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"Dad always told us, 'Boys, you've got a 110-day growing season up here,'" Ed recalls with a rueful yet genuine smile. "'You've got that time to get your spuds planted, raised and harvested.' Well, our first crop froze in the ground. It got down to 10 degrees by Sept. 20. It's still a challenge every year, but that was one of the earliest freezes I ever saw." The brothers weathered that first rough year, and eventually the business thrived. In 1999, with another generation coming up, they split the operation. The two farms still share most of their equipment, which has proven beneficial to both. Today, Ed and his son Kyle farm around 200 acres of Alturas, Russet Burbank and Clearwater Russet seed potatoes on a five-year rotation with mostly wheat and hay. The Starkels have never been about making room on the farm for a family member who isn't ready to contribute in a meaningful way. That held true for Kyle, who spent nearly a decade away working as a diesel mechanic for Volvo and Kenworth before returning to the farm last spring. "The older I got," says Kyle, "the more I thought, I want to carry on this wonderful family legacy, here on this farm." "Several of our longtime customers are my age and taking a step back," says Ed. "Now it's their kids working with Kyle. The next generation just carries on." Ed leans back in his chair a bit and gazes out the kitchen window at the land that has been so good to four generations of Starkels. That smile is there, revealing the pride he obviously has in regard to this place, this family—and the obvious, unfettered joy he takes in them. Then he turns back to me. 22 POTATO GROWER | DECEMBER 2018