1910_Badger Common'Tater

$22/year | $2/copy | Volume 71 No. 10 | OCTOBER 2019

THE VOICE OF WISCONSIN'S POTATO & VEGETABLE INDUSTRY

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORY & BAGGING/PACKAGING ISSUE INTERVIEW:

GUY MATHIAS Heartland AG Systems

CALL TO EXPAND Weather Station Network RETURN TO PAPER Potato Packaging?

COMPLETE 2019 WPVGA Associate Division Directory STUDY MEASURES NITROGEN Movement from Wastewater A Case IH 3340 sprayer with Wanca booms, available from Heartland AG Systems, is put into action spraying organic beans. Photo courtesy of Allied Cooperative

Chris Lockery Jim Stefan

Inventory • Replenishment Services • Handle all freight concerns • Long-Range Planning •

Bob Dobbe • Paul Hegewald John Hopfensperger • John Eckendorf Jerome Bushman (FL - WI) • Nic Bushman Mike Gatz, Jim Stefan and Chris Fleming (Milwaukee) Sam Saccullo (All fruits and vegetables) Mike Whyte (Michigan) Transportation: Denise Moze • Nate Sohns Mike Carter CEO

800-826-0200 715-677-4533 • Fax: 715-677-4076 Rosholt, Wisconsin

On the Cover: It never fails in the Wisconsin potato and vegetable growing

industry—you put out a call for something, and the response from people is fantastic. That’s what happened when this issue’s interviewee, Guy Mathias of Heartland AG Systems, needed images of implements his company offers being put into action. Kathy Kuss, marketing communications for Allied Cooperative, sent the photo of a Case IH 3340 sprayer with Wanca booms being used for spraying organic beans. Thanks, Kathy!

8 BADGER COMMON’TATER INTERVIEW: Heartland AG Systems manufactures many sizes and models of pull-type fertilizer spreaders. This issue’s interviewee, Guy Mathias, location manager for Heartland AG Systems in DeForest, Wisconsin, says the company also offers lime/fertilizer spreaders from Salford (BBI) and New Leader. When AG Systems merged with Heartland AG in March 2019, it became the largest Case IH application equipment dealership in North America.

DEPARTMENTS: ALI'S KITCHEN.................... 65 AUXILIARY NEWS............... 28 BADGER BEAT.................... 44

20 SEED PIECE

Rhinelander Field Day was a chance to introduce new staff members to visitors

51 NEW PRODUCTS

Automated Produce Equipment showcases Raynbow optical sorter

55 SCIENTISTS MEASURE NITROGEN MOVEMENT

Clay Vanderleest bores a hole at a nitrate study site

EYES ON ASSOCIATES......... 53 MARK YOUR CALENDAR...... 6 MARKETPLACE................... 49 NOW NEWS....................... 24 NPC NEWS......................... 62

FEATURE ARTICLES:

PEOPLE.............................. 59

14 PAPER POTATO PACKAGING is back, if consumers have anything to say about it

PLANTING IDEAS.................. 6

31 FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE: See the complete WPVGA Associate Division Directory

POTATOES USA NEWS........ 58

40 RESEARCHER PUTS OUT CALL to expand network of agricultural weather stations

WPIB FOCUS...................... 54

4

BC�T October

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4 COLUMN x 5” 7.708” x 5” WPVGA Board of Directors: President: Wes Meddaugh Vice President: Rod Gumz Secretary: Mike Carter Treasurer: Gary Wysocki Directors: Bill Guenthner, Charlie Mattek, Alex Okray, Eric Schroeder & Eric Wallendal

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WPVGA Staff Executive Director: Tamas Houlihan Managing Editor: Joe Kertzman Director of Promotions & Consumer Education: Dana Rady Financial Officer: Karen Rasmussen Executive Assistant: Julie Braun Program Assistant: Jane Guillen Spudmobile Assistant: Doug Foemmel

WPVGA Office (715) 623-7683 • FAX: (715) 623-3176 E-mail: wpvga@wisconsinpotatoes.com Website: www.wisconsinpotatoes.com LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/WPVGA

WINTER IS COMING. ARE YOU READY FOR IT?

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Badger Common’Tater is published monthly at 700 Fifth Avenue, Antigo, DEALER LOGO Wisconsin 54409

Address | Phone Number | Website suggested font: Arial

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Telephone: (715) 623-7683 Mailing address: P.O. Box 327, Antigo, Wisconsin 54409

Or, subscribe free online: http://wisconsinpotatoes.com/blog-news/subscribe/ ADVERTISING: To advertise your service or product in this magazine, call (715) 630-6213, or email: Joe Kertzman: jkertzman@wisconsinpotatoes.com.

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BC�T October

5

MARK YOUR

Calendar OCTOBER

17-19

28-29

PMA FRESH SUMMIT Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA RESEARCH MEETING West Madison Ag Research Station Verona, WI

2

2019 SPUD BOWL Community Stadium, Goerke Park, 1 p.m.

Stevens Point, WI

14-15

16

16-17

POTATO EXPO The Mirage Las Vegas, NV NATIONAL POTATO COUNCIL ANNUAL MEETING The Mirage Las Vegas, NV POTATOES USA WINTER MEETING 2020 The Mirage Las Vegas, NV

NOVEMBER

JANUARY 2020

FEBRUARY

4-6

19-20

24-27

WPVGA GROWER EDUCATION CONFERENCE & INDUSTRY SHOW Holiday Inn Convention Center Stevens Point, WI INTERNATIONAL CROP EXPO Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND POTATO D.C. FLY-IN Capital Hilton Washington, D.C.

3/31-4/2

10-12

60th ANNUAL WPS FARM SHOW Experimental Aircraft Association Grounds Oshkosh, WI POTATOES USA ANNUAL MEETING The Brown Palace Hotel Denver, CO

19

WSPIA SPUD SEED CLASSIC GOLF OUTING Bass Lake Golf Course Deerbrook, WI

14

16

21-23

ASSOCIATE DIV. PUTT-TATO OPEN GOLF OUTING Bull’s Eye Country Club Wisconsin Rapids, WI HANCOCK AG RESEARCH STATION FIELD DAY Hancock, WI FARM TECHNOLOGY DAYS Eau Claire County Eau Claire, WI

MARCH

JUNE

JULY

Planting Ideas Is paper the new plastic? I must admit that when I first read the feature article penned for this special Bagging & Packagingthemed issue of the Badger Common’Tater, I was a bit skeptical. How could paper potato packaging be back?

Hadn’t plastic replaced paper years ago?

Mark G. Resch, freelance writer, wrote the article titled “Paper Potato Packaging is Back.” He not only delves into the history of iconic mesh-windowed paper potato bags and Weigh-O-Matic baggers of the 1950’s through the ’80s, but also details the age of plastics and catches readers up to current trends.

Resch explains that, while plastic film and mesh bags offer ease of automation and the ability to close bags with coded closures like Kwik Loks and Clipps, and are easily printed with eye-catching graphics, consumers are demanding recyclable paper bags in their grocery store produce sections.

Europe, Resch says, is leading the return to paper produce packaging with several new types of recyclable and compostable products being market tested. Here in the United States, he adds, there are several new paper bag ideas being developed that will be market tested over the next 12 months.

I was still wary. Then, fate stepped in to convince me. Volm Companies sent me their new half-page ad for this issue, and it features, what else, a “BAG-2-PAPER,” no plastic, recyclable potato bag. The package claims that bagging facilities can fill “up to 60 bags per minute,” it’s adorned with high-quality graphics and has holes in it to maintain potato freshness.

I contacted Volm, asked a company representative if he could email a second picture of a paper potato bag and was sent the image above.

The yellow flesh “Tasty Little Potatoes” that come in the package can be microwaved directly in the bag and are ready in 8 minutes. The time factor addresses another trend in the produce business—ease of food preparation and quick, hassle-free meals, in this case, in a paper bag.

See the complete feature article in this issue, which gives a fascinating account of potato bagging and packaging. And check out Volm’s new ad!

Please email me with your thoughts and questions. If you wish to be notified when our free online magazine is available monthly, here is the subscriber link: http://wisconsinpotatoes.com/blog-news/subscribe.

Joe Kertzman

Managing Editor jkertzman@wisconsinpotatoes.com

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Interview GUY MATHIAS,

location manager, Heartland AG Systems

By Joe Kertzman, managing editor, Badger Common’Tater

NAME: Guy Mathias TITLE: Location manager COMPANY: Heartland AG Systems LOCATION: DeForest, Wisconsin HOMETOWN: Cuba City, Wisconsin YEARS IN PRESENT POSITION: 17 PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT: Danco Prairie FS Co-Op and Fertilizer Dealer Supply SCHOOLING: Bachelor of Science degree in soil and crop science, University of Wisconsin-Platteville ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS: Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association member, Wisconsin Agri-Business Association (WABA) and Stoughton youth football AWARDS/HONORS: President of WABA, 2017 WABA Distinguished Organization and 1993 collegiate soil judging national champion FAMILY: Wife, Julie, and sons, Jacob and Nicolas HOBBIES: Motorcycle and ATV riding, trap shooting, hunting and watching kids play sports 8

BC�T October

When AG Systems merged with Heartland AG in March of 2019, Heartland AG Systems became the largest Case IH application equipment dealership in North America, says Guy Mathias, location manager, DeForest, Wisconsin.

In 1967, Dick Lenz started AG Systems, located in Hutchinson, Minnesota. Tyler Equipment was the main line sold along with other fertilizer equipment that the company manufactured.

“In 1991, Tyler came out with the Patriot sprayer, which was a great boost to our success,” Mathias says.

“Case IH purchased Tyler Equipment in 1997 to complete their ‘Circle of Equipment’.”

DeForest was the first branch location, launched in 1988, and with its success, two more branches were opened in Manvel, North Dakota (1990) and Mitchell, South Dakota (1994). The last location opened its doors, in Garrison, North Dakota, in 2015.

“We had 125 employees companywide when we merged with Heartland AG on March 1, 2019,” Mathias explains. “Heartland AG is a CNH application equipment dealership that has four locations

servicing Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado.”

The Heartland AG Systems corporate office and manufacturing plant are part of a new facility in Hutchinson, Minnesota, and Mathias says customers won’t see anything different when they stop in or call.

“With the merger, it gives us access to some additional parts and equipment suppliers and four more warehouses to get parts from,” he relates.

How did you first become involved with AG Systems and how has your role evolved? I was hired as the location manager, in 2002, and I had five employees. Since then, we have expanded our parts and service Above: Guy Mathias, location manager for Heartland AG Systems in DeForest, Wisconsin, says the sales, parts and service office building pictured holds the largest inventory of Case IH sprayer and floater parts in the state.

A precision ag specialist for Heartland AG Systems, Ryan Culver installs an Intelligent AG dry fertilizer blockage monitor on a new 72-foot Salford RA-855 Air Boom Spreader.

our DeForest store, we have anything and everything, whether it be for liquid or dry fertilizer needs. departments, added a precision ag department, and currently have 11 employees. I manage the parts department as well.

