http://stationerytrendsmagazine.com/index.php/article en bills@spudman.com Copyright 2013 Wed, 15 May 2013 18:53:05 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/chasing-water http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/chasing-water#id:22883#date:19:15 Last year’s drought convinced Colorado potato grower Harry Strohauer that he had to make a change — a big change. He moved 500 acres — roughly half his spud production — to New Mexico for the current growing season. The farm near Clayton, N.M. is irrigated with groundwater wells. Strohauer relies almost entirely on runoff from mountain snowpack to irrigate his farm near Greeley where he grows russets, Yukons and fingerlings. Unfortunately, there’s no telling how much snowpack will accumulate in any given year. Too frequently, it’s not enough. “If you don’t have a secure… Wed, 15 May 2013 19:15 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/taking-stock-a-tale-of-determination http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/taking-stock-a-tale-of-determination#id:22882#date:19:09 Some people think of me as a cynic but I prefer to think of myself as a skeptic. However, when I read the lawsuit filed by the Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) that compares potato grower organizations with an oil cartel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), than my skeptical nature sours into cynicism. The argument that grower organizations artificially inflated the price of potatoes falls flat on its own merits when you look at the current prices for potatoes. Like all lawsuits, this one will have a long life. Watch for updates at Spudman.com… Wed, 15 May 2013 19:09 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/learning-by-necessity http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/learning-by-necessity#id:22879#date:18:53  Rob Davis is no stranger to challenges. He’s been tackling challenges since he first began working in agriculture. From starting up his own large-scale potato operation to the 2013 chairmanship of the U.S. Potato Board (USPB), the 37-year old Davis has been fairly successful in meeting and defeating the challenges along life’s highway. But it was the challenge of managing a potato crop following a serious accident involving the owner that first steered Davis towards the potato industry. It was in 1999 when Davis first began working for Carl Noble. Noble, a major process grower… Wed, 15 May 2013 18:53 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/training-future-leaders http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/training-future-leaders#id:20943#date:21:52 It wasn’t quite as intense as a boot camp but participants in the 2013 Potato Industry Leadership Institute (PILI) spent seven days immersed in everything about the potato industry. Beginning in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on February 21, the 2013 class spent two and a half days working on leadership training and visiting two packing sheds, a processing plant, a dehy plant and a potato equipment manufacturing plant. Travis Blacker, Idaho Potato Commission’s director of industry relations, and Derek Peterson, an alumnus from the 2012 PILI class and the grower leader for the 2013 class were… Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:52 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/taking-stock-the-cruelest-month http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/taking-stock-the-cruelest-month#id:20942#date:19:15 April is the cruelest month. At least that was T.S. Eliot’s assessment and the English poet wasn’t referring to taxes. None the less, I’ve got taxes on my mind as I write this column, but let’s leave that cruel reality behind and talk about something a little more pleasant, the April issue of Spudman. We have a varied and interesting collection of articles this month. Beginning with David Fairbourn’s profile of North Dakota grower Carl Hoverson. Sometimes life throws a wrench into your plans for the future. Such was the case for Carl Hoverson. With… Sun, 17 Mar 2013 19:15 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/opportunity-knocks http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/opportunity-knocks#id:20941#date:19:04 Martin Sidor is a third-generation farmer, whose family began growing potatoes in the sandy Eastern Long Island soil in 1908. Sidor has the heavy hands and easy demeanor of a man who’s spent his life working the earth but also realizes that no matter how much he and his wife Carol love growing potatoes on their 170-acre family farm, it’s still a business. Large Midwest farms with newer potato varieties that shipped and stored well were making it more and more challenging to stay in business.  “We realized we had to make a decision. We… Sun, 17 Mar 2013 19:04 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/fighting-late-blight http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/fighting-late-blight#id:20940#date:18:55  Late blight isn’t an annual problem for Wisconsin growers, but it does make a presence in potato fields occasionally. