Potato Grower

July 2014

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www.potatogrower.com 23 In the ground. Planting at the Massers' typically runs from mid-April through Memorial Day weekend. Julie Masser Ballay, who serves as chief technical officer. The farm operates 4,500 acres of potatoes, corn, wheat, alfalfa and timothy hay. Roughly 600 to 700 of those acres grow potatoes each year, all of them table-stock varieties: round whites and round yellows, as well as specialty fingerling and petite varieties. "A few reds are usually in there, too," says Dave. Besides the farm, Sterman Masser Farms also consists of a fresh-packing shed and a dehydration facility. "The fresh pack started back in 1970 with my dad and grandfather," says Dave. "It started with a one-line washer and carousel, and it's expanded throughout the years." In 2000 the company underwent a major expansion, and the facility is now home to six weighers, a larger washer and a specialty line. All these contribute to the company's shipping out around 2.5 million pounds of fresh potatoes a year, comprising everything grown on the family's farm along with product from several other growers across Pennsylvania and the entire country. Keith Masser had a hard and fast rule

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