What is your own personal history in the ag industry? I worked on various dairy, beef and swine farms through high school and college. My first job out of college was as a crop scout for Danco Prairie FS (Insight FS) in Arlington, Wisconsin.

I then moved on to Fertilizer Dealer Supply, in Milton, as an inside salesperson. This was my introduction into the fertilizer/spraying parts and equipment industry.

Is there a dealership or distributorship in DeForest,

Wisconsin? We are a branch office sitting on three acres of land with two buildings totaling 20,400 square feet. We also have branch locations in Manvel and Garrison, North Dakota; Mitchell, South Dakota; Ames, Iowa; Marshall, Missouri; Grand Island, Nebraska; and Great Bend, Kansas.

I believe Heartland AG Systems offers applicators, hitches, nurse wagons, tanks, spreaders, tenders, liquid floaters, sprayers and precision ag. Tell me briefly what exactly you supply to potato and vegetable growers in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Heartland AG Systems is a one-stop shop for all things fertilizer/spraying related. With over $5 million in parts and inventory at

Along with the Case IH sprayer and floater line, we also handle the RBR Enterprise floater/row crop line of four-wheel-drive chassis that come with New Leader boxes, Case IH 810 Flex-Air applicators or 1,600-gallon sprayers with 120-foot booms.

How large is your sales territory?

Our DeForest location is responsible for the state of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. With our DeForest warehouse being one of the major parts hubs, we have shipped products to places as far and wide as the states of Idaho, New York and even Hawaii.

If we don’t have it in DeForest, we can get the parts shipped from one continued on pg. 10

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Interview. . .

continued from pg. 9

of our other eight locations.

What does Heartland AG Systems specialize in that perhaps similar distributorships don’t? Because we are the largest commercial application distributor for Case IH in the world, Heartland AG Systems has become the go-to for Case IH parts that similar distributors just won’t carry.

In the world of just-in-time inventory, downtime is paid lip service by many distributors. “You can have the part by 10 o’clock tomorrow morning,” in many cases, just isn’t good enough in our opinion.

We are not like other implement dealers that sell tractors, combines and sprayers. All we do is sell and service sprayers and fertilizer equipment.

Why should potato and vegetable growers in Wisconsin and the Midwest turn to Heartland AG Systems? Knowledge, parts and service: we have a lot of experienced people in our sales, parts and service departments, and we carry a large parts inventory to take care of customers’ wants and needs.

Pictured courtesy of Mike Dailey at Insight FS, an RBR Vector chassis is shown with a New Leader L4000 G4 spinner spreader. Available from Heartland AG Systems, the Vector chassis can be equipped with float tires or row crop tires to be used pre-plant and for side-dressing fertilizer once the crop is out of the ground, enabling operators to cover more acres per year and increasing return on investment.

Do you also service your products?

We have a comprehensive service department both in-house and in the field. We have four CNH certified service technicians, all with field trucks so we can best serve our customers wherever they are.

As far as precision ag—it’s still a relatively new concept. What does Heartland AG Systems offer

in that area? We have three fulltime precision ag staff members averaging more than five years of experience each to aid with the evergrowing technology needs. Given the industry average is about two years of experience, we have the people to handle in-person calls as well as provide remote service.

Who are your typical buyers for nurse wagons and tanks? We have a complete line of liquid tanks, from 25 gallons for small-volume situations to 30,000-gallon fiberglass on-farm or fertilizer dealer storage tanks.

The typical buyer is “anyone and everyone!” If you need storage tanks or nurse trailers, we have a size to fit your needs.

The Heartland AG Systems service department, in DeForest, includes, from left to right, Bill Garbe, Andy Schmidt, Jim Ringelstetter (service manager) and Clint Thompson. They all have fully equipped field trucks to service customers’ needs.

10 BC�T October

Who are some of your Central Wisconsin grower customers, and why do you think they subscribe to your services? Prior to 1997, the Central Sands was basically “small potatoes” for AG Systems. We were fortunate to have Kent Syth come on board at that time, who had worked at Pavelski Enterprises and WilburEllis/Spiritland Agriculture Services.

This gave us exposure to the “who’s

who” at the grower level. The list is extensive, stretching from Hafner Seed Farms in Bryant, to Alsum Farms in Arena, and many folks in between.

The main reason we exist for our customers is because of our extensive working inventory of parts.

What are your goals for customer service? We as a location try to help our customers with their challenges.

As an example, the advent of new products for in-furrow fertilizer and chemicals has been a challenge.

Requests such as, “I have this tractor and this planter and want to come off the saddle tanks and go over here with some product and do this and do that …,” those have been a huge challenge for us.

I feel we have done well because of our huge inventory and access to everything liquid or dry.

What are your long-term goals in this area, and what do you think

Heartland AG Systems in DeForest, Wisconsin, offers nurse trailers that hold 1,000-2,000 gallons and storage trailers that carry 6,000 to 9,000 gallons. All trailers are plumbed up to the customer’s specifications.

you have to offer current and future customers? If we keep doing what we are doing, we will stay on the forefront of innovation. With our own equipment manufacturing plant, we

are nimble to the changes that may come along.

Are there inroads you’d like to make continued on pg. 12

BC�T October 11

Interview. . .

continued from pg. 11

Courtesy of Mike Dailey, branch manager of Insight FS in Antigo, Wisconsin, the photo shows a Case IH 4440 self-propelled sprayer with 120-foot booms and float tires, available from Heartland AG Systems, spraying burn-down wheat stubble.

in the potato and vegetable growing area, and if so, what are those? We have our own manufacturing facility.

We make dry fertilizer tenders and spreaders, as well as liquid wagons.

As an example, we have just come out with a 1,300-gallon cone-bottom nurse wagon, ideal for some of the products that need agitation.

You are a member of the Associate Division of the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association— why did you decide to become a member? We have been a member of the WPVGA since before my time here. AG Systems and now Heartland AG Systems has always been a supporter of our customers.

We feel we have much more to offer along those lines. Is there a need down the road for customization of nurse wagons for specific product?

That is the type of request we can be more responsive to and that maybe growers didn’t know we had the capability of doing.

For another example, our company is the largest exhibitor at the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association Winter Conference. It keeps us in the communication loop and focused on how companies do business from their point-of-view. It just makes sense.

The 2019 RBR Chassis with a Salford RA-885 Air Boom Spreader is shown in the precision and assembly department at Heartland AG Systems, where workers will install Raven steering, an Intelligent Ag Recon blockage monitor, A&I camera system and an Agri-Cover SRT2 electric roll tarp.

12 BC�T October

Heartland AG Systems holds “ride and drive” events twice a year, one near DeForest and the other in the northwest part of the state, where customers can test drive a wide variety of the latest equipment. At the last event, the company also conducted fertilizer pan testing of the New Leader G5 spinner box that is capable of 16-section spread control. The demo shows how much fertilizer can be saved by reducing the overlap of full-width spreading.

Heartland AG Systems carries a large selection of used floaters with New Leader spinner boxes or Case IH Flex Air boxes on them. The dealership also boasts a rotating selection of good used sprayers, with 1,000- or 1,200-gallon tanks and boom widths from 90-120 feet.

How has your company merger changed the way you do business, if at all? By covering a 10-state area with nine warehouse locations, we will have even more access to the equipment and parts our customers need.

What does the future hold for Heartland AG Systems? We feel we have a bright future. With our company size and breadth of scope, we indeed will be “growing bigger by serving better!”

What are your own hopes or goals for the company? I would love to keep growing the company like we have over the last 17 years, all while keeping our services to the standards that our current customers receive.

Guy Mathias (right), location manager for Heartland AG Systems, helps Jared Suchon (left) from Bushman’s Riverside Ranch in Crivitz, Wisconsin, who traveled to the dealership in DeForest to pick up a Snyder poly tank and some plumbing for an upcoming project.

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Paper Potato Packaging is Back What once was old is new again in the bagging and packing industry

By Mark G. Resch, freelance writer For any of us lucky enough to grow up in the potato industry during the 1950’s though the early ’80s, one thing was constant. The most popular packaging of the day was a paper bag.

The iconic mesh-windowed bags of the era allowed packers to distribute highquality produce branded with their farm names and colors.

The paper bags were easy to pack on the Weigh-O-Matic baggers of the day and could be hand packed off the end of a grading line with their SOS (selfopening square) bottoms allowing each package to stand up all on its own.

Bag companies of the day focused on the market with their own special, uniquely named bags. Bemis had the “Foto Pak,” Union Camp offered the “Vent Vu,” Chase Bag boasted a “Vision Air,” and International Papers offered the “Hydrotuff” bag.

General Bag, Equitable Bag, PEI Bag, Nepco and many others offered windowed bags along with regional suppliers serving the growing markets.

To this day, the paper bag is known to be the best recommended container for fragile tubers. Paper bags offer excellent light protection

compared to mesh and poly bags and have a natural moisture absorption characteristic not found in other produce packaging.

THE 50-POUND BAG Of course, back in the day, families were larger and many of the bags sold were of the 50-pound variety. Burlap or Jute bags were also commonplace for packers prior to the advent of bulk totes or straight bulk truck loads.

Many of my early working days in the family bag company warehouse were spent unloading paper bags, which were usually shipped “on the floor” of the truck or rail cars (no pallets) for efficiency.

In late summer, you could easily unload seven or eight trucks a week just like handling hay bales.

As the market demand for fresh produce shifted to the large grocery store chains, so did the demand for higher volumes, flashier packaging and improved automation.

The small 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-pound paper bags were too expensive, bulky and slow at the packing line. A new era of packaging was taking hold, the era of plastics.

Europe embraced the change

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14 BC�T October

to plastics in the early ’80s with automated roll-stock plastic film and knitted plastic mesh products for both bags and tubular packing.

The inexpensive film bags had taken hold and soon would dominate the markets.

Even in Idaho, where the woven paper drawstring mesh bags ruled the day, plastics would reign supreme.

Above: Wicketed bags, such as these paper ones, stay in place until taken off the wicket.

Most wicketed bags are used in production areas where reduced handling time and increased efficiency are desired.

PLASTIC OFFERS PIZZAZ For the packer, plastic film and mesh bags offered ease of automation and the ability to close bags with coded closures like Kwik Loks. The graphic “pop” or pizazz of plastic printing made paper a dinosaur.

Most of the large paper bag producers sold off or scrapped the window bag machines, and companies like Chase, Friedman, General and many others simply sold out or quit.

The once dominant paper bag was now considered a specialty package in most markets. Parts of Canada and the Eastern United States have continued to use paper but packing speed and automation limited its use.

Now, some 30 years after the heyday of paper bags, there is a new tide approaching.

Every day it seems the media is showing us dolphins with plastic bags on their noses, whales with

plastic bags in their stomachs, birds with plastic pieces in their throats and beaches littered with millions of pounds of plastics washing up on shorelines.

