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24 Potato Grower | JULY 2014 GROWER OF THE MONTH that his children work in the industry away from home before coming back to the farm. So after growing up drinking in all he could about how to manage a potato farm, Dave went to Penn State, where he received a degree in agricultural systems management. He worked for John Deere Industrial Equipment and New Holland North America for a few years before he returned home in 2000 to help with the company's massive expansion. Dave Masser says that one of the biggest challenges they face in Pennsylvania is topography that may not be familiar to growers in areas thought of as being more traditional potato-producing country. The never-ending rolling hills present a somewhat unique challenge. "The farms back East were developed very early in this country's history, so what you're dealing with is 20-, 50-, 100- acre farms," he says. "So you've got these blocks of land that have small strips. So our average strip of potatoes is four or five acres. So it's a very equipment-intense business to be in back here." Combined with the contours of the land, Pennsylvania's weather also has potential to cause trouble for a potato grower. Long, brutal winters and summers that remain hot both day and night provide challenges growers in the Pacific Northwest don't have to face. But the Massers have found the varieties that work for their environment, and they're riding them. They've been growing potatoes in Pennsylvania for, literally, centuries, and they plan to continue that proud tradition in the place they call home. Dave says the family's goal is to "marry the technology … to what some folks might call non-traditional areas of growing potatoes. Pennsylvania, back in the 1950s, had 100,000 acres of potato production. Right now, it's less than 10,000 acres. Our biggest focus is trying to mitigate risk and finding ways to do it successfully here." "Trying" might not be a strong enough word. I think we can agree the Massers are doing it successfully, and they certainly aren't going anywhere. PG (top) A good start. Mid-May this year saw the Masser planting crews running full bore. (lower) Making a name. The Sterman Masser label accompanies some 2.5 million pounds of fresh potatoes shipped from the company's packing shed each year.