, we’ve been bringing the foodservice sector premium-quality potatoes under the ‘A Cut Above’ brand,” says Kathleen Triou, president and chief executive officer of Fresh Solutions Network. “Chefs are always looking for ways to keep up with their customers’ demands for comfortcentric, craveable favorites.”
“Add that to the trend towards plant-based everything,” Triou continues, “and potatoes rise to the level of signature program status for restaurants, a major demand driver in menu development.”
For more information, contact Fresh Solutions Network, attn: Kathleen Triou, ktriou@freshsolutionsnet. com, 209-627-6800, https://www. freshsolutionsnet.com.
The 2022 Antigo Tater Trot received some unexpected weather this year with rainfall, but that didn’t stop one Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes participant from making the best of it.
Erin Meister, business office manager for Reabe Spraying Service, Inc., has been a faithful participant of this event with her kids and wasn’t going to let a little rain dampen her
Above: Erin Meister, business office manager for Reabe Spraying Service, Inc., poses with her kids (left) at the 2021 Antigo Tater Trot. The 2021 event was held virtually between August 8 and 14. They recreated the same image (right) at the 2022 Antigo Tater Trot, held between August 7 and 13. The 2022 event included in-person and virtual options. Pictured are, left to right in the second image, Annalise (1), Erin Meister, Emmaline (5), and William (4).
parade this year.
She ran the event virtually at her aunt’s farm in Amherst and even recreated images of herself and kids that she took in 2021. And that run was after eating tater tots and breakfast burritos in the rain.
Meister says she “would have been pushing three kids in a stroller if [they] would have run in the rain.” Now that’s commitment! Thanks, Erin, for all your and your family’s efforts as Wisconsin potato ambassadors.
Erin Meister’s kids are proud to promote Wisconsin potatoes during the 2022 Antigo Tater Trot. Pictured, left to right, are Emmaline, Annalise, and William.And just like that, another crop year is wrapping up for Wisconsin growers, which also means that budgets for a new fiscal year have been finalized for the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA).
This year, the Promotions Committee has several returning initiatives budgeted, including food safety training; the Spudmobile; the Healthy Grown program and grower outreach; advertising through billboards with Lamar and on television through WFRV in Green Bay; Powered by Wisconsin Potato events; sponsorships with Mad Dog and Merrill and Kids from Wisconsin; and a continued contract with Registered Dietician Sarah Agena.
Social media advertising will be boosted through a video project helmed by Midwest Family Madison,
At left, Spudly looks over Brian Lee’s shoulder as he gets ready to mash Wisconsin potatoes, September 7, in Stevens Point, as part of the video shoot with Midwest Family Madison. At right, Spudly comfortably waits for the video shoot to commence.
a creative marketing and sales firm that is helping WPVGA get the word out about Wisconsin potatoes in a unique way.
Over the course of the next year, four 30-second videos will be released onto social media that include none
continued on pg. 54
Gabe Sommers, 19, poses in front of his car after winning the Jim Sauter Classic 200 on Saturday, September 3. Part of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Midwest Tour, the race took place at Dells Raceway Park in the Wisconsin Dells. Image courtesy of Ultimate Lap Photo
other than the industry’s mascot, Spudly, along with a couple other supporting actors.
Spudly will be in the kitchen learning how to roast and mash Wisconsin potatoes. The challenge, however, will be making sure he doesn’t mess it all up in the process!
The fact that Spudly doesn’t talk, combined with his large hands and
Gabe Sommers wastes no time showing what his “Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes” car can do during the ARCA Midwest Tour Jim Sauter Classic 200. Sommers would go on to win the race after taking the lead on lap 34. Image courtesy of Ultimate Lap Photo
muscles and overall jovial personality, make him the perfect focal point for videos where he’s physically interacting with people who have it a bit more together.
This is also the perfect recipe for a comedic response that only Spudly could garner, especially since he understands regular conversation but can only respond with mannerisms and physical movements.
The videos will be uploaded onto social media outlets and platforms and can be shared and liked by individuals and organizations in the industry. So, get your fingers ready to share and like away as soon as the videos are posted!
And the best part about this project is that WPVGA will own rights to all content. Furthermore, the messages in the videos are quite timeless, so we look forward to utilizing them in multiple ways going forward.
For the second year in a row, the Promotions Committee is also sponsoring Gabe Sommers Racing. A speed enthusiast and adventurer at heart, Gabe also happens to be a potato fanatic.