These images, along with a push towards better recycling habits, have contributed to a rise in the interest of paper-based packaging. The fact that most plastics are not being recycled or simply can’t be because of their structures is creating a world crisis on a massive scale.

The convenient plastic zipper pouches that are used so prominently in our food systems today are some of the most unrecyclable packages because they combine many different substrates through a lamination process. continued on pg. 16

Right: The old-style paper bag once held Prize Potatoes packed for Royal Farms, Inc., of Plover, Wisconsin.

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Paper Potato Packaging is Back . . . continued from pg. 15

RECYCLING NIGHTMARE The high graphic pouches use combinations of films like nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene terephthalate (PET) and many other substrates to create completely unrecyclable packaging. Even paper, when combined with plastic, becomes unrecyclable.

Possibly the worst packages used in

the produce industry today are the large woven polypropylene tote bags we see so often in bulk shipping.

They are some of the worst for our environment and extremely hard to get rid of.

It is obvious that the plastic bag industry is starting to take notice about consumers’ interest in paper packaging.

Walk into any large grocery store today and look at all the plastic bags that are made to appear like paper. The bags have flat bottoms, matte-finish print, which makes the film look and feel like paper, and graphics that evoke nature.

In the fresh potato section, many of the bags are being Flood Coat printed in order to prevent light intrusion and to keep spuds from greening, a trait that comes naturally with paper bags.

Unfortunately, most, if not all, of these plastic bags are unrecyclable in their laminated forms. This includes most of the popular plastic and mesh bags that combine many types of plastics to produce a finished bag, one which is difficult to dispose.

Finally you have a choice

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Makers of bio-based plastics are attempting to change the perception of plastic bags. With a percentage of potato or corn starch in the makeup, blended with resin, bioplastics Above: Shown is a Tasteful Selections allmesh form-fill and seal bag. New paper bags can be wicketed for easy automation, made in form-fill and seal configurations, printed in high-quality graphics and are often similarly priced to plastic bags, particularly when compared to mesh and combination mesh and plastic packages.

purportedly degrade and compost like paper, breaking down over time.

So far, the results and acceptance have been mixed, but a least there is an attempt. Unfortunately for the plastics industry, perception is reality and consumers still view the bio bag as plastic!

RETURN TO PAPER Europe is now leading the return to paper produce packaging with several new types of recyclable and compostable products being market tested. Here in the United States, there are several new paper bag ideas being developed that will be market tested over the next 12 months in the produce industry.

Products like potatoes, onions, citrus, garlic, etc. are candidates for the new paper bags.

Technology with new paper materials and structures is allowing for a huge paper bag expansion, particularly in

smaller single-use-type packaging applications. The new paper boasts similar automation, packaging speeds and pricing to the current poly-based packaging.

So, what’s next? That question is being tossed around daily in the boardrooms of many major retailers as they try and work towards sustainable packaging solutions.

The push is real and the need immediate! Retailers like Kroger, Trader Joes, Wal-Mart, Aldi and many others have all publicly stated their intentions to move back to paper when and wherever possible.

Retailers from many different areas are looking at fresh produce to lead the way back to paper packaging.

Produce is a category that could not only benefit from quality paper for freshness, but also by reduced bag sizes with optional closing methods.

New ideas swirling around could help

reduce the size of master containers by producing packages that lie flatter and are less ball-shaped in the process.

This would greatly improve the sustainability scorecard by removing plastic and metal bag closures, reducing the overall cost of the package and enhancing the fresh image for the produce sector.

UNLIKELY ELIMINATION Will we ever eliminate plastics completely? The answer is most likely “no,” due to its barrier and food preserving properties that paper just can’t offer. This is especially true in the frozen and dairy sectors.

Can some items move back to paper?

The answer here is “absolutely, yes,” especially in fresh produce categories where paper can not only change the environmental impact of the package, but also benefit the produce inside.

With billions of bags used annually in continued on pg. 18

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Find your local agent and request a quote at www.RuralMutual.com/agent BC�T October 17

Paper Potato Packaging is Back . . . continued from pg. 17

the produce industry, the impact of change is considerable.

Since fresh produce needs air for freshness and in many cases light protection, the paper bags of today can help reduce the use of plastics while adding beneficial effects to the produce itself.

New paper bags can be wicketed for easy automation, made in form-fill and seal configurations, printed in high graphics and are often similar in price to plastic bags, particularly when compared to mesh and combination mesh and plastic packages.

Single-ply paper technology has become mainstream and dramatically reduced the price gap that made paper too expensive to use back in the day.

It’s likely we will not see the resurgence of the old-style paper/ mesh window potato bags of the past.

However, there are some exciting new

The most popular varieties of these world-class hybrids are going fast.

variations of those bags that could bring paper packaging back to the forefront in produce.

RECYCLING RATES Paper industry data supports the fact that consumers are recycling paper at astounding rates—68.1 percent in 2018 and growing.

Unfortunately, plastics are not doing so well. In a recent Gallup poll, 73 percent of consumers said they believe paper is more environmentally friendly, while only 22 percent believed the same about plastics.

The paper versus plastic debate is one that is ongoing, and both sides continue to argue their points about production cost, carbon footprint and financial impacts. I have been on both sides of the issue and have friends working on both sides, yet all of us will be affected by this issue.

An old bag-making friend of mine

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18 BC�T October

Above: Here is a European version of a paper produce bag. Europe is now leading the return to paper produce packaging with several new types of recyclable and compostable products being market tested.

recently left the industry to produce equipment for the emerging hemp fiber market. Hemp has some unique qualities for paper making over timber, as the fibers are much longer and can potentially create stronger sheets of paper.

As we enter an era of new consumers and laws, it is absolutely feasible that a potato or onion grower could introduce a crop of industrial hemp into their rotation, harvest the hemp for paper production and pack a new crop of potatoes or onions in a hempbased paper bag!

Just like we grow cotton for clothes, we could certainly grow hemp for paper packaging and complete a unique circle of life in the produce and farming industry.

Idaho potato shippers once said just a few short years ago, “We will never get away from a paper mesh drawstring bag.” Now, that bag is no longer produced. Embrace change!

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1/2

Seed Piece

State Farm Welcomes Guests for Field Day Lelah Starks Elite Foundation Seed Potato Farm introduces new staff members and treats visitors to a tour

By Joe Kertzman, managing editor, Badger Common’Tater

It was a celebration, an open house, a chance to introduce new staff members to visitors and a tour all rolled into one for the 2019 Rhinelander Field Day, August 2, at the Lelah Starks Foundation Seed Potato Farm in Rhinelander, Wisconsin

As he welcomed guests for the State Farm tour, Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program Director Alex Crockford explained that 2019 marked the 106th year of seed certification in Wisconsin.

Crockford also introduced new Seed 20 BC�T October

Program Administrative Director Dr. Renee Rioux, Assistant Farm Manager Matt Cogger and Research/Outreach Specialist Cole Lubinski, who were all part of a “Wisconsin seed team” photo taken later that day after field tours were conducted.

Above: Blue skies, wispy clouds and sizeable crowds were a recipe for a successful field day, Friday, August 2, at the Lelah Starks Foundation Seed Potato Farm in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

In outlining improvements made to the State Farm over the past year, Crockford said, “A few years ago, we invested in irrigation. This year we installed a three-phase panel and buried irrigation pipe from our new well.”

“We don’t want to pump solely from the lake where Dickeya can survive,” he explained. “We’re looking forward to running additional lines from the panel to our pivots, and the last improvement we hope to make is adding drip nozzles to our irrigator to improve efficiency.”

Crockford also mentioned a temporary storage building warehouse that was erected and, through a WPVGA Associate Division grant, the planned replacement of a

20-year-old panel in the warehouse.

A new self-propelled sprayer, Crockford says, “is a huge benefit to us for safety, efficiency and accurate rate application.”

FIELD TOURS Field tours included a presentation

by Dr. Russ Groves, University of

Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Department of Entomology, who said 2019 has been an average year for insects, mentioning the presence of Colorado potato beetle, leafhoppers and some of the 250 species of aphids that have been detected over the years.

Dr. Groves says his department has continued on pg. 22

Left: Assistant Farm Manager Matt Cogger was introduced during the Rhinelander Field Day, one of three new members of the team working in some capacity for the Lelah Starks Foundation Seed Potato Farm in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.

Right: Ready and waiting for the wagon tours to begin at the 2019 Rhinelander Field Day are, from left to right, John Hein Jr., Ron Krueger, Bill Guenthner, John Hein Sr. and Tamas Houlihan.

SNOWDEN • PIKE • ATLANTIC • LAMOKA MEGACHIP • HODAG • MANISTEE SILVERTON • NIAGARA

BC�T October 21

Seed Piece . . .

continued from pg. 21

been trying to understand when aphids are apt to fly, identifying a risk window, and he then recommends management through applying enough oil and insecticide residue on crops to discourage feeding.

Department of Plant Pathology, indicates she looks forward to Renee’s leadership in research and outlook.

Left: Heartland Farms was represented well at the Rhinelander Field Day, by, from left to right, Kenzie Glodowski, Lynn Leahy and Courtney Moen.

Saying the process of hiring Dr. Rioux went well, Dr. Amanda Gevens, UW

“It’s been nice to be an interim director and learn more about the seed program,” Gevens remarked, before updating field day attendees about the few managed late blight

Right: Dr. Amanda Gevens, UW Department of Plant Pathology, updated field day attendees about the few managed late blight findings in tomato and potato across the state, mentioning six fungicides that are anti-sporulants for killing the spores.

Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program Director Alex Crockford explained, among other things, that 2019 marked the 106th year of seed certification in Wisconsin.

A field of blooming E-1 Snowdens awaited guests who participated in the field tours.

22 BC�T October

Photo opportunities after the field tours and before a barbecue lunch included pictures of the seed growers in attendance as well as the entire staff of the Lelah Starks Elite Foundation Seed Potato Farm, in mostly red shirts.

findings in tomato and potato across the state.

She mentioned six fungicides that are anti-sporulants for killing the spores. Gevens and her team have been researching late blight, white mold, common scab, pink rot and other potato and vegetable diseases, and they will continue tracking biopesticides and new fungicides, as well as laws and registrations.

Dr. Jeffrey Endelman, UW-Madison Department of Horticulture, reviewed his team’s potato variety trials, mentioning two new varieties that they’re naming.

present were asked to sit for a photograph, after which the State Farm seed program staff members had their picture taken as a group.

The Wisconsin seed team photo taken at the State Farm tour several years ago has been displayed prominently in the seed association’s booth at major trade shows and used in the Wisconsin Certified Seed Potatoes Crop Directory and extensively in promotional materials

for the industry.

Customers have commented that they like being able to put a face with the name of their seed supplier.

The Rhinelander Field Day ended with a delicious lunch served in the grading facility, catered by Swine & Dine and hosted by the WPVGA Associate Division and Altmann Construction Company of Wisconsin Rapids.

DISEASE RESISTANCE “There’s been some exciting progress in breeding for resistance to diseases,” he states. “As far as late blight, we’ve had some funding from the WPVGA to investigate varieties that show resistance.”

