CapitalPress.com 11
Friday, December 27, 2019
What a bad potato year means
for french fry eaters and farmers
By COLIN TIERNAN
Twin Falls Times-News
TWIN FALLS, Idaho
— Fresh potato prices have
almost doubled after a poor
growing year and a frosty
harvest caused U.S. produc-
tion to drop 6% in 2019.
Idaho growers who were
able to harvest their pota-
toes and who sell them on
the fresh market, are benefit-
ing from the sky-high prices.
Few of those growers are
in the Magic Valley, where
most producers sign con-
tracts with major potato pro-
cessors to lock in prices.
While
production
dropped significantly this
year, experts don’t expect a
potato shortage.
“I don’t anticipate that any
time this year you’ll go into a
fast-food restaurant and not
be able to order french fries,”
Idaho Farm Bureau Federa-
tion Director of Commodi-
ties Zak Miller said.
Slog of a season
Potato farmers dealt with
difficult conditions from the
beginning of 2019. Wet, cold
weather in the spring got the
growing season off to a slow
start. The summer was cooler
than usual, too, which was
detrimental for spud growth.
“The frost really isn’t
the reason the price is up,”
Miller said. “The yield was
already down to begin with.”
The drop in production
caused potato prices to sky-
rocket from roughly $6 per
100-pound sack during the
summer to roughly $11 now.
For the farmers who got
their crop safely out of the
ground and sell fresh pota-
toes — the kind that you buy
whole at the store — 2019
will be a good year. But most
of those fortunate farmers
aren’t in the Magic Valley.
“There’s way fewer
growers in the Magic Valley
that do fresh (potatoes),” said
Ryan Moss, chief operating
officer of Moss Farms, head-
PAT SUTPHIN TIMES-NEWS/TownNews.com Content Exchange
Potatoes grow in a field July 17 near Heyburn, Idaho.
Bad weather caused U.S. spud production to drop this
year, but many Magic Valley growers won’t see much of
a price impact because they have contracted for their
potatoes.
quartered in Rupert, Idaho.
The Magic Valley has
several major potato proces-
sors such as McCain Foods
and Lamb Weston. Most
Magic Valley farmers sign
contracts with those com-
panies so they don’t have to
gamble on fresh market price
variations.
The early freeze in the
second week of October was
the cap on a tough year.
“Nobody saw it com-
ing until five days before,”
Idaho Potato Commission
Chairman Randy Hardy said.
“There really wasn’t any time
to make any adjustments.”
Early October freezes are
rare.
“It’s just not normal,”
Miller, who grows potatoes
in St. Anthony, said. “It’s just
unheard of.”
The freeze didn’t impact
all of Idaho equally. The
more mountainous regions
of eastern Idaho suffered
more. Still, Miller noted that
farmers from the Treasure
Valley to eastern Idaho got
“nipped” by the cold.
Moss said the Mini-Cas-
sia area wasn’t hurt too
badly by the freeze. He had
gotten about 85% of his
potatoes out of the ground
when the cold weather
arrived.
Potatoes are a sensitive
crop. They don’t respond
well to cold.
“When it gets below 45
degrees, potatoes get brit-
tle,” Hardy said.
Spuds can crack and
bruise more easily when
they’re harvested cold. A
cold potato undergoes a
physical transformation as
well — the starches turn
into sugars. That ruins
the spud. Plus, if a potato
freezes in the ground, the
cells within it will break.
The spud might look
fine on the outside. But
storing a potato that has
frozen can create a mess.
The water held in the cells
leaks out, and eventually a
cellar full of frozen pota-
toes can turn into a pile of
goop.
Other states impacted
North Dakota, Minne-
sota, Wisconsin and Mich-
igan were most heavily
impacted by the early frost.
Overall, American produc-
tion fell 6.1%, while Idaho’s
production dropped 5.5%.
The Canadian provinces of
Alberta and Manitoba were
also affected.
“North Dakota was just
brutalized,” Miller said.
“It’s almost a complete
disaster there.”
This is the first time a
cold front has impacted a
potato harvest this dramati-
cally since 1985. Hardy still
remembers that year almost
like a nightmare.
“We quit digging at
night when the potatoes
were stuck to the side of the
truck,” he said.
Farmers tried to put their
spuds in cellars, but the
crop was already ruined.
The potatoes essentially
melted.
“It was just soup,”
Hardy said. “The smell was
horrendous. It’s just some-
thing that sticks with you
for a long, long time.”
Familiar fight
Hardy said that farmers
have to contend with dev-
astating weather frequently.
“You’re laying it all out
on the line every year,”
he said. “It’s so easy for
something like this to hap-
pen. And it’s so easy for a
grower to get caught in it.”
Miller said he’s grate-
ful for how many of his
potatoes he was able to
successfully harvest. If it
hadn’t been for friends and
neighbors helping out he’s
not sure what would have
happened.