The nephew of Jeff Sommers, who works on the farming side of Wysocki Family of Companies, in Bancroft, Wisconsin, Gabe grew up around potatoes, so showcasing them in his racing world is a natural fit. Gabe features a large Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes logo front and center on the hood of his race car, which is the perfect location to draw attention to the industry, the importance of buying local and has even made people ask, “Is the
car actually powered by Wisconsin potatoes?”
In the Saturday, September 3, race of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Midwest Tour, at the Dells Raceway Park, Wisconsin Dells, 19-year-old Gabe showed that he’s
capable of by winning the Jim Sauter Classic 200. He took the lead on lap 34 and stayed the course to bring in the win.
Jeff says, “Gabe was blessed to win the biggest race of his career Saturday night with the ‘Powered by [Wisconsin] Potatoes’ car.”
Previously this season, Gabe chalked up wins at the Golden Sands Speedway, in Plover, and at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis. The ARCA Midwest Tour season draws to a close at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, West Salem, during Oktoberfest on October 9.
Another opportunity coming to the Central Sands, in June 2023, is the U.S. Senior Open Golf Tournament. The big event will take place at Sentry World in Stevens Point and feature golf stars like Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, and Fred Couples, to name a few. The tournament will also be televised on the NBC television network.
Given the significant exposure
the U.S. Senior Open receives, tournament organizers are looking to involve “all things Wisconsin,” which they’re hoping includes Wisconsin potatoes.
While the price tag of sponsorship for an event like this is quite high, the Promotions Committee did incorporate some monies into the budget in hopes of partnering with other grower organizations that might also be interested in getting involved on some level.
The Promotions Committee also sponsored a Charlie Berens show, September 15, at the AdamsFriendship Fine Arts Center, in addition to sponsoring a Stevens Point Youth Area Football team called “The Mashers.”
Finally, the Promotions Committee, alongside the Wisconsin Potato Industry Board and WPVGA Board, continues to help fund the Farming for the Future Foundation.
It is sure to be a fun-filled year with time flying by in the blink of an eye!
Water sampling and testing are important and necessary aspects of the food safety process, and more specifically, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Given the many requirements regarding water, taking samples can be confusing. That’s why Primus GFS is now streamlining the process and requiring a certificate from a water testing certification program, in version 3.2, at the time of the audit.
Currently, the certificate is needed for packinghouses. While the requirement does not yet include farms, Primus could decide to include them down the road.
There are several resources available regarding this program and obtaining the necessary certificate. The following are resources that are known to date:
1. Primus is offering a 30-minute class for $50 (details are yet to be determined at this time).
2. The Wisconsin Rural Water Association (WRWA.org) is also offering an in-person class, in Jackson, on September 13, and an online class on November 8. Both classes are free of charge and will last four hours. (Look for “OTM/NN Exam Review” under the “Training” tab and “Upcoming Training” in the dropdown menu of www.wrwa. org).
3. A third option is to take a
35-minute course online through Michigan State University for $12.50. Visit this link for details: https://www.eventbrite. com/e/agricultural-watertesting-certificate-courseregistration-395277364237
If you work with a consultant for your food safety needs, you may also contact him/her to train you (if he/ she has been through the program) and/or to conduct the water sampling for your operation.
Note that you should comply with this requirement before your next audit.
If you have additional questions, please contact Dana Rady at 715-610-6350 or drady@ wisconsinpotatoes.com.
Gabe Sommers celebrates his victory at the Jim Sauter Classic 200. Image courtesy of Ultimate Lap Photo
Greetings and welcome to October! Summer’s busy schedule of golf outings and field days has come and gone. Thank you to all who attended, sponsored, or contributed in some way to those events. Now on with the season of harvest, bow hunting and sporting clays.
The WPVGA Associate Division is looking forward to hosting the 3rd Annual Sporting Clays Shoot. It will be held, October 20, 2022, at the Wausau Skeet and Trap Club. It is a beautiful location, especially this time of year!
The response to this event has been extremely positive and we have made some format changes to accommodate additional teams. Instead of one team of five shooters at
each station, we will run two teams of four shooters, much like the Putt-Tato Open golf outing has two teams of four at each hole.
While one team is shooting, the other can interact with the station sponsor or be in transit to the next station. It is expected that the course will take each team 2.5 or 3 hours to complete using this format. Shooters will still have a chance at the same number of
clay targets (75). There will be no side games with this format.
Registration will be at 12:30 p.m., and shooting will start at 1:30. Dinner will be served at 4:30 p.m. Please note— there is no noon meal available at the Sporting Clays event.