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M) have recently seen new strains of the disease developing in the state, prompting them to undertake a comprehensive study to find resistance before it becomes a serious epidemic. Amanda Gevens, UW-Extension potato and vegetable pathologist, is leading a project on pathogen tracking and characterization of late blight. “We had late season detection in 10 counties, but the incidence was very low. So while it was present, we didn’t have… Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:55 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/meeting-the-challenges http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/meeting-the-challenges#id:20939#date:18:45 The death of his father revised Carl Hoverson’s plans to become an engineer and brought him home to the family farm. Hoverson’s great-grandparents settled near Manvel, N.D., in 1881. He is a fifth generation farmer, but initially had other aspirations after completing high school in 1973. “I was 20 years-old in January 1976 and in college at the University of North Dakota studying engineering when my dad, Odin died,” Hoverson said. “It was a difficult time, and I suddenly had that life-altering decision of whether to continue with my schooling or to pick up this… Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:45 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/paa-the-second-50-years http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/paa-the-second-50-years#id:20356#date:06:32 The Potato Association of America – The Second 50 years Last month we wrote of The Potato Association of America’s development during its first 50 years, one of the few organizations formed around a single commodity, certainly a unique concept 100 years ago. In the following 50 years, the PAA continued expanding its activities, reaching beyond the North American borders. As we report on the PAA history, it is imperative to remember the important relationship and cooperative influences of the land-grant university system, agricultural experiment stations, and Cooperative Extension services in PAA programs, investigative efforts,… Wed, 13 Feb 2013 06:32 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/feed-your-seed-nutritional-guidelines-help-determine-just-right-rates http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/feed-your-seed-nutritional-guidelines-help-determine-just-right-rates#id:20326#date:19:47 In the potato catalog of best management practices, nutrient management is at the top of the list. Growers must contend with reaching that perfect nutritional medium for the health of their crop: How much do you supply without supplying too much? There’s a number of variables growers must contend with; climate, water, variety, soil conditions and more, but when all is said and done, nutrient management remains the most vital of management factors resulting in quality potatoes and good yields at the end of harvest. The first step in determining your crops’ nutrient needs is… Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:47 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/an-ounce-of-prevention-seed-treatments-can-be-a-cure-for-healthy-yields http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/an-ounce-of-prevention-seed-treatments-can-be-a-cure-for-healthy-yields#id:20325#date:19:37 A little prevention could go a long way when preparing your potato seed for planting this spring. It’s already common practice to coat cut seed pieces with bark dust to speed the healing process. Growers should consider a product that also contains some type of fungicide to ward off diseases such as late blight, fusarium dry rot and rhizoctonia. “We recommend that growers who use bark dust use one that has a mancozeb-based dust mixed in with it,” said Jeff Miller, plant pathologist at Miler Research in Rupert, Idaho. Mancozeb is an old but reliable… Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:37 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/national-potato-council-new-opportunities-to-advance-policy-goals http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/national-potato-council-new-opportunities-to-advance-policy-goals#id:20324#date:19:34 Earlier this year, America’s potato growers placed their trust in me to lead the National Potato Council as its president throughout 2013. It is a responsibility I take seriously; overseeing an organization that impacts the lives and livelihoods of thousands of growers and their families is a humbling experience. I hope the decisions made by me, the executive committee, and our board of directors made up of growers from across the country will keep us on a track that supports a stronger industry for decades to come. Thankfully, we have a firm foundation from which… Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:34 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/industry-wake-up-call http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/industry-wake-up-call#id:20323#date:19:29 Nature’s wake-up call is about to ring in the spring. Down south the potatoes are in the ground but up here in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest and the Northeast the ground is just beginning to awaken from its winter slumber. Soon enough planting season will be in full swing. In this month’s profile, Randy Mullen, the National Potato Council’s president for 2013, is issuing another wake-up call for everyone in the potato industry to get involved in the politics of the potato industry. Strength in numbers is Mullens’ strategy when it comes to agricultural… Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:29 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/a-new-tradition http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/a-new-tradition#id:20322#date:19:26 