Located in the heart of the Red River Valley, NoKota Packers partners with a handful of farms to pack and ship potatoes — mostly reds — around the U.S. New CEO Carissa Olsen, who started as an administrative assistant 15 years ago, joins Spudman’s Zeke Jennings to talk agriculture in the Red River Valley, challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic, her operation’s role in the larger Fresh Solutions Network and things she’d picked up along the way on the administrative side of running a business.

In this latest episode of “The Potato Field,” Cully Easterday of Easterday Farms in Washington joins Spudman editor Zeke Jennings to talk about precision ag, issues facing growers, why onions are a good rotational crop and his family’s farming history, which includes a leap-of-faith move from Idaho to the Columbia Basin by his grandparents. NOTE: This episode was taped prior to the passing of Cully’s father, Gale Easterday, from a car crash on Dec. 10. The team at Spudman extends their heartfelt condolences to the Easterday family on their loss.

Mickelsen Farms was founded in 1988 and has grown into a large potato-producing operation that includes commercial and seed acreage, two packing houses and a processing plant. Andrew Mickelsen joins Spudman editor Zeke Jennings to talk about the 2020 growing season, COVID labor challenges and what makes the soil in southeastern Idaho so good for growing potatoes.

Every cherry-sized potato minituber that leaves the Sklarczyks’ greenhouse is step one for what will eventually become 50,000 pounds of full-sized potatoes to be baked, roasted, turned into chips or fries or any other way humans consume spuds. Ben and Alison discuss the process of producing plants in their tissue culture lab and then greenhouse before they reach field seed potatoes in disease-free and sterile condition, as well as their recent expansion, trends in seed potatoes and balancing family with their demanding business.

Amanda and Braydon Wakasugi join Spudman editor Zeke Jennings to discuss their multi-farm San Acacio Seed potato partnership in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. They talk about irrigation challenges in the valley, the diverse soil conditions and why being highly isolated is a big benefit for seed growers.

RJ Andrus isn’t just in one potato field, he’s in many fields. As the senior manager of raw material procurement for Idahoan Foods, Andrus works closely with contract growers to make sure there are always potatoes to process. He’s also a member of the National Potato Council’s executive committee. Andrus joins host Zeke Jennings of Spudman to talk about his upbringing, challenges facing growers, his advocacy work and what it was like trying to find John Keeling’s replacement.

 

Spudman magazine, the most trusted voice in the potato industry, is starting a new podcast — “The Potato Field with Spudman.” It’s the podcast for and about potato growers. We’ll be talking with folks who are in the business of growing potatoes about their successes, their challenges and about life on the farm and in the field. Zeke Jennings, editor of Spudman, will be your host. So, join Zeke and potato growers from around America starting Oct. 22 on “The Potato Field with Spudman,” available where ever you get your podcasts.