Potato Grower

Rockey-Mountain Agreement Sheldon Rockey, 38, part owner in Rockey Farm in Center, Colo., is a third-generation grower, following in the footsteps of his father, Warren, and grandfather, Floyd. Sheldon and his brother, Brendon, both attended Colorado State University. Sheldon graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in agriculture engineering, and Brendon graduated in 1999 with his bachelor's in horticulture. Sheldon says he and his brother were fortunate enough that when they returned to the farm, they didn't just work for their father and uncle—they were both given decision-making responsibilities that threw the two of them into the middle of it. And there was plenty of work to jump into. Unbeknownst to Sheldon, his father and uncle were approached by White Mountain Farm, who had discovered a new kind of potato called a "fingerling," to become their partner in growing and packing the new kind of tuber. While mainstream in Europe, the only available fingerlings in the U.S. in the mid-1990s were noncertified seed. White Mountain Farm and Rockey Farm subsequently brought over fingerling test tubes from Europe in 1995, and became a part of U.S. potato history. Sheldon attended CSU with the mindset that he wanted to return to the farm, but because their operation only grew 250 acres of potatoes, he wasn't sure there was room for all of the families who wanted to get involved. Then Warren called him his junior year with a prospect. "I can even remember what I was studying," he says. "I was sitting at my desk when he called me, and said, 'We're going to build a warehouse, but we don't want to make the commitment— financial commitment and time commitment—to do it unless we know you're going to come back and help us.'" Sheldon returned to the farm and became involved in seed sales as well as packing fingerlings. White Mountain singled out Rockey Farm for a unique reason— since the early 1980s, Rockey Farm has had their own lab and greenhouse to produce their own seed. "We do tissue culture all the way up to mini-tuber production," Sheldon says. "Just for our own farm; we don't sell any of it." White Mountain Farm and Rockey Farm have a joint fingerling packing venture, started in 2012, called White Rock Specialties. Fingerlings are packed and shipped out of the old Sangre De Cristo High School in Mosca, Colo. (opposite, main) Out in the Field. Sheldon walks out into a green cover crop field while the crop is disked under. (opposite, inset) Brothers. Brothers Sheldon (l) and Brendon Rockey have had integral roles in the success of Rockey Farm ever since they both graduated from Colorado State University in 1998 and 1999, respectively. (top right) Companion Cropping. The Rockeys' customized Grimme GL 430 planter plants companion crops—peas, chickling vetch and buckwheat—along with potatoes to benefit the soil. (bottom right) Vine Kill. Rockey Farm is very close to being certified organic, but they choose not to be. They prefer using sulfuric acid for vine kill, and if early blight becomes too much of a problem or if late blight returns to the San Luis Valley, they want the flexibility of using chemicals. www.potatogrower.com 21

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