“Payette seems to be resistant to late blight,” Endelman says. “We were the first in the world, a few weeks ago, to nail it—we found a genetic marker that makes Payette resistant to late blight as well as PVY [Potato Virus Y].

And we have hundreds of clones in Rhinelander that are PVY resistant.

PVY’s days are numbered now that we have this info.”

After the field tours, all seed growers

BC�T October 23

Now News

Rural Mutual Insurance Funds Farm Bureau Centennial Insurance company makes major commitment to match funds for celebration In 2018, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation (WFBF) kicked off a fundraising campaign in honor of the organization’s centennial celebration.

The campaign aims to raise $100,000 for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Foundation by December 2020.

Rural Mutual Insurance recently committed to matching all donations ($1-10,000) up to the $100,000. The company will match all previous donations to the campaign, which are nearing $40,000.

“We are very appreciative of Rural Mutual Insurance’s generosity,” says WFBF’s Chief Administrative Officer Dale Beaty. “This fundraising effort is meant to celebrate Wisconsin Farm Bureau reaching 100 years, and Rural’s gift will surely do just that in laying the foundation for our future.”

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Foundation was established in 1988 to provide support for agricultural education and leadership programs.

Through donations and other contributions, the foundation invests time and resources to support the next generation of agriculturists.

As a 501(c)3, donations are tax

The Enterprise Holdings Foundation made a donation to celebrate Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s centennial. Rural Mutual Insurance Company will be matching donations.

deductible, and 100 percent of funds received support agricultural education and leadership programs.

To give to WFBF’s centennial fundraising campaign, visit wfbf.com/ centennial/centennial-fundraising.

Donations will be accepted for the campaign until December 2020.

WFBF is the state’s largest general farm organization, representing farms of every size, commodity and management style.

continued on pg. 26

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Now News. . .

continued from pg. 24

Ag Groups Launch Farm Neighbors Care Campaign Social media campaign asks rural residents to share face time with farmers The Wisconsin Farm Center, a free and confidential resource available to all farmers in the state, reported more than 2,300 calls from farmers in 2018. As of May 30, 2019, the center had received more than 1,000.

Farm Center staff say most of these calls are related to finances and levels of distress.

As farmers face some of the most challenging economic times in decades, Wisconsin agricultural groups are banding together to talk about farm stress and encourage farm neighbors to look after one another. #FarmNeighborsCare is a social media campaign that asks rural residents to have face-to-face conversations with farmers and agri-business owners.

For some, this conversation and check-in may be the dose of positivity needed to make it through a tough day.

To participate, farm neighbors can put together a small “goodie

bag,” snack or meal and take a picture to share on Facebook with #FarmNeighborsCare.

Deliver that item to a farmer and stay for a few minutes of conversation.

This is meant as a time to check in and see how the person or family is doing. Ideally, this will not stop at one conversation, but will become a regular habit.

The groups partnering on the #FarmNeighborsCare campaign include: AgrAbility of Wisconsin; Dairy Business Association; Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin; National Farm Medicine Center; Professional

Dairy Producers of Wisconsin; Rural Mutual Insurance Company; Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association; Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association; Wisconsin Corn Growers Association; Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association; Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation; Wisconsin Farm Center; Wisconsin Farmers Union; Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association; Wisconsin Pork Association; and the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board.

For more information on the campaign and how to participate, keep an eye on the partnering organizations’ Facebook pages.

FFA Organization Sets Membership Record Highly skilled graduates likely to fill job openings in agriculture The National FFA Organization is answering the need for more highly skilled graduates to fill job openings in the field of agriculture, and nowhere is this more evident than in the organization’s growing membership.

On September 12, the organization announced a record-high student membership of 700,170, up from 669,989 in 2018. The top six student membership states are Texas, California, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio and Missouri.

26 BC�T October

Dan Kakes (right) took local FFA members and their leader on a tour of Kakes Farms in Bryant, Wisconsin, during a visit in 2018.

Interest in FFA and agricultural education continues to grow as membership increases.

This year, the organization has more than 100,000 Latino members, with 45 percent of the membership being female and 52 percent male. Females hold more than 50 percent of the leadership positions. FFA chapters can be found in 24 of the 25 largest U.S. cities.

“FFA is providing future leaders, and our membership growth reflects continued enthusiasm for agriculture as well as agricultural education,”

National FFA Organization CEO Mark Poeschl says.

“FFA prepares our student members for careers in agriculture while working to ensure the security of our country’s food, fiber and natural resources systems for years to come,” he adds.

“Through real-world experiences, agriculture educators are helping students develop the technical knowledge, skills and problemsolving capabilities necessary to be the industry’s leaders of tomorrow,” Poeschl states.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to more than 700,000 student members who belong to one of the more than 8,600 local FFA chapters throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The organization is also backed by more than 8 million alumni and supporters throughout the United States.

Ziegler Adds Fendt, Massey Ferguson & Brandt Lines Agricultural equipment dealer stocks a wide range of best-in-class tractors Ziegler Ag Equipment now represents the Fendt tractor line in 23 of its 27 locations. Fendt, a brand of AGCO Corporation, is known globally for its industry-leading technology, manufacturing and world-class German engineering.

It has a strong reputation for performance and reliability. The Fendt tractor line ranges from 125500 horsepower.

In the compact tractor market, Ziegler now sells and services the Massey Ferguson Compact Utility Equipment (CUE) line at 18 different locations.

The CUE tractor line runs from 22-140 horsepower. Massey Ferguson is also a brand of AGCO Corporation.

The additions of the Fendt and Massey Ferguson lines allow Ziegler Ag Equipment to offer a wide range of best-in-class tractors at virtually all horsepower levels.

Ziegler also sells and services the new Fendt IDEAL combine, providing farmers with a total equipment and technology solution from AGCO. In addition to the new tractor lines, Ziegler now sells and services Brandt grain-handling products. The

Ziegler Ag Equipment now offers the Fendt tractor line in 23 of its 27 locations.

products include grain carts, augers, belts, baggers and grain vacuums.

With the addition of the Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Brandt lines, Ziegler Ag Equipment will be able to better serve new and existing customer needs.

Ziegler Ag Equipment is a division of Ziegler CAT, which sells and services CAT construction equipment, generators, engines and solar micro-

grids; FENDT tractors and combines; Challenger and Massey Ferguson tractors and hay equipment; CLAAS combines; RoGators and TerraGators; Sunflower tillage equipment; and White Planters.

Ziegler has 27 locations and employs over 2,000 people in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri. For additional information, please visit www.zieglerag.com.

BC�T October 27

Auxiliary News

By Devin Zarda, vice president, WPGA

Hey, friends.It’s that time

again—harvest. I hope everything is going great for you and your farms.

I know your focus is on harvest, but let’s rewind and revisit the middle of August. Why? The Wisconsin State Fair, of course!

This August, the Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary (WPGA) and volunteers spent 11 days at the State Fair working in our baked potato booth. We couldn’t have asked for a better year at the fair. The weather was amazing, the potatoes were delicious, and everything went wonderfully.

I did want to bring a little fun to our article today. People are always

28 BC�T October

shocked that we open the booth at 9 a.m. every day during the fair. Who in their right mind gets a baked potato at 9 a.m.? Many people do! Just look at the accompanying photos of our line when we first opened.

I had to ask the first people in line on the day that I opened what their story was. Mike, Lisa and Joseph Clemmons have been coming to the fair for 26 years now. Their first stop is always our baked potato booth because it’s a tradition. Thanks for coming to visit us all the way from Portage!

I do have to give a big shout out to all 154 volunteers who help us each year. Without you, we would not be able to run the WPGA booth at the

Above: Who stands in line to get a baked potato at 9 a.m. during the Wisconsin State Fair? Many people do! Mike, Lisa and Joseph Clemmons have been coming to the fair for 26 years, and their first stop is always the baked potato booth sponsored by the Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary … because it’s a tradition.

fair. I hope you enjoy looking at all the pictures of the groups here.

If you’re interested in joining us at the State Fair, please call the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association office so you can be added to our mailing list.

Talk with you soon,

Devin

Group 1: Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary (WPGA) State Fair baked potato booth volunteers, Linda Vollmar, chairwoman

Group 2: WPGA State Fair baked potato booth volunteers, Allison Wysocki, chairwoman

Group 3: WPGA State Fair volunteers, Kathy Baginski, chairwoman

Group 4: WPGA volunteers, Peggy Quinn, chairwoman

Design and Layout

continued on pg. 30

Barrel & Brush Washers Polisher

Stainless Steel

Tote Bag and Bin Filler www.mayomfg.com BC�T October 29

Auxiliary News. . . continued from pg. 29

Group 5: volunteers, Deb Mattmiller, chairwoman

Group 6: Volunteers, Kathy Bartsch, chairwoman

Group 7: Volunteers, Caroline Wild, chairwoman

Group 8: State Fair baked potato booth volunteers, Linda Thurber, chairwoman

Group 11: WPGA State Fair baked potato booth volunteers, Patty Hafner, chairwoman 30 BC�T October

Group 9: WPGA State Fair baked potato booth volunteers, Josie Spurgeon, chairwoman

Group 10: Volunteers, Carole Gagas, chairwoman

2019 WPVGA Associate Division Directory ACCOUNTING

OMERNIK & ASSOCIATES INC MICHAEL G OMERNIK PLOVER, WI (715) 341-9036 mike@accounting-offices.com www.accounting-offices.com

AERIAL SPRAYING

AGRICAIR FLYING SERVICE INC JIM PERRIN BANCROFT, WI (715) 335-4470 agricair@uniontel.net agricairflyingservice.com REABE SPRAYING SERVICE CURT MEISTER PLOVER, WI (715) 341-9393 office@reabesprayingservice.com reabesprayingservice.com

AG CONSULTANTS

AGSOURCE LABORATORIES STEVE PETERSON BONDUEL, WI (715) 758-2178 speterson@agsource.com www.agsourcelaboratories.com PEST PROS, A Division of Allied Cooperative MATT SELENSKE PLAINFIELD, WI (608) 335-4046 mselenske@allied.coop www.allied.coop FOCUS ON ENERGY LAURA DACHEL CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI (888) 947-7828 AgSGapps@focusonenergy.com focusonenergy.com MOERKERKE CONSULTING BOB MOERKERKE CORNELIUS, OR (715) 360-7975 bob.moerkerke@gmail.com NELSONS VEGETABLE STORAGE SYSTEMS HOLLY NELSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6660 holly@nelsonsveg.com

AG INSPECTION

AG WORLD SUPPORT SYSTEMS LLC WARREN HENNINGER MOSES LAKE, WA (509) 765-0698 whenninger@aginspections.com www.aginspections.com

ANALYTICAL LABORATORY

dthorpe@thorpack.com www.thorpack.com

A & L GREAT LAKES LABORATORIES INC DAVID HENRY FORT WAYNE, IN (260) 483-4759 dhenry@algreatlakes.com www.algreatlakes.com

VOLM COMPANIES INC MARSHA VERWIEBE ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4826 mverwiebe@volmcompanies.com www.volmcompanies.com

AUDITING SERVICES

WARNER PACKAGING JAY WARNER PLOVER, WI (715) 341-8563 jay.warner@warnerpackaging.com www.warnerpackaging.com

CERES CERTIFICATIONS, INTERNATIONAL KARI NEUBAUER KARL KOLB CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI (715) 723-5143 kari@ceresci.com karl@highsierragroup.com www.ceresci.com

BIOLOGICALS

CERTIS USA ANNE WEBSTER SAUGATUCK, MI (269) 207-7712 awebster@certisusa.com www.certisusa.com

BAG COMPANIES

GLACIER VALLEY ENT LLC SHANNON JOHNSON Office manager: Shannon Johnson BARABOO, WI (800) 236-6670 shannongve@gmail.com www.glacierv.com

Certified Public Accountants CLIFTONLARSONALLEN DEAN JOHNSON STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-4984 dean.johnson@claconnect.com www.claconnect.com

THORPACK LLC DICK THORPE BRYANT, WI (908) 507-5060

N V S

ELSON’S

N7158 6TH DRIVE P.O. BOX 215 PLAINFIELD, WI 54966 OFFICE: (715) 335-6660 FAX: (715) 335-6661

EGETABLE

KEEP ON TRACK WITH OUR

TORAGE

S

continued on pg. 32

YSTEMS INC.