It seems like a long way off, but plans are also underway for the Grower Education Conference in February. During the Associate Division meeting in July, it was decided that we would continue offering the proceedings in book form and no longer offer them on a flash drive.
The Zoom format was also discussed. Many were against using Zoom because the audio was weak sometimes. The emphasis of this event will always be on an in-person format while also maintaining the limited flexibility of Zoom for emergencies.
There were a wide range of topics suggested for the Grower Education Conference:
Left: The 3rd Annual Sporting Clays Shoot will be held, October 20, 2022, at the Wausau Skeet and Trap Club. Team Big Iron Equipment participated in the 2021 event, including, from left to right, Luke Zelinski, Kevin Groshek, Bill Zelinski, Zach Mykisen and Jimmie Keenlance.
• agricultural migration—speakers from western states talking about water availability challenges as dry weather works its way east
• precision ag in vegetable crops. The Netherlands has done well with this.
• carbon credits as they relate to farms
• showcasing research students in the programs that they are working on
The “Bringing Value to Ag” segment has been well received by vendors and growers, alike, and will continue to have a place in the program. Details will become available as February approaches.
I wish everyone a safe and successful harvest and look forward to celebrating the close of another growing season with all of you at the sporting clays event on October 20.
Researcher Deana Knuteson, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Horticulture, discusses collaborative solutions to mitigate groundwater pesticide and fertilizer contamination risk at the 2022 Grower Education Conference in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It seems like a long way off, but plans are underway for the Grower Education Conference in February 2023.
Until then, I leave you with this wisdom from George Washington: “Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble
employment of man.” Amen!
Julie CartwrightWPVGA Associate Division PresidentMinimizing soil disturbance is one of the key tenets promoted to build soil health in agricultural systems.
Many farmers across the country
have adopted reduced and no-till systems to build soil carbon, a central component to healthy soils.
The Soil Science Society of America’s
(SSSA) August 1st Soils Matter blog explores options to improve soil health for crops that grow underground, like potatoes.
According to soil scientist and blogger Deirdre Griffin-LaHue, in the United States, the potato sector was a $4 billion industry in 2020.
Americans will eat their potatoes fresh, frozen, fried, chipped, canned,
Above: Potato plants bloom in a field in northwestern Washington. Researchers are looking at ways to grow potatoes with less soil disturbance, which can improve soil health. Photo courtesy of Deirdre Griffin LaHue
Left: A three-year cover crop of a grass-clover mixture will be mowed periodically with no other disturbance. Farmers in Washington State typically grow potatoes every 3 to 5 years. Photo courtesy of Deirdre Griffin LaHue
and dehydrated. Potato products are also used as food ingredients, like potato starch.
Potatoes are a valuable crop in Washington State. It is the second leading producer of potatoes in the country (after neighboring Idaho).
Central Washington grows russet potatoes primarily for French fries and other processed potato products. Northwestern Washington is known for colorful, fresh-market potatoes.
The potato industry in Washington recognizes the importance of healthy soils for long-term, sustainable production of the crop. One issue with growing potatoes: they are a tuber crop, growing below ground.
Thus, planting and harvesting them disturbs the soil more than crops
like wheat and barley, which are harvested above ground.
Growers and researchers are working on strategies to promote soil health in this typically high disturbance system.
Through Washington’s new Soil Health Initiative, Griffin-LaHue’s team
and collaborators recently set up a long-term rotational experiment to explore some of these strategies in potato-based systems.
The strategies represent the typical rotations and soils of the area. The trial is designed with methods that
use changing levels of:
• soil disturbance (i.e., tillage),
• organic matter inputs
• internal (cover crops and residues)
• external (compost)
This allows the team to study multiple soil health principles and how they interact with one another.
Potatoes in northwestern Washington are typically grown in a particular field every 3-5 years. Soil improvement strategies are really focused on what happens before and after the potato crop.
One practice many growers are experimenting with is using cover crops.
Cover crops are grown between cash crops to provide agroecosystem benefits related to three of the four main soil health principles: cover the soil, increase diversity, and maximize continuous living roots, which help feed microorganisms.
Farmers in the area are using two methods. One is winter cover crops, planted in fall and terminated in
spring. The other is multi-year cover crops that are mowed and continuously provide organic carbon inputs to the soil.
Washington’s cold, wet fall and spring seasons can be a challenge to establishing winter cover crops. This is due to harvesting potatoes through October. But having cover crops between all other rotational crops may still benefit the soil.
The team is also studying potatogrowing systems that reduce soil disturbance. They are looking at whether it’s both feasible and beneficial to rotate in wheat or barley planted with no-till seeders.
