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the East to service the Midwest and Eastern markets,” says Gleddie. “We were drawn in particular to the central sands region of Wisconsin, primarily because we felt it gave us a great opportunity to grow a very high quality fresh-eating creamer potato.
“ ere are other regions east of the Missis- sippi River in the United States that can o er some of the same things Wisconsin o ers, but on a much more limited scale. We have good prairie lanes. It’s the soil, the climate, the capacity and the grower expertise. All those things come together and make it the right place to be,” he says.
All varieties are increasing in movement, says Alsum. “Red and gold potatoes continue to grow in consumer demand,” he says. “We are also seeing growth in the ngerling cate- gory and the gourmet blend of ngerlings and other blends, as well. We are testing several new varieties on our farm this year and are looking forward to new products to o er this fall. Creamer-size potato varieties continue to grow exponentially in demand. While small, the specialty potato category continues to grow.”
MIDWEST CONNECTION
Wisconsin grower-shippers and packing sheds distribute produce throughout the Eastern half of the United States, primarily from east of the Mississippi River to the East Coast, the Midwest and portions of Canada.
Local interest helps move Wisconsin pota- toes at retail. “It’s our closeness, which means one, sometimes two days at the most deliv- eries to just about everywhere,” says Okray Family Farms’ Okray. “Locally grown, or close to locally grown, resonates with consumers, especially with Gen-Xers and Millennials. e idea of keeping the carbon footprint down is very helpful. ey are trying to get as local as possible without having to truck product halfway across the country or more. at’s a big asset for us. It’s an easy selling point.”
If one draws a triangle between Minneap- olis-St. Paul, Chicago and Milwaukee, a popu- lation of 18 million people living in that region emerges, which is a large number of shoppers. “We are three to ve hours’ drive away from all of them,” says Bushmans’ Carter. “Being able to supply that big of a population in our backyard provides all sorts of services, including a product that is competitively priced.”
Wisconsin growers consider large Midwestern markets, including Chicago, Minneapolis and even Detroit, as being local to Wisconsin, says WPVGA’s Houlihan. “We are promoting our potatoes to those big cities as well as our own state,” he says. “More and more
people want local. You just get a fresher product when you buy local.”
Sustainability is of keen interest to many of today’s shoppers. “Buying local and being close to the market and reducing the carbon footprint are all things that are important,” says Carter. “We are much closer to the popu- lation base, primarily to the East Coast and the South. is puts us in a unique position to supply the general population, where the population bases are, with identical quality and variety as some of the western states.”
Depending on the time of the year, Wisconsin’s market share in fresh potato shipments averages 10 percent to 15 percent. Although Idaho typically ships about half of all U.S. fresh potatoes, Wisconsin’s high demand in the Midwest and East allows it to be responsible for one out of every eight potatoes sold, says Okray. “Our industry as a whole is shrinking,” he says. “All the shippers that have survived are the ones that assure the quality leaving our sheds is the quality expected from retail.” pb
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