SPROUT INHIBITORS AND DISINFECTANTS

STORAGE VENTILATION

SPROUT INHIBITING

• COMPUTERIZED CONTROL PANELS • HUMIDIFICATION • REFRIGERATION

• FRUIT GUARD APPLICATIONS • SMART BLOCK APPLICATIONS • CIPC, CLOVE OIL APPLICATIONS

AGRI-VENTILATION SALES AND SERVICE 24 HR. EMERG. SERVICE BC�T October 31

2019 WPVGA Associate Division Directory. . . continued from pg. 31

CHAIN

BROEKEMA BELTWAY USA INC JEFF EILERS PINE CITY, MN (320) 629-3900 jeff.eilers@broekema.us www.broekemabeltway.com

CHEMICAL MANUFACTURER

BAYER CROP SCIENCE CHAD RHINEHART REEDSBURG, WI (608) 345-2986 chad.rhinehart@bayer.com bayer.com

CHEMICALS

AMVAC CHEMICAL CORP RALPH FREDERICK DULUTH, MN (218) 340-1609 ralphf@amvac-chemical.com www.amvac-chemical.com CERTIS USA ANNE WEBSTER SAUGATUCK, MI (269) 207-7712 awebster@certisusa.com www.certisusa.com VALENT USA LLC BRUCE MARTY EAU CLAIRE, WI (715) 450-1362 bruce.marty@valent.com www.valent.com

CHEMICALS/FERTILIZERS

BIO GRO INC BRUCE ANDERSEN CEDAR GROVE, WI (608) 354-1123 bruce@biogro.com www.biogro.com

NACHURS ROY ZELLMER BARABOO, WI (608) 347-4120 zellmerr@nachurs.com www.nachurs.com

CHS LARSEN COOPERATIVE ANNE MOORE NEW LONDON, WI (920) 982-1111 anne.moore@chsinc.com chslarsencooperative.com

NICHINO AMERICA ALEX TRUSZKOWSKI GERMANTOWN, TN (608) 347-4120 atruszkowski@nichino.net www.nichino.com

CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE MEGAN KLING TAYLOR, WI (715) 299-0502 megan.kling@corteva.com www.corteva.com EXACTO INC GLEN OBEAR SHARON, WI (262) 456-5200 gobear@exactoinc.com www.exactoinc.com

SCHAEFFER MFG/SPECIALIZED LUBRICANTS BRYAN WEHLER WISCONSIN DELLS, WI (608) 852-7019 bwehler1@gmail.com www.schaeffercrops.com

FMC CORPORATION AG SOLUTIONS ALLEN KLUG COTTAGE GROVE, WI (608) 695-7620 allen.klug@fmc.com www.fmccrop.com

SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION KEN CLEVELAND NORTH FREEDOM, WI (608) 642-3717 ken.cleveland@syngenta.com www.syngenta-us.com/home.aspx

GOWAN USA KEVIN BOEHM CAMP DOUGLAS, WI (608) 697-5949 kboehm@gowanco.com www.gowanco.com

AG BIOME INNOVATIONS LIZ GASTON RESEARCH TRIANGLE PK, NC (984) 260-0200 lgaston@agbiome.com www.agbiome.com

GYPSOIL BRAND GYPSUM ANNIE PETRUSEK CHICAGO, IL (312) 784-0300 events@gypsoil.com www.gypsoil.com

ALLEN SUPPLY CO INC JASON ALLEN STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 341-7635 jason.allen@allensc.com

ICL SPECIALTY FERTILIZERS JOLENE MILLER SUMMERVILLE, SC (800) 492-8255 jolene.miller@icl-group.com icl-sf.us.com

ALLIED COOPERATIVE RICH GRABARSKI ADAMS, WI (608) 339-3698 rgrabarski@allied.coop www.allied.coop ANDERSON CHEMICAL COMPANY STEVE BRENNECKE LITCHFIELD, MN (507) 581-1570 steveb@accomn.com www.accomn.com

INSIGHT FS JOEL ZALEWSKI JEFFERSON, WI (920) 672-7000 jefferson@insightfs.com www.insightfs.com JAY-MAR INC TONY GRAPSAS PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com

ARYSTA LIFE SCIENCE PETER WHITE HUTCHINSON, MN (320) 221-9916 peter.white@arysta.com www.arystalifescience.com

MIDWESTERN BIO AG CAITLIN ROBERTS MADISON, WI (608) 841-1659 caitlin.roberts@midwesternbioag.com www.midwesternbioag.com

32 BC�T October

NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS JIM BEACH JANESVILLE, WI (970) 518-2685 jim.beach@nutrien.com

T H AGRI-CHEMICALS INC ROBERT ZIMPEL PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6343 thag@thagrichemicals.com www.thagrichemicals.com TRIEST AG GROUP INC CHRIS FURMAN GREENVILLE, NC (502) 330-6041 cfurman@triestag.com www.triestag.com UNITED PHOSPHORUS INC DALE SCHIFF TROY, IL (618) 581-4666 dale.schiff@uniphos.com VIVE CROP PROTECTION JULIA ENGLER ORFORDVILLE, WI (608) 931-1300 jengler@vivecrop.com www.vivecrop.com WILBUR-ELLIS COMPANY KURT DEPORTER ALMOND, WI (715) 366-2500 kdeporte@wilburellis.com www.wilburellis.com WINFIELD UNITED JOE NAGEL STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 347-0411 janagel@landolakes.com

YARA NORTH AMERICA MISSY SCHUG TAMPA, FL (269) 207-0177 missy.schug@yara.com www.yara.com

(208) 465-0200 tmcintyre@hansen-rice.com www.hansen-rice.com

COMMUNICATION

AIR COMMUNICATIONS OF CENTRAL WIS INC ANGIE FEUTZ WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 424-3050 angie.feutz@aircommcentral.com http://www.aircommcentral.com UNITED POTATO GROWERS COOP OF WI, INC DANA RADY ANTIGO, WI (715) 623-7683 drady0409@gmail.com http://unitedpotatousa.com

CONSTRUCTION

ALTMANN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY INC TAMELA MEYERS WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-2550 altmann@altmannconstruction.com www.altmannconstruction.com HANSEN-RICE INC TAMI MCINTYRE NAMPA, ID

KARTECHNER BROTHERS LLC MIKE SMIT WAUPUN, WI (920) 324-2874 mikes@kartechnerbrothers.com www.kartechnerbrothers.com KELLER INC EMILY FOLEY KAUKAUNA, WI (920) 766-5795 efoley@kellerbuilds.com www.kellerbuilds.com MIDLAND GARAGE DOOR MFG CO DOUG LARSON WEST FARGO, ND (701) 282-8136 dougl@midlandgaragedoor.com www.midlandgaragedoor.com MPB BUILDERS INC DOYLE POKORNY RIPON, WI (920) 748-2601 doyle@mpbbuilders.com www.mpbbuilders.com RHINEHART METAL BUILDINGS INC CHAD RHINEHART

ADAMS, WI (608) 339-9109 rhinehartmb@gmail.com www.rhinehartmetalbuildingsinc.com URBAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY BRIAN KARLEN WAUSAU, WI (715) 675-9425 bkarlen@urbanconstructionco.com www.urbanconstructionco.com

CONSTRUCTION - INSULATION

FENCIL URETHANE SYSTEMS INC NICK LAUDENBACH WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 424-4200 nick@fencilurethane.com www.fencilurethane.com

CROP PROTECTION

BASF JUSTIN TUSS APPLETON, WI (920) 570-2686 justin.tuss@basf.com

CERTIS USA ANNE WEBSTER SAUGATUCK, MI (269) 207-7712 awebster@certisusa.com www.certisusa.com continued on pg. 34

T⁠r⁠i⁠m⁠b⁠l⁠e

You know your farm.

We know precision ag.

Together we can optmize every Together⁠we⁠can⁠optimize⁠every⁠ inch of your land with the data inch⁠of⁠yourland⁠with⁠the⁠data⁠ generated during field work. genereated⁠during⁠field⁠work.⁠ Vantage, an elite network of Vantage,⁠an⁠elite⁠network⁠of⁠ precision⁠ag⁠specialists⁠backed⁠by⁠ precision ag specialists backed by Trimble⁠Agriculture,⁠works⁠closely⁠ Trimble Agriculture, works closely with⁠youto⁠understand⁠the⁠ with you to understand the uniquie⁠needs⁠of⁠your⁠operation.⁠ unique needs of your operation.

Our⁠exclusice⁠foucus⁠on⁠precision⁠ Our exclusive focus on precision agrivulture⁠technology⁠enables⁠us⁠ agriculture technology enables us to⁠integrate⁠all⁠of⁠your⁠hardware⁠ to integrate all of your hardware and⁠software-regardless⁠of⁠brandand software-regardless of brandwith⁠complez⁠machine,⁠field,⁠soil⁠ and⁠weather⁠data⁠to⁠procide⁠you⁠ with complex machine, field, soil with⁠answers⁠to⁠shape⁠decisions⁠ and weather data to provide you year-round with answers to shape decisions year-round.

