Innovation has been rampant in the potato industry over the past couple of decades. It’s just that many people aren’t aware of the advancements happening.
Eagle Eye Produce
“Most people still picture farmers with shovels packing potatoes by hand,” explains Coleman Oswald, who serves as the director of sales for Eagle Eye Produce, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
But things have changed over the years, and for good reason.
“Over the past 20 years, the price of potatoes has stayed relatively stable, while the cost of fuel, labor, packaging and other inputs has continued to rise, forcing the industry to become much more efficient to stay competitive,” Oswald says.
Improved equipment is one way growers try to control costs.
“Today, we use much larger and more specialized equipment to cover more acres in less time while maintaining precision,” Oswald says.
By making fewer passes through a field, harvesting equipment can dig up more rows of potatoes at once and do it more precisely.
Storage methods have gotten better, too.
“Twenty years ago, many potato cellars had dirt floors, limited ventilation and little control over temperature or humidity,” Oswald explains. “Now, modern storage facilities are equipped with concrete floors, computerized climate systems and sensors that track air flow and humidity in real time.”
Growers can monitor and adjust conditions in potato cellars from their phones.
Automation and robotics have also transformed Eagle Eye Produce’s operations, and artificial intelligence-powered graders can scan each potato for size and quality, automatically removing any with defects, he says.
Robotic sorters continue the process by handling and organizing potatoes for packing, followed by automated bagging and carton-filling, Oswald says. Robotic stackers then palletize the finished product.
Wada Farms
“Over the past 10 to 20 years, the potato industry has experienced significant technological, agronomic and sustainability advancements that have transformed its production and market positioning,” says Erick Beck, marketing director for Wada Farms Marketing Group in Idaho Falls.
For one thing, the industry has developed potato varieties tailored for better consumer preferences, agronomic performance and storage.
“Breeding programs have focused on enhancing yield potential, skin and flesh color, disease resistance and storage life,” Beck says. “New varieties with deeper, more appealing color or unique textures have been introduced to meet evolving market demands.”
These new varieties also are more resistant to common diseases than their predecessors were.
Of all the industry advances, though, sustainability has to rank among the most significant, Beck says.
“The adoption of crop rotation, cover cropping and reduced tillage has improved soil health and biodiversity,” he says.
Water conservation methodologies, the use of integrated pest management and organic inputs has minimized chemical use, reducing environmental runoff and enhancing ecosystem health.
“Many operations have committed to carbon footprint reduction through energy-efficient machinery, renewable energy sources and waste recycling programs,” Beck says.
“These advancements have not only improved the environmental stewardship of potato farmers but also bolstered the industry’s reputation for producing high-quality, eco-conscious products,” he adds.
Potandon Produce
Sustainability is certainly one of the biggest evolutions in the industry over at least the past 15 years, says J.P. Surerus, vice president of sales for Idaho Falls-based Potandon Produce LLC.
Whether on the most basic level, with operators tracking inputs like fertilizer, water and carbon dioxide, or going a step further and using that data to make changes in their operations that enable them to be more cost efficient, sustainability has become part of the everyday vocabulary of potato farms, Surerus says.
Increased availability of data acquisition and tools like soil moisture probes and planting monitors has allowed potato farmers to gather data at a level that seemed inconceivable 20 years ago, he says.
Idaho Potato Commission
Idaho potato growers take sustainability very seriously, concurs Ross Johnson, president of the Eagle-based Idaho Potato Commission.
“Idaho is very unique in the fact that we are the leader in producing dehydrated potato flake for the U.S.,” he says.
When potatoes aren’t shaped right, or if they’re too large to be sold in the marketplace, shippers sell the unusable product to potato processing facilities.
“This is why Idaho’s quality is always recognized at the retail level,” he says.
Farmers also are concerned about water conservation and have installed technology in their fields to monitor moisture levels to prevent overwatering.
“Being part of the Idaho Potato industry has opened my eyes to the many things our farmers do to try and ensure their operations are still around for the next generations,” Johnson says.