Spudman magazine is honored to present Eric Halverson with its 2013 Emerging Leader Award. Halverson is the inaugural recipient of what promises to be an annual tradition within the potato industry. He and his wife Yvette are the parents of three daughters, Lucy, 7, Stella, 5 and Ruby, 2. Halverson, 35, the son of Gregg and Linda Halverson, is the executive vice president for Black Gold Farms based in Grand Forks, N.D., with potato production operations in 11 states. Halverson, with his brother John and sister Leah Brakke, represent the fourth-generation of North Dakota potato… Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:26 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/taking-the-wheel http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/taking-the-wheel#id:20321#date:19:14 The pendulum has swung from the east to the west with the election of Randy Mullen of Pasco, Wash., as 2013 National Potato Council (NPC) president. With his election at the NPC’s annual meeting in Las Vegas in January Mullen succeeds Steve Crane, of Exeter, Maine. Mullen’s involvement with the NPC began more than 15 years ago. Previously, he had been involved with the USPB and the Washington State Potato Commission. “I really feel that the NPC is the one that really gets things done politically,” Mullen said. With his NPC responsibilities requiring more of… Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:14 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/dynamic-decade http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/dynamic-decade#id:20133#date:04:54 It’s been quite a ride for Rick Miles in the 10 years since he first began supplying fresh Idaho potatoes to Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurants. In 2002, when Miles’ company was contracted to supply fresh potatoes for french fries, the chain consisted of five stores. Today, there are 1,075 Five Guys restaurants serving their famous burgers with fresh french fries and the chain continues to grow at the rate of more than 200 stores annually and a total of 1,500 franchises in development. “In 2002, they had five franchise stores and our first… Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:54 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/the-first-50-years http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/the-first-50-years#id:20132#date:04:51 In the fall of 1912 six men met and from that gathering a national organization dedicated to potato research would be born. The group’s intent was simply stated: “to be an effective national potato association…for promoting the potato industry in all its various phases.” From this original gathering, W.A. Martin, of Houlton, Maine, was elected president of this nascent tribal gathering. Martin was given the power to form an organization and select a complement of officers. This would be achieved in January, 1913, when President Martin, with $50 of his personal funds, opened a treasury… Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:51 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/equipment-round-up1 http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/equipment-round-up1#id:20131#date:04:46 Advanced Farm Equipment AFE Lenco recently introduced the Lenco Four-row Wrap Around Harvester with side-hill leveling that keeps the cleaning table level. Lenco has installed a load cell in the primary bed that indicates the amount of dirt being carried, which allows adjusting the speed of the chain so the proper amount of dirt can be carried without adjusting the speed of the machine. The Four-Row Wrap Around Harvester has electronic hydraulics run by an Eaton controller giving the opportunity to dial in to the speed of the primary and the speed of all conveyors… Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:46 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/equipment-round-up http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/equipment-round-up#id:20130#date:04:46 Advanced Farm Equipment AFE Lenco recently introduced the Lenco Four-row Wrap Around Harvester with side-hill leveling that keeps the cleaning table level. Lenco has installed a load cell in the primary bed that indicates the amount of dirt being carried, which allows adjusting the speed of the chain so the proper amount of dirt can be carried without adjusting the speed of the machine. The Four-Row Wrap Around Harvester has electronic hydraulics run by an Eaton controller giving the opportunity to dial in to the speed of the primary and the speed of all conveyors… Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:46 GMT http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/national-potato-council1 http://spudman.com/index.php/magazine/article/national-potato-council1#id:20129#date:04:44 Last December’s “fiscal cliff” debate in Washington, D.C., shed a national spotlight on some of the unique challenges that farmers face in securing their investments in land and production assets for their families. Although individuals and family-run corporations own approximately 98 percent of America’s two million farms and ranches, they are increasingly being lumped together with the much maligned big business sector by those who are searching for more funding to run the federal government. However, the inclusion of inheritance and capital gains taxes in the debate brought to light the fact that our federal… Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:44 GMT