PRECISION WITH PURPOSE

Plainfield,⁠WI⁠|⁠888-368-8447 www.vantage-northcentral.com

BC�T October 33

2019 WPVGA Associate Division Directory. . . continued from pg. 33

CROP PROTECTION - continued

ROTAM JORDAN ADAMS MANDAN, ND (919) 717-2100 jordanadams@rotam.com www.rotamnorthamerica.com

DECALS/GRAPHICS

CC GRAPHICS DARCI LAUDENBACH WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 459-5252 ccgraphics4u@gmail.com

DOCK EQUIPMENT

CENTRAL DOOR SOLUTIONS CHRIS BROOKS PLOVER, WI (715) 342-4153 cbrooks@centraldoorsolutions.com www.centraldoorsolutions.com

ELECTRICAL

ENGINE REPAIR

K & S FUEL INJECTION INC JASON MAKI WESTON, WI (715) 359-1000 jmaki@ksfuel.com www.ksfuel.com

FARM EQUIPMENT

CONDON COMPANIES MARK BELAU RIPON, WI (800) 452-1212 mbelau@condoncompanies.com www.condoncompanies.com CROP IMS LLC BARRY BEWLEY EFFINGHAM, IL (217) 342-5063 bbewley@cropims.com www.cropims.net

ADAMS-COLUMBIA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE JEREMY HUHNSTOCK FRIENDSHIP, WI (608) 339-5428 jhuhnstock@acecwi.com www.acecwi.com

FAIRCHILD EQUIPMENT ANDREA JORGENSEN GREEN BAY, WI (920) 471-5012 andrea.jorgensen@fairchildequipment.com www.fairchildequipment.com

GRAYBAR ELECTRIC ANDREW HEWITT STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 204-5250 andrewhewitt@graybar.com www.graybar.com

LEMKEN USA JAY HALBERT CANNON FALLS, MN (507) 951-2494 j.halbert@lemken.com lemken.com

L & S ELECTRIC INC SAMANTHA KRAUSE SCHOFIELD, WI (715) 241-3224 skrause@lselectric.com www.lselectric.com

NOFFSINGER MANUFACTURING CO DONNA MCENTIRE GREELEY, CO (800) 525-8922 dmcentire@noffsingermfg.com www.noffsingermfg.com

MOTORS AND CONTROLS OF WI LLC KEVIN KONOPACKY PLOVER, WI (715) 344-0010 sales@macowi.com www.macowi.com

QUINLAN’S EQUIPMENT INC TOM QUINLAN ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4331 info@quinlansequipment.com www.quinlansequipment.com

WAUSAU ELECTRIC LLC JOE KOSTYN WAUSAU, WI (715) 842-2260 joe@wausauelectric.com www.wausauelectric.com WISCONSIN PUBLIC SERVICE CORP DALE BOWE WAUSAU, WI (715) 573-7384 dabowe@wisconsinpublicservice.com www.wisconsinpublicservice.com

ELECTRICAL DESIGN & INSTALLATION

RON’S REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING LLC EUGENE MANCL WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-1525 eugene.mancl@ronsrefrigeration.com www.ronsrefrigeration.com 34 BC�T October

RAYTEC VISION SPA GIANLUCA SIMONELLI PARMA (PR), ITALY +39-0521-303427 gianlucas.simonelli@raytecvision.com www.raytecvision.com RIESTERER & SCHNELL INC HEATHER RIPP PULASKI, WI (920) 822-3077 marketing@rands.com www.rands.com SAND COUNTY EQUIPMENT PAUL CIESLEWICZ BANCROFT, WI (715) 335-6652 paul@sandcountyequipment.com www.sandcountyequipment.com

SERVICE MOTOR COMPANY REBECCA JAGLA STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 592-4111 rebecca.jagla@servicemotor.com www.servicemotor.com SWIDERSKI EQUIPMENT MELISSA HEISE WAUSAU, WI (715) 675-2391 melissaheise@swiderskiequipment.com swiderskiequipment.com VOLM COMPANIES INC MARSHA VERWIEBE ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4826 mverwiebe@volmcompanies.com www.volmcompanies.com

FERTILIZER EQUIPMENT

CONTREE SPRAYER AND EQUIPMENT DAVID VONBEHREN BEAVER DAM, WI (920) 356-0121 davev@contree.com www.contree.com

FERTILIZERS

AGXPLORE KYLEEN BREMER WAUPACA, WI (573) 357-4506 kbremer@agxplore.com www.agxplore.com ALLTECH CROP SCIENCE BRIAN SPRINGER NICHOLASVILLE, KY (859) 881-2296 pwilliams@alltech.com www.alltech.com/crop-science CALCIUM PRODUCTS INC BECKY HECK AMES, IA (800) 255-8196 becky.heck@calciumproducts.com www.calciumproducts.com FARM FIXATION LLC MARK KLISH MOSINEE, WI (715) 347-0545 mark@farmfixation.com www.midwesternbioag.com MILK SOURCE LLC AVI STERN KAUKAUNA, WI (920) 759-4673 astern@milksource.net www.milksource.com

FINANCIAL

ABBYBANK NATALYN JANNENE ABBOTSFORD, WI (715) 316-6230 natalynj@abbybank.com www.abbybank.com

AG DIRECT CALVIN SIPES SOLDIERS GROVE, WI (608) 425-0039 calvin.sipes@agdirect.com agdirect.com AGCOUNTRY FARM CREDIT SERVICES MARK GROHOLSKI STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-1000 mark.groholski@agcountry.com www.agcountry.com BAKER TILLY DANIEL EHR APPLETON, WI (920) 739-3392 daniel.ehr@bakertilly.com www.bakertilly.com BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH CHAD JANOWICZ EAST LANSING, MI (517) 896-3870 chad.janowicz@baml.com bankofamerica.com BMO HARRIS BANK CRAIG ROGAN STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 342-3270 craig.rogan@bmo.com bmoharris.com/agriculture CLIFTONLARSONALLEN, LLP (CLA) DEAN JOHNSON STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-4984 dean.johnson@claconnect.com www.claconnect.com COMPEER FINANCIAL CATHY SCHOMMER BARABOO, WI (608) 356-8376 cathy.schommer@compeer.com compeer.com COVANTAGE CREDIT UNION DAN HANSON ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4336 dhanson@covantagecu.org www.covantagecu.org EDWARD JONES BOB EBBEN WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 424-4100 bob.ebben@edwardjones.com www.edwardjones.com INVESTORS COMMUNITY BANK TIM MCTIGUE MANITOWOC, WI (920) 686-9998 tmctigue@investorscommunitybank.com www.investorscommunitybank.com METLIFE AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENTS TROY FISCHER ROCKFORD, IL (815) 234-2600

tfischer@metlife.com www.metlife.com/ag PESHTIGO NATIONAL BANK MIKE JAJE PESHTIGO, WI (715) 938-2655 mjaje@peshtigobank.com PRUDENTIAL ADVISORS CURTIS BOHM APPLETON, WI (920) 277-1835 curtis.bohm@prudential.com RIVER VALLEY BANK ROB WYMAN WESTON, WI (715) 843-1704 rwyman@rivervalleybank.com www.rivervalleybank.com THE PORTAGE COUNTY BANK RICH WILCOX STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 341-8808 rwilcox@portagecountybank.com www.portagecountybank.com USDA FARM SERVICE AGENCY & NRCS KIM ICZKOWSKI MADISON, WI (608) 662-4422 kimberly.iczkowski@usda.gov www.fsa.usda.gov

FOOD SAFETY CONSULTANT

CAROL A BURZA BANCROFT, WI (715) 498-1849 carol.burza@yahoo.com

FUEL

ALLIED COOPERATIVE RICH GRABARSKI ADAMS, WI (608) 339-3698 rgrabarski@allied.coop www.allied.coop

GROWER

RPE INC RUSSELL WYSOCKI BANCROFT, WI (800) 678-2789 jenny.bula@rpespud.com RPEproduce.com

INSURANCE

AGCOUNTRY FARM CREDIT SERVICES MARK GROHOLSKI STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-1000 mark.groholski@agcountry.com www.agcountry.com ANSAY & ASSOCIATES LLC DAVID OBERMANN DE PERE, WI (920) 370-4228 david.obermann@ansay.com www.ansay.com COMPASS INSURANCE SERVICES JUSTIN YACH

STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 544-1586 justin.yach@compassinsurance.net www.compassinsurance.net COMPEER FINANCIAL CATHY SCHOMMER BARABOO, WI (608) 356-8376 cathy.schommer@compeer.com compeer.com INVESTORS COMMUNITY BANK TIM MCTIGUE MANITOWOC, WI (920) 686-9998 tmctigue@investorscommunitybank.com www.investorscommunitybank.com M3 INSURANCE SOLUTIONS INC JEN PINO-GALLAGHER MADISON, WI (608) 273-0655 jen.pinogallagher@m3ins.com www.m3ins.com MCCORMICK-KLESSIG INSURANCE BRUCE KOMMERS ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4302 brucek@mccormickklessig.com www.mccormickklessig.com MT MORRIS MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY DANIEL FENSKE COLOMA, WI (715) 228-5541 melissa@mtmorrisins.com www.mtmorrisins.com OKRAY INSURANCE AGENCY LLC KYLE OKRAY PLOVER, WI (715) 335-4549 kyle@okrayins.com www.okrayins.com PROGRESSIVE AG RAY GRABANSKI FARGO, ND (701) 277-9210 rlg@progressiveag.com www.progressiveag.com RURAL MUTUAL INSURANCE CO DAVID BAYER MADISON, WI (608) 828-5535 dbayer@ruralins.com www.ruralins.com RURAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY-ADAMS JAMES WEHINGER ADAMS, WI (608) 339-6844 jwehinger@ruralins.com www.ruralins.com RURAL MUTUAL INSURANCE-SALLY SUPRISE AFIS, CWCA SALLY SUPRISE WAUPACA, WI (715) 498-4800 ssuprise@ruralins.com continued on pg. 36 BC�T October 35

2019 WPVGA Associate Division Directory. . . continued from pg. 35

RURAL MUTUAL INSURANCE-ZINDA INSURANCE GROUP JENNIFER ZINDA-MANCL PLOVER, WI (715) 341-5808 jzinda@ruralins.com SECURA INSURANCE SARA HILDEBRAND APPLETON, WI (920) 996-6368 shildebrand@secura.net www.secura.net

KRISTI WAITS STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-0890 kwaits@andlaw.com www.andlaw.com BOARDMAN CLARK JEFFREY STORCH BARABOO, WI (608) 356-3977 jstorch@boardmanclark.com www.boardmanclark.com

SYMACH CRYSTAL SCHMIT MINNEAPOLIS, MN (612) 782-1296 crystal.schmit@bwpackagingsystems.com www.thieletech.com THOMAS INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY INC TOM ANDRITSCH SCHOFIELD, WI (800) 836-1009 tom.andritsch@thomasindustrialsupply.com www.thomasindustrialsupply.com

VINE VEST NORTH INC CHAD GLAZE WAUSAU, WI (715) 675-1829 chad@vinevestnorth.com www.vinevestnorth.com

DEWITT LLP JORDAN LAMB RON KUEHN MADISON, WI (608) 252-9358 jkl@dewittllp.com www.dewittllp.com

