Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/509094
www.potatogrower.com 13 All my memories gather round her, Miner's lady, stranger to blue water. Dark and dusty, painted on the sky, Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye. ~ John Denver, "Take Me Home, Country Roads," 1971 All my memories gather round her, Miner's lady, stranger to blue water. Dark and dusty, painted on the sky, Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye. ~ John Denver, "Take Me Home, Country Roads," 1971 are among the crops Helmick expects to see grown in West Virginia in the future. For now, those plans rest on the success of the 2015 potato crop, which will be marketed in-state. Helmick envisions fresh West Virginia spuds being a welcome change to West Virginians from potatoes shipped from the West and Midwest, which often take more than a week to make their journey. "We're not trying to be an Idaho or a Washington State," Helmick says. "We're still going to consume more than we grow. We're realistic people; we know we're not going to overcome that $6 billion overnight. Here in West Virginia, we call that a pipe dream. But we're going to grow a lot of the potatoes we consume here." When the offhand comment is made that Helmick might have more important things to do than sit for a magazine interview, his response is characteristically enthusiastic and optimistic: "No, no—not any more important than talking about potatoes; I love it. Next time you get an opportunity, you come to West Virginia and we'll show you potatoes." PG PACKED WITH PRIDE Freshly packed West Virginia potatoes await shipment at the packing facility in Huttonsville, W.Va. MAKING THE CUT (right) Ag commissioner Walt Helmick inspects a potato at the WVDA's potato packaging facility in Huttonsville. KEEPING UP (left) Many of the potatoes grown in the 2015 pilot program will be packaged at the facility in Huttonsville. West Virginia commissioner of agriculture Walt Helmick www.potatogrower.com 13