Harvest was on schedule, and color and quality of potatoes from the Red River Valley were looking good in late September, says Gary Shields, executive director for the Northland Potato Growers Association, East Grand Forks, Minn.
Growers in the 300-mile valley in upper Minnesota and North Dakota produce red, yellow, white and russet potatoes on 75,000 acres in North Dakota and 45,000 acres in Minnesota, he says.
Hall’s
Edinburg, N.D.-based Hall’s had harvested about 35% of its crop by late September, and partner Jackson Hall says he was pleased with the quality.
“We had a nice spring for planting, but things got dry June through mid-July,” he says. “We did get nice, timely rains late July through August.”
The size profile is larger than the past couple of years, he says, and volume should be similar to last year.
Hall’s main varieties are dark red
norlands and sangre, but it also plants small lots of other varieties to determine whether they’ll work on a larger scale.
Hall’s typically ships from late October through April or sometimes into May.
O.C. Schulz
O.C. Schulz & Sons Inc., Crystal, N.D., started its harvest Sept. 9, which is a typical start date, says owner Dave Moquist. The company ships several varieties of red and yellow potatoes from mid-October until early May. The harvest was somewhat slower this year because of hot weather.
Temperatures had cooled down a bit but were still above average in late September.
“Our digging conditions right now are excellent,” he said Sept. 18. “We have moisture in the ground, and quality looks good.”
Moquist expects yields to be average to slightly above average with good sizing and some spuds above average in size.
Black Gold Farms
Keith Groven, south central director of operations for Black Gold Farms, Grand Forks, N.D., seems excited about the coming season.
“This is shaping up to be an absolute banner year out of the Red River Valley,” Groven says. “I think we’ll see one of the better crops we’ve seen in the last decade.”
He describes the crop as very healthy and very nice-looking and adds that the large crop with good quality should lend itself well to selling through retail.
Black Gold Farms sells a wide range of sizes of mostly red and yellow potatoes, and Groven explains that the petite
and creamer size markets appear to be growing in both the red and yellow categories. The company offers organic red potatoes as well. Black Gold Farms also has steady foodservice business, Groven says.
Ben Holmes Potato Co.
Harvest for Ben Holmes Potato Co., Becker, Minn., started Sept. 2, which is earlier than usual because of optimal growing conditions, says owner Kevin Olson.
But the harvest slowed because of warm weather. Sporadic rain also cropped up throughout the valley this summer, with heavy precipitation in some areas.
“Right now, the quality is looking excellent on both reds and yellows,” he said in late September, with a good mix of sizes.
Ben Holmes Potato offers several varieties of red and yellow potatoes.
“They’re always trying to find something that can store for a longer period of time with minimal pressure bruising,” Olson says.
The company sells potatoes year-round, sometimes sourcing from out of state during the summer, he says.
Volume should be up a bit compared to last year because of increased yields, Olson adds.
Prices were soft during the summer, but Olson says he hopes fobs will strengthen as potatoes go into storage. He’d like to see 50-pound cartons of Size A potatoes sell for up to $20 to $22, similar to last year.
NoKota Packers
North Dakota had a good growing year in 2025, says Mike Rerick, vice president of sales and marketing for NoKota Packers Inc., Buxton, N.D.
“Most all areas had adequate rainfall and temperatures,” he says. “This was a welcome change from the past few years, where conditions have been very dry.”
Color and quality of the company’s yellow and red potatoes is average to above average, he says, and potato sizing is “right around the average size profile that we would like to see.”
NoKota Packers also sources russets from partner sheds.
“Our main focus is 5- and 10-pound retail packs along with 50-pound bags and boxes as well as bulk totes,” Rerick says.
Volume will be slightly up for NoKota Packers compared to last year.
As part of Fresh Solutions Network, the company supplies potatoes for partner firms that pack specialty items.
“Our exclusive Side Delights brand for this network has a wide variety of packaging options, including convenience items like Steamables, Bakeables, Grillables and Flavorables,” Rerick says.
NoKota Packing continues to upgrade its facility with new equipment to become more efficient and offer better products and service to customers, Rerick says.
“On the social media side, we continue to expand our presence using a variety of different platforms to reach as many consumers as possible,” he adds.
Packaging Options
Red River Valley grower-shippers offer a variety of packaging options.
Hall’s packs 3-, 5- and 10-pound poly bags, 50-pound sacks, 50-pound cartons and in totes, Hall says.
O.C. Schulz ships many 50-pound paper bags and cartons to wholesalers, provides totes for re-packers and packs standard
3-, 5- and 10-pound packages for consumers, Moquist says.
And Ben Holmes Potato sells a mix of packaging options including totes and 3- and 5-pound red and yellow potatoes, Olson says.