VISTA FINANCIAL STRATEGIES LLC SCOTT SCHEER APPLETON, WI (920) 731-4572 scott@vistafinancialstrategies.com www.vistafinancialstrategies.com

EPIPHANY LAW LLC KEVIN EISMANN APPLETON, WI (920) 996-0000 keismann@epiphanylaw.com www.epiphanylaw.com

VOLM COMPANIES INC MARSHA VERWIEBE ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4826 mverwiebe@volmcompanies.com www.volmcompanies.com

RUDER WARE LISA O'FLYNG WAUSAU, WI (715) 845-4336 loflyng@ruderware.com www.ruderware.com

WARNER PACKAGING JAY WARNER PLOVER, WI (715) 341-8563 jay.warner@warnerpackaging.com www.warnerpackaging.com

IRRIGATION

HORTAU INC CODY JONES MARSTONS MILLS, MA (920) 246-9130 cjones@hortau.com www.hortau.com NORTH CENTRAL IRRIGATION INC SCOTT POLZIN LAURIE DEL ROSARIO PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6368 scott@valleynci.com www.valleynci.com OASIS IRRIGATION INC JERRY KNUTSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-8300 jerryknutson.oasisirr@gmail.com REINKE VERN HINNENKAMP DESHLER, NE (763) 242-0237 vernhinnenkamp@reinke.com www.reinke.com ROBERTS IRRIGATION CO INC PAUL ROBERTS PLOVER, WI (715) 344-4747 proberts@robertsirrigation.com www.robertsirrigationwi.com

LAWN & GARDEN EQUIPMENT

RIESTERER & SCHNELL INC HEATHER RIPP PULASKI, WI (920) 822-3077 marketing@rands.com www.rands.com

LEGAL SERVICE

ANDERSON O’BRIEN 36 BC�T October

LUBRICANTS

SCHAEFFER MFG/SPECIALIZED LUBRICANTS BRYAN WEHLER WISCONSIN DELLS, WI (608) 852-7019 bwehler1@gmail.com www.schaeffercrops.com

ORGANIC FERTILIZERS

FARM FIXATION LLC MARK KLISH MOSINEE, WI (715) 347-0545 mark@farmfixation.com www.midwesternbioag.com

OVERHEAD DOORS

CENTRAL DOOR SOLUTIONS CHRIS BROOKS PLOVER, WI (715) 342-4153 cbrooks@centraldoorsolutions.com www.centraldoorsolutions.com

PACKAGING EQUIPMENT

THORPACK LLC DICK THORPE BRYANT, WI (908) 507-5060 dthorpe@thorpack.com www.thorpack.com

PACKER

RPE INC RUSSELL WYSOCKI BANCROFT, WI (800) 678-2789 jenny.bula@rpespud.com www.RPEproduce.com

PETIOLE ANALYSIS

AGSOURCE LABORATORIES STEVE PETERSON BONDUEL, WI (715) 758-2178 speterson@agsource.com www.agsourcelaboratories.com

POTATO EQUIPMENT

BIG IRON EQUIPMENT INC ZACH MYKISEN STACY GROSHEK PLOVER, WI (715) 344-3401 stacyg@bigironequipment.com www.bigironequipment.com

OEM FABRICATORS INC THOMAS AABY WOODVILLE, WI (715) 698-2111 toma@oemfab.com www.oemfab.com

GENERAL METAL FABRICATION LTD GERALD BAUMAN WINKLER, MB, CANADA, (204) 325-9374 gbauman@generalmetal.ca www.generalmetal.ca

RAYTEC VISION SPA GIANLUCA SIMONELLI PARMA (PR), ITALY +39-0521-303427 gianlucas.simonelli@raytecvision.com www.raytecvision.com

HARRISTON-MAYO MIKE DELISLE EAST GRAND FORKS, MN (218) 773-1234 mikedelisle@mayomfg.com www.harriston-mayo.com

MILESTONE INTERNATIONAL SHANE MITCHELL BLACKFOOT, ID (208) 785-4285 shanem@milestone-equipment.com www.milestone-equipment.com RAYTEC VISION SPA GIANLUCA SIMONELLI PARMA (PR), ITALY +39-0521-303427 gianlucas.simonelli@raytecvision.com www.raytecvision.com SAND COUNTY EQUIPMENT PAUL CIESLEWICZ BANCROFT, WI (715) 335-6652 paul@sandcountyequipment.com www.sandcountyequipment.com SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGIES INC ASHLEY COTHRON AURORA, IL (800) 248-8873 acothron@specmeters.com www.specmeters.com TIP INC STEVE TATRO CUSTER, WI (715) 592-4650 tip@tipinc.net www.tipinc.net TOMRA SORTING SOLUTIONS KATHLEEN CHANCE

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (916) 388-3900 food.us@tomra.com www.tomra.com/food

(715) 210-9088 justin.thompson@ads-pipe.com www.ads-pipe.com

TRI-STEEL MANUFACTURING COMPANY INC SCOTT HOMSTAD GRAND FORKS, ND (701) 772-5591 scotth@tristeelmfg.com www.tristeelmfg.com

VANTAGE NORTH CENTRAL SEAN TIMM PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-4474 sean@vantage-northcentral.com www.vantage-northcentral.com

TRINITY TRAILER MFG JIM FORTNER BOISE, ID (208) 519-9668 jfortner@trinitytrailer.com www.trinitytrailer.com VOLM COMPANIES INC MARSHA VERWIEBE ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4826 mverwiebe@volmcompanies.com www.volmcompanies.com

POTATO PACKING

POTATO PLANT INC JON KROGWOLD AMHERST, WI (715) 824-3240 ppspud@wi-net.com

POTATO STORAGE

ADVANCED DRAINAGE SYSTEMS (ADS) JUSTIN THOMPSON CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI

Redox provides two key solutions for

Potato Bulking

OXYCOM Calcium & diKaP

PRECISION AG

PRECISION FARMING TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS

ALLIED COOPERATIVE RICH GRABARSKI ADAMS, WI (608) 339-3698 rgrabarski@allied.coop www.allied.coop

PRINTING

SPECTRA PRINT CORPORATION HEIDI OKRAY STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-5175 hokray@spectraprint.com www.spectraprint.com

PROCESSORS

CHIPPEWA VALLEY BEAN CO INC TESSA ROSE MENOMONIE, WI (715) 664-8342 trose@cvbean.com www.cvbean.com continued on pg. 38

Products • Strategies • Solutions

WE CAN HELP! All fertilizers were not created equal…let us show you the difference.

USE LESS…GET MORE… BE MORE EFFICIENT

USED EQUIPMENT:

• Sustains balanced plant growth in periods of environmental oxidative stress (EOS)

• Maximizes production of ATP & ADP

• The combination of these two products increases phenolic compound production

• Balances carbohydrate and nitrogen compounds for mature potato crop

• Increased daily photosynthate production and utility

• 4-ROW KVERNELAND 3745 PLANTER W/ HYDRAULIC DRIVE AND DRY FERTILIZER • 2006 LL 4 ROW AIR HARVESTER • 60’ TELESCOPING CONVEYOR W/CLEANING TABLE & STINGER • MIEDEMA 4 ROW CP42 W/DRY FERTILIZER • KVERNELAND 8 ROW HYDRAULIC DRIVE W/LIQUID FERTILIZIER

PARTS & SERVICE: TEROG & AG PARTS AVR/UNDERHAUG • DOUBLE L (LL) NOFFSINGER • BROEKEMA AND MORE!

CALL US WE CAN HELP! 1.800.225.9727 • www.tipinc.net 1619 County Road K, Custer WI 54423 • Call: 715-592-4650 • Fax: 715-592-5063 • Email: tip@tipinc.net BC�T October 37

2019 WPVGA Associate Division Directory. . . continued from pg. 37

MCCAIN FOODS USA KERRY LARSON WISC RAPIDS, WI (715) 342-8106 kerry.larson@mccain.com www.mccain.com PEPSICO-FRITO LAY JOSHUA PARSONS RHINELANDER, WI (715) 365-1640 joshua.parsons@pepsico.com THE LITTLE POTATO COMPANY DANIEL SNYDER DEFOREST, WI (608) 842-2713 daniel.snyder@littlepotatoes.com www.LittlePotatoes.com

READY MIX CONCRETE SUPPLIER

MIKE GATZ MIKE CARTER ROSHOLT, WI (715) 677-4533 michaelg@bushmansinc.com mikec@bushmansinc.com www.bushmansinc.com GREEN BAY PACKAGING INC JOHN LAABS WAUSAU, WI (715) 845-4201 jlaabs@gbp.com www.gbp.com LANGLADE POTATO DISTRIBUTING INC JIM KAPUSTA ANTIGO, WI (715) 627-4873 jimk@langladepotato.com

COUNTY MATERIALS CORPORATION KEVIN TESCH MARATHON, WI (715) 870-4634 kevin.tesch@countymaterials.com www.countymaterials.com

PLANT GROW HARVEST SERVICES dba PGH SERVICES JIM CORNEILLIE WILLIAMS, MN (701) 335-9255 jc@pgh.farm

REFRIGERATION

RPE INC RUSSELL WYSOCKI BANCROFT, WI (800) 678-2789 jenny.bula@rpespud.com www.RPEproduce.com

NELSONS VEGETABLE STORAGE SYSTEMS HOLLY NELSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6660 holly@nelsonsveg.com

REFRIGERATION/HEATING EQUIPMENT

RON’S REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING LLC EUGENE MANCL WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-1525 eugene.mancl@ronsrefrigeration.com www.ronsrefrigeration.com

ROOF RESTORATION - SYNTHETIC RUBBER SPRAY COATINGS

SCHWEITZER SPRAY COATINGS LUKE SCHWEITZER ALLENTON, WI (262) 305-4249 info@sspraycoatings.com www.sspraycoatings.com

RUST PROOFING

PRO FLEET CARE MYRON CAVES PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 572-9510 mcrockingc@hotmail.com www.profleetcare.com

SALES/BROKERS

ALSUM FARMS & PRODUCE HEIDI ALSUM-RANDALL FRIESLAND, WI (920) 348-5127 heidi.randall@alsum.com www.alsum.com BUSHMANS’ INC 38 BC�T October

SUNRAIN VARIETIES LLC ARON DERBIDGE IDAHO FALLS, ID (208) 552-3096 aderbidge@sunrainvarieties.com www.sunrainseed.com

SEED

JAY-MAR INC TONY GRAPSAS PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com

SEED CERTIFICATION AGENCIES

MICHIGAN SEED POTATO ASSN JEFF AXFORD GAYLORD, MI (989) 732-4433 jwamspa@gmail.com

WISCONSIN SEED POTATO CERTIFICATION PROGRAM ALEX CROCKFORD abcrockford@wisc.edu ANTIGO, WI (715) 623-4039 jspurgeon@wisc.edu

