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"Fred just saw an opportunity," says
Fred's great-grandson Keith, who along
with his father richard takes care of most
of the barretts' marketing needs. "There
was good water and not a lot of potatoes
being grown and he would have freight
advantages against other growers. I don't
know if he was the first, but he was one of
the first potato growers in Texas."
Growing a crop like potatoes has its
unique challenges in Texas that growers
in the Northwest, Northeast, or Upper
Midwest often don't face. There's a reason
that not many potato growers choose to
ply their trade in the state. The barretts
grow their potatoes on a stretch of highly
erodible sand hills. That soil, combined
with the Panhandle's extreme heat
and wind, means that barrett potatoes
always have to be planted into a cover
crop (usually wheat). The conditions are
hardly ideal for growing potatoes. but the
barretts take great pride in doing what
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