Potato Grower

April 2017

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22 POTATO GROWER | APRIL 2017 Ag Systems SureFire Ag Systems Fertilizer - Pesticides - Fungicides - Fumigants Patent pending technology designed for prescription variable rate application. At a planting speed of 4 mph apply 10-50 GPA. Electromagnetic flowmeter with no moving parts monitors flow on every row In-cab display provides notification of complete or partial blockage 10-275 oz/min flow range Liquid Application Solutions New 208-356-4317 1217 S. RAILROAD AVE • SUGAR CITY, ID 83448 159296MauWel12h.indd 1 2/29/16 1:26 PM Throughout their two decades of marriage, Matt and Wendi have always floated ideas to each other about starting a business in which both could feel comfortable being intimately involved. For years, that's all it ever was: ideas, big plans that neither fully expected to carry out. But about a year ago, frustrated with the lack of good, healthy, affordable dining options in the San Luis Valley, the talks got serious. Could they start the kind of restaurant they longed for and make it work? It's a worn-out platitude in the business world that the restaurant business is a risky one, and that scares most would- be restaurateurs away. But Wendi Seger scoffs at that notion. "Farming is risky," she says. "It always cracks me up when farmers say the restaurant business is risky." On Sept. 5, 2016, the Segers' restaurant, Locavores, opened its doors to the public in downtown Alamosa, Colo., about 40 miles from their house. So far, it has been an unqualified success. It serves a diverse menu of fast-casual meals, with all its food sourced from farms in the region (save for things such as rice that are not grown locally). Just as important to the Segers as the restaurant's critical and financial, success, though, is the message the establishment conveys to customers. "One of my goals too is to portray farmers authentically," says Wendi. "In the cities when they do farm-to-table food, farmers are hardly mentioned or are portrayed falsely. We know that farming is very high-tech. Matt is an accountant, he's a scientist, he's a mechanic. And that's true of most growers. If farmers were a baseball team, everyone would play every position. Part of our mission is to show that farming is high-tech, contemporary, educated." "I'm just really proud of the people we have here," says Matt."There are some really good farmers here in this community who grow amazing crops. We thought it would be a good selling point to showcase what people do around here."

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