SEED SUPPLIER

CSS FARMS LAURIE WIDDOWSON KEARNEY, NE

(308) 236-4064 laurie.widdowson@cssfarms.com www.cssfarms.com

SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY

AG CONNECTIONS LLC JOE BEN BOGLE MURRAY, KY (270) 435-4369 joeben.bogle@agconnections.com AGROMETRICS MADHU JAMALLAMUDI MADISON, WI (870) 200-9080 info@agrometrics.com www.agrometrics.com

SOIL AMENDMENTS

JAY-MAR INC TONY GRAPSAS PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com

ROCK RIVER LABORATORY, INC WATERTOWN, WI (920) 261-0446 office@rockriverlab.com www.rockriverlab.com

SPRAYER/FERTILIZER EQUIPMENT

HEARTLAND AG SYSTEMS GUY MATHIAS DEFOREST, WI (608) 846-9064 gmathias@agsystemsonline.com www.agsystemsonline.com

SPRAYER PARTS

JAY-MAR INC TONY GRAPSAS PLOVER, WI (715) 341-3445 tonyg@jay-mar.com www.jay-mar.com

SPROUT INHIBITING

1,4 GROUP JOHN BERGMAN FARGO, ND (701) 261-0289 jbergman@pinnip.com

NELSONS VEGETABLE STORAGE SYSTEMS HOLLY NELSON PLAINFIELD, WI (715) 335-6660 holly@nelsonsveg.com RON’S REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING LLC EUGENE MANCL WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (715) 421-1525 eugene.mancl@ronsrefrigeration.com www.ronsrefrigeration.com

CENTRAL DOOR SOLUTIONS CHRIS BROOKS PLOVER, WI (715) 342-4153 cbrooks@centraldoorsolutions.com www.centraldoorsolutions.com

STEEL ENTRY DOORS

SCAFFIDI MOTORS INC TODD ANDERSON STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-4100 tanderson@scaffidi.com www.scaffiditrucks.com

TRANSPORTATION

SCAFFIDI MOTORS INC TODD ANDERSON STEVENS POINT, WI (715) 344-4100 tanderson@scaffidi.com www.scaffiditrucks.com

STORAGE

TRINITY TRAILER MFG JIM FORTNER MADISON, WI (208) 519-9668 jfortner@trinitytrailer.com www.trinitytrailer.com

WISCONSIN KENWORTH CORY HECKENDORF MOSINEE, WI (715) 693-3900 cory.heckendorf@csmtruck.com www.csmcompanies.com

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BC�T October 39

Expand Network of Ag Weather Stations Researcher suggests providing similar information and agricultural support as other states

By Chris Kucharik, professor and chair, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison The weather influences all our lives in a variety of ways and challenges agricultural producers no matter where they might be located.

A trend towards more variable and extreme weather occurrences since 1950 across Wisconsin and the rest of the Midwest has many farmers worried about their ability to cope with and adapt to wide swings in the weather.

An increase in inter-annual and within-season weather variability is presenting new challenges to management activities and unpredictable changes in soil conditions, crop growth and development, and end-of-season yields.

To the growers in the Wisconsin Central Sands, weather exerts an even greater influence on nutrient management and irrigation scheduling given the nature of the regional soils.

There has always been a need to continue improving the efficiency of nitrogen and water use, but a trend towards more variable weather patterns will only expand and intensify the challenges growers face when managing their crops while trying to minimize impacts to our natural resources.

One of the best ways to help growers manage their cropping systems for more efficient use of inputs like water and nitrogen, and to combat pests and diseases and improve profitability, is to supply them with continuous, high frequency (e.g.

15-minute), real-time weather data 40 BC�T October

A weather station is operated and maintained, providing crucial information to growers and researchers, at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station in Arlington, Wisconsin.

that is freely available to anyone with an internet connection.

Weather data information guides field-level decision making and is an

important input to many modeling tools and decision aids that tell us about growing degree day accumulations, rainfall and the likely onset of pest pressure and diseases.

Dense networks of weather stations afford us the opportunity to improve the accuracy of these models and decision aids because of high spatial variability in soils, temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation.

While there might be hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cooperative observer (COOP) network stations across the state of Wisconsin, these only provide daily high and low temperatures and rainfall.

NOT ENOUGH INFO The COOP stations don’t provide enough information to use in models for calculating such things as crop evapotranspiration, and they can’t tell us the intensity of rainfall events that may have occurred or if high humidity levels have persisted.

There are other important variables that we can measure with weather stations, including soil temperature and moisture, as well as leaf wetness, which are important to crop producers for a variety of reasons.

Web cams can also be attached to these stations so that remote monitoring of phenology can take place.

Weather station networks aren’t just important to producers, they provide crucial information to a wide variety of researchers, instructors and university extension faculty and staff that use these data as part of their own activities.

Those activities typically support research projects and field experiments, serve students in our university system, the citizens of the state or the agricultural industry itself.

Having a dedicated network of weather stations also provides a long-term record of weather events through the years and can be a source

The chart shows weather station networks across the central United States.

Source: https://mrcc.illinois.edu/gismaps/mesonets.htm

of information or in-kind support for newly funded research activities.

growing degree day models for crop development and pests.

Having elaborated on the importance of weather station networks, it comes as no surprise that many Midwest and Great Plains U.S. states have elaborate networks of automated weather stations that provide realtime data via the internet to anyone at any time.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin has a rather minimal network of weather stations that are dedicated to agriculture. We have eight stations concentrated in the Door County Peninsula region, but outside of that, we have only two other stations—at the Hancock and Arlington Agricultural Research Stations.

Some examples of other extensive networks in agricultural regions include the Michigan State University Enviroweather network (85 stations); Washington State University (185 stations); Iowa State University and the Iowa Environmental Mesonet (13 stations); Illinois state water survey (19 stations); Central Minnesota Ag Weather Network (12 stations); North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (91 stations); and South Dakota Mesonet Stations (29 stations).

Many of these operations also run

This is simply not acceptable given how important weather data is to helping agriculture, and the fact that agriculture represents an annual impact of $88 billion to the State of Wisconsin.

Currently, our weather stations are operating under the umbrella of the Michigan State University Enviroweather network, whereby for a modest annual fee per station, the continued on pg. 42 BC�T October 41

Expand Network of Ag Weather Stations. . . continued from pg. 41

university oversees our stations in coordination with personnel in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison.

My idea is that we need to grow our network of stations across the state so we can provide the same type of information and support to agriculture as is happening in our neighboring states.

This isn’t about competition to see who can build the biggest network of stations, it’s about doing what is necessary to help farmers as best as possible.

Years ago, in the mid-1980’s, Professor Bill Bland (emeritus, Soil Science at UW-Madison) began to establish a more expansive network of meteorological stations across the state (including the two that are currently at Hancock and Arlington),

42 BC�T October

Weather data information guides fieldlevel decision making and is an important input to many modeling tools and decision aids that tell us about growing degree day accumulations, rainfall and the likely onset of pest pressure and diseases. but ran into problems keeping it going long term.

There is a need for the data, and, given the number of personal weather stations that many of us maintain on our own, the information will be useful to many, including those not connected to agriculture.

HOW TO EXPAND So, how do we go about expanding a network? We might start by figuring

out how to grow a larger network in the Central Sands region of Wisconsin.

By showing how this can be done and the usefulness of such data, a model of success can be developed and taken to other important agricultural regions of the state with additional financial support.

This will take coordination among the UW system faculty and staff, grower

groups like the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association and state agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Department of Transportation.

In other states, funding sources for such activities typically originate with grower and commodity organizations and state agencies.

The funding would have to cover the initial start-up costs of the equipment and continued maintenance, and at least one technician who would keep the network functioning at a high level so data can be continuously collected and subjected to rigorous standards of quality control.

An additional part-time person would probably be required to build the website and maintain its presence to allow for a seamless user interface, data downloads and visualization.

I encourage all of us to continue thinking about this idea and to put Wisconsin at the forefront of weather data information being collected to support agriculture in our state.

As we march into the future, weather variability will continue to pose greater and more significant challenges to agriculture.

Having a dedicated weather station network would put us in a much better position to deal with those current and future challenges.

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BC�T October 43

Badger Beat Using “Herd Immunity” to Manage Late Blight

By Amanda Gevens, Extension vegetable pathologist and associate professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Caused by the fungal-like pathogen, Phytophthora infestans,

late blight is a potentially destructive disease of tomato and potato crops and has been problematic worldwide for nearly two centuries.

Here in Wisconsin, growers have periodically experienced this disease with at least four bouts of unique and severe outbreaks since initially reported in the early 1900’s.

The most recent bout began in 2009 with an introduction of new strains of the pathogen, one of which has been associated with tomato transplants that were moved around the country to potato and vegetable production regions from the southern United States.

Since that time, just one relatively new strain of the pathogen, US-23, has been predominant, and the disease continues to negatively impact tomato and potatoes, grown both in home gardens and commercial settings, and in organic and conventional systems.

Since I began my post with the University of Wisconsin (UW)Madison, in 2009, my program has focused primarily on managing late blight in commercial production systems.

Commercial agriculture is, by nature, larger in acreage and generally concentrated in the planting of individual crops within a larger acreage for economy and uniformity of production.

While these characteristics make commercial agriculture the primary place to target late blight management, non-commercial settings can also play a significant role in regional management.

44 BC�T October

In my efforts to reach out to noncommercial audiences with late blight education, I’ve focused interactions within multiple facets of the UWMadison Division of Extension, including county educator and master gardener programming.

CROP BLOCK GRANT The programming includes a Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Specialty Crop Block Grant-funded project in which resistant tomato plant and disease information was shared with Wisconsin gardeners while adding to our knowledge of geographic incidence of late blight.

In addition, I’ve made numerous radio and web-based efforts to share the message of late blight symptoms and importance of management.

There is a continued need to educate non-commercial growers of late blight in susceptible crops.

Why does educating the homegardening community on late blight matter? Late blight is often referred to as a “community disease” because the pathogen can spread aerially and infect susceptible potato and tomato crops wherever they’re grown, be it in a backyard garden or on a largeacreage commercial field.

While the resulting impact of

plant death and produce loss is a key concern for all growers, home gardeners can unknowingly host late blight in backyards and compost piles, creating many small inoculum source points.

This scenario creates a high risk for pathogen generation and harboring.

While these risks can certainly present themselves in commercial systems, most large-scale potato and tomato growers understand the potential economic loss associated with late blight and are welleducated in the symptoms, signs and management of the disease.

Because of the limited varietal resistance available in both crop groups, it has become essential for commercial growers to adeptly time applications of crop protectants to limit yield loss on their own farms and steward the disease to prevent generation of the inoculum on surrounding farms.

HERD IMMUNITY The concept of managing late blight on a community scale is like the notion of “herd immunity” in human disease mitigation. This phrase, initially coined in 1923, has been tossed around in many media outlets in recent years with regards to human vaccination.

Mass vaccination to induce herd immunity has since become common and has proved successful in preventing the spread of many infectious, community diseases.

Herd immunity (also called herd effect, community immunity, population immunity or social

University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist Amanda Gevens gives an update on disease control at the