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42 Potato Grower | NOVEMBER 2014 diggin' in VARIETY DEVELOPMENT Story and photos by Allen Thayer Sunrain Varieties Opens Expanded Facility in Idaho Falls Officials also announce purchase of 1,600-acre farm OFFICIALS AT SUNRAIN VARIETIES hosted an open house Aug. 13 at its facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to showcase capital improvements and new varieties. Kelly Stoddard, Sunrain VP of operations, said the company opened two additional greenhouses and a 25,000-cwt. storage unit in July. This increases its in-house mini-tuber production by nearly 40 percent. Mini-tubers are grown from potato tissue cultures and represent the first step in seed production. Additional office space and on-site testing equipment were also added to its site in Idaho Falls during the upgrade. The on-site test farm was upgraded by adding a state-of- the-art irrigation system to the 140-acre plot. Sunrain, involved in potato variety development and seed propagation, now has a total of six greenhouses. The Idaho Falls facility is the centerpiece of Sunrain's nationwide trial program currently in its second year that On display. Several potato varieties greet visitors at the Sunrain Varieties open house Aug. 13 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. More greenhouses. Employees work in one of the greenhouses at Sunrain Varieties. Two new greenhouses were recently completed on the site bringing the total to six.