“We had neighbors and
community members help
us come dig for 40 hours
straight without stopping,”
he said. “It’s extremely
humbling and emotional,
even as I think about it now.
And the thing that’s neat
about it is that I know what
happened on my farm is a
microcosm of what hap-
pened everywhere, up and
down the valley.
“Farmers are compet-
itors with one another.
But when times are tough
they’re also the first ones to
give help,” he said.
Times-News File/TownNews.com Content Exchange
An employee maneuvers a forklift through an Agropur
warehouse in 2014. Nelson-Jameson, a major dairy pro-
cessor and food processor supply company, is joining
Agropur and other food processors building in Jerome,
Idaho. The company has purchased 19 acres and plans
to build a warehouse there.
Major dairy processor
supplier moving from
Twin Falls to Jerome
By COLIN TIERNAN
Twin Falls Times-News
JEROME, Idaho — A
major dairy and food pro-
cessing supplier is moving
from Twin Falls to Jerome.
Nelson-Jameson, a Wis-
consin-based
company,
purchased 19 acres on the
south end of Jerome. The
location will soon be home
to a 29,000 square-foot dis-
tribution warehouse, with
rail access.
“The City of Jerome’s
core businesses are born out
of the dairy and milk pro-
cessing industries,” Jerome
Mayor Dave Davis said in a
statement. “We are excited
to have Nelson-Jameson
in Jerome to deepen these
relationships.”
The supply company
leases space in Twin Falls,
but will move to the Jerome
location after construction
of the new facility wraps
up. Nelson-Jameson said
the move should happen
sometime in 2021.
Jerome 20/20 Execu-
tive Director Larry Hall
said Jerome has an excel-
lent business-friendly envi-
ronment. It helps that the
city has land at relatively
affordable prices, he noted.
“It’s an easy place to
do business,” he said.
“We’re able to get things
done.”
Jerome City Adminis-
trator Mike Williams said
adding
Nelson-Jameson
to Jerome is a win for the
community, and contrib-
utes to the city’s tax base.
“We appreciate the
investment,” Williams said.
Hall said that Nel-
son-Jameson will probably
have about 10-15 employ-
ees, and the new facility
will likely cost about $6
million.
This year has been a big
year for economic develop-
ment in Jerome, with major
dairy processors investing
millions of dollars. Hall
said Magic Valley Quality
Milk, Idaho Milk Products,
Commercial Creamery and
Agropur have all expanded
this year.
Still, Hall expects more
development to come.
“2020 is probably going
to be surpassing (2019),”
he said.
S155304-1
4-H is a family affair
As we launch into a new 4-H year, we are reminded that 4-H is a family affair! While the
youth are actively enrolled in the 4-H program, the family is truly the support system for
success.
4-H Positive Youth Development is a “whole family” experience. While the 4-Hers are active
in their 4-H projects, other family members are also actively assisting in, participating in and
enabling the hands-on learning.
Parents and guardians provide a supportive role. They enable the youth to fully participate by
transporting them, helping with project costs, providing encouragement and cheering them
on. Siblings work alongside the 4-H members. The younger ones are learning and helping,
while the older siblings may be teaching and providing real-life lessons from their own
experiences.
Left to right, Karen Neal, Storey
Jackson, Robert Jackson and Gavin
Jackson. Photo by Linda McLean/4-H
From left to right, Scarlett Seymour, Col-
lise Seymour, Scott Seymour and Beatrice
Seymour. Photo by Linda McLean/4-H
And grandparents are the ultimate supporters. Many of this older generation grew up in
the 4-H program and have valuable first-hand knowledge and experiences. They share their
expertise and they inspire the youth to explore and experience all that 4-H has to offer.
4-H is more than just fun; 4-H helps youth to gain lifeskills that can help them to grow into
caring and contributing citizens. But 4-H also helps to strengthen the family bond, through
the qualities and values that 4-H has come to represent: responsible citizenship; teamwork;
resiliency; self-discipline; self-esteem and leadership; to name a few.
4-H helps to bring families together for the common good – the health and safety of the 4-H
members. By offering youth something positive to participate in, we are helping to keep them
safe and active and contributing to their own futures.
Join 4-H today by contacting your local extension office! The 4-H year runs from Oct. 1 to
Sept. 30.
If you would like more information on this or other Extension programs, please contact Linda
McLean, Colville Reservation WSU Extension Director, (509) 634-2305 or ljmclean@wsu.
edu . Or you may contact the WSU Ferry County Extension office at, (509) 775-5225 ext. 1116
or the WSU Okanogan County Extension office (509) 422-7245. Extension programs and
employment are available to all without discrimination.
Left to right, Ruger Angstrom, Eli
Katich, Sage Katich, Sierra Studer,
Conner Katich and Karlene Katich.
Photo by Greg Sheffield
Left to right, Cathy Desautel, Torrence
Finley, and Nicomi Swan. Photo by
Linda McLean/4-H
Proud Sponsor of 4-H
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503-873-6498
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888-877-7665
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