Potato Grower

January 2022

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WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 23 "The Industry Leader In Vent Floor Systems" •Better distribution of air flow •Reduces moisture loss by up to 50% • Low maintenance • Quick cleanup •Greater storage yield •Easy storage loading and unloading for onions and potatoes CURRENTLY BEING USED BY: Frank Tiegs-Pasco, WA Cleaver Storages-Hermiston, OR Easterday Farms-Pasco, WA Madison Farms-Echo, OR Munn Farms-Prosser, WA Hartley Farms-Prosser, WA Lamb Weston-Patterson, WA Agri NW-Plymouth, WA Warden Hutterians-Warden, WA Weyns Farms-Othello, WA If you are ready for the BEST air floor system Please Contact ... Lynn Tegland 509-529-4898 1243 Reser Road Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 529-4898 Fax: (509) 527-0390 doubletltd@gmail.com www.doubletconstruction.biz Norkotah, which, he says, offer Idaho limited opportunity for differentiation. "You can grow Norkotahs in Colorado or Nebraska or Texas just as well as you can in Idaho," he says "It's really dif- ficult to differentiate product if it's the same product. Will people keep coming to Idaho to buy the same thing that can be grown everywhere else?" "There all these new varieties that you'd think would perform well in different regions," says Mike Macy, "but there are still a lot Burbanks and Norkotahs. I think the industry will eventually get to a point where some of those will be more widely adopted." For the past five years, Toevs has grown Clearwater Russets, a variety that has gained some traction in the "next big thing" conversation. They have succeed- ed on his farm, in part, he says, because he didn't dive in too quickly. "Commercial grower like me can scare easily," he says. "But you don't have to go out and plant your whole farm to a new variety. Do it in small steps; take notes; continue to evolve and adopt on whatever small scale works for you. "Growers also need to talk to the breed- ers and people who develop varieties to help them understand the issues," Toevs continues. "Breeders and developers don't always understand what we face on our end. Communication needs to be better, because those people are really committed; they want to see these varieties work, and they really believe in them—usually with good reason." That's the Holy Grail of variety devel- opment: finding one that not only gains a foothold but conquers the peaks of widespread acceptance in the industry. Surely, if the next Burbank isn't already out there somewhere, it will be soon. Will it be Clearwater? Or another PVMI variety (Debons has high hopes for Umatilla, Pomerelle and La Belle Russet)? Of course, no one can say for sure. But the future looks bright. PG Will and Ritchey Toevs in a storage cellar recently filled with Clearwater Russet potatoes, which they have grown for the last five years.

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