John Halverson to lead Potatoes USA

John Halverson of Arbyrd, Missouri, was appointed chair of Potatoes USA on March 16, at the organization’s 45th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. He will be serving his fifth year on the board and his third year on its Executive committee.

In 2015, he served as co-chair of the Domestic Marketing committee, and in 2016 he served as co-chair of the International Marketing Committee.

Halverson has been involved with potato production his entire life, and works out of Black Gold Farms business unit in Arbyrd, Missouri. Black Gold Farms is a global production, sales and service operation, specializing in potatoes for the chip, fresh and seed markets. Halverson is primarily involved in the chip-stock and fresh sectors of the industry. Sweet potatoes, wheat, corn and soybeans are also grown on their farms.

“I have a passion for potatoes,” Halverson said. “It is what my family has done for generations, and we all love it with a passion. My brother, Eric and sister, Leah and I are fourth generation farmers in our business, which dates back to 1928 in the Red River Valley of North Dakota.”

Halverson attended North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, and studied Agricultural Economics. He is married to Angie, and they have three daughters: Hannah (age 14), Ava (age 11) and Lilly (age 5). He enjoys golfing in the summer months and college football during the fall/winter.