Minimizing soil disturbance between potato crops could improve soil health and future potato yields.
Ultimately, growers need to take a systems approach to improving soil health with potatoes or any crop. It is not just about one crop. It’s about how the whole cropping system is managed over time.
By finding those intervention points to introduce a soil-building practice, growers can steadily improve soil health, even with underground crops.
Above: Northwestern Washington is known for colorful, fresh-market potatoes. Growing potatoes in a cover cropping system may help the environment and increase yields.
Photo courtesy of Canva Pro
“Growers and researchers are working on strategies to promote soil health in this typically high disturbance system.”
– Soil Science Society of America
This summer, many industry members visited the Potatoes USA office and experienced the event amenities it offers.
The National Potato Council concluded its annual Environmental Protection AgencyU.S. Department of Agriculture farm tour of the San Luis Valley with a private dinner at the Potatoes USA office. The incredible menu included seared “potato scallops.” Potatoes USA kicked off its Seed Reverse Trade Mission (RTM) by hosting the International Seed Symposium at the office. Seed importers, growers, and government officials traveled to the United States for the event.
While most participants attended in person, the technology available in the Board Room provided a seamless virtual option for those who couldn’t make it to Denver.
In addition to having a large enough space for the meeting, attendees were treated to a specially curated breakfast and lunch from the Spud Lab that showcased all forms of potatoes.
Chefs R.J. Harvey and Vince Armada served a breakfast of lemon poppy seed-glazed potato donuts, potato breakfast tortas with potato chorizo, and watermelon and pineapple skewers with toasted coconut.
The lunch menu included crispy potato stacks with smoked brisket, Mexican street corn potato salad, and dulce de leche potato whoopie pies for dessert.
The Colorado Potato Administrative Committee held a meeting with its members at the Denver office. During the meeting, the group took a tour of the office, where new Potatoes USA staff had the chance to meet potato growers from Colorado, and veteran staff caught up with old friends.
To conclude the meeting, chefs Harvey and Armada treated the guests to a meal of potato Tostones (fried plantains) with pickled pineapple and avocado relish; arugula salad with chili-dusted potato croutons; braised short rib “tot-cos” (tater tot tacos) made with Tajin tater drums; Mexican street corn potato salad; and Palisade peach cobbler with potato biscuits and lavender whipped cream.
Most recently, the National Potato Council concluded its annual Environmental Protection AgencyU.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Tour of the San Luis Valley with a private dinner at the Potatoes USA office.
Chefs Harvey and Armada designed a menu to showcase the versatility of potatoes in elevated dishes suited for fine dining.
This special event menu is worth sharing in its entirety:
• Starter: aged cheddar puffs stuffed with loaded mashed potatoes and topped with smoked salmon roe and truffle creme fraiche
During a Colorado Potato Administrative Committee meeting with its members at the Denver office, chefs R.J. Harvey and Vince Armada treated guests to a meal that included braised short rib “tot-cos” with salsa verde, queso Oaxaca, and Tajin tater drums.
• Salad: potato-crusted Palisade peaches with lavender honey, whipped goat cheese mousse, and baby lettuce tossed in lemontarragon dressing
• Soup: seared “potato scallops” with Olathe sweet corn and hatch green chili bisque
• Entrée: slow smoked beef brisket with cherry demi glacé, brie whipped potatoes, and charred broccolini
• Entrée: butter-poached Alaskan salmon with sour cream and onion potato chip gnocchi
• Dessert: crisp lavender meringue with potato shortbread, summer berries and cherries, yuzu pudding, vanilla whipped cream, and purple potato ice cream
Dulce de leche potato whoopie pies were served at the Potatoes USA office during the Seed Reverse Trade Mission with the International Seed Symposium.
• Bread basket: fluffy Hokkaido milk rolls with whipped potato butter and flakey sea salt
Interested in hosting an event at the new Potatoes USA office? Contact Caitlin Roberts, caitlinr@potatoesusa. com, or call 303-369-7783.
Over this past year, the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program (WSPCP) has weathered several changes across multiple facets of our program.
As we continue to make the omelet from cracked eggs, we keep our mission out in the front to lead decision-making as we advance the contemporary program. Our mission: to provide potato farmers with seed potato planting stock that is healthy and without varietal mixture.
We have a strong inspection team with expert knowledge and an agency to continue developing innovative approaches and improve anomaly detection in sustaining the highest quality seed.
Over the past few years, this team, including Dianna Kessler, Jim Meyer,
Kevin Bula, and Cole Lubinski, has seen the addition of Niles Franc, and we are planning for additional hiring in this area to continue building our inspection capacity.
Our headquarters office remains in downtown Antigo and is under the sound coordination of Josie Spurgeon.
We have an expert tissue culture and diagnostic laboratory that features state-of-the art diagnostic and propagation techniques to ensure that the seed crop is clean, and that the integrity of potato culture remains sound.
Under the stellar direction of Program Manager Brooke Babler and her expert staff, including Sarah DeVeer and campus partners, the lab has successfully moved into
temporary space at the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center (WCIC).
Please recall that the UW-Madison Biotron facility (our home for many decades) was aging and could no longer support our work.
We are grateful to the Wisconsin growers, the WSPCP, the University of Wisconsin (UW) College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Department of Plant Pathology, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education for financially supporting this necessary transition.
The move required renovation to the WCIC, which should be completed in November 2022.
We have greenhouse and field resources to grow clean and earliest generation potato crops to serve the commercial industry.
We continue to commit to mini-tuber production and maintenance with our WSPCP program staff, and we are finalizing our new public-private partnership to grow early generation seed and store seed potatoes at the Lelah Starks Elite Foundation Seed Potato Farm, in Rhinelander.
While the agronomic management will change, the mission remains the same. We value this new partnership and appreciate the work and investment it takes to make such change.
In this farming domain, we have lost several staff members over the past few months, including Matthew Cogger, Bob Arndt, and most recently,
Alex Crockford. We appreciate the
of these employees over the
and wish them well in their next professional
We are grateful for the commitment of our current program staff who are continuing to serve our mission. They are putting in extra hours and creativity to push on through to harvest and storage.
Additionally, we have been honored to have the continued support of Keith Bennett, Sean Malone, and our seasonal help (new and returning) as well as several former and retired employees, including Jerry Kuczmarski and George Neuber, who will help us in harvesting this year’s beautiful crop.
Babler will now supervise the WSPCP staff at the Lelah Starks Farm in Rhinelander. Babler and Spurgeon have quickly moved to coordinate our staff through this harvest season.
Cut seed potatoes are loaded from a truck into a planter at Mortenson Bros. Farms, Inc., Plainfield, Wisconsin.
I greatly appreciate their leadership in this time. Last, but not least, thank you to our grower and industry
partners for your ongoing support and grace in every aspect of this program’s work.
Staff of EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs learns about challenges
In early August, the National Potato Council (NPC), in cooperation with the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, proudly hosted a tour of potato production for staff of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Pesticide Programs in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.
The purpose of the tour was to help participants gain a better understanding of the pest challenges faced by potato farmers across the nation in growing and delivering spuds to market.
Participants from EPA were provided information on pest management related to growing seed and in the pre-plant, planting, in-field, and postharvest stages.
Presenters included growers, extension educators, and researchers from across the country studying weeds, pathogens, nematodes, and insects.
“It was a pleasure being able to interact with staff from EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs and share with them the complexities of producing a high-quality, high-cost potato crop for U.S. consumers and consumers around the globe in an environmentally friendly manner in my community and on my family’s farm operation,” says Bob Mattive, Colorado potato grower and NPC vice president of environmental affairs.
The annual event is hosted by the National Potato Council and sponsored by Potatoes USA.
Participants from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs pose with Mark Peterson (back row, center) of Peterson Farms next to a self-propelled sprayer. Bob Mattive (center, beige hat), NPC’s vice president of environmental affairs, along with his sons, Grant (to Bob’s right, readers’ left) and Reid (right in red shirt), demonstrates potato seed cutting and treatment used during planting on the family’s farm, Worley Family Farms.
Drizzled with honey or a bit of preserves, it makes for a sweet start to the day
and photos by Ali Carter, Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary
This month’s recipe is for a slightly sweet, simple cornbread made with potato flakes.
With potato replacing flour that is typically used, you can create a gluten-free bread with a softer
texture and less crumb than traditional cornbread.
family enjoys a version of this recipe made into muffins and served
Potato Cornbread
alongside chili or soup at the end of a cold Wisconsin winter day. The potato-flake cornbread is also delicious at breakfast with a cup of hot coffee. Just add a drizzle of honey or a bit of preserves and you have a sweet start to your day!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine everything together in a mixing bowl until dry
ingredients are moistened.
Pour mixed ingredients into an 8-inch square pan or spoon into 12 prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the middle of the bread is set and the edges are turning slightly golden.
Serve warm from the oven or store any leftovers in a loosely covered container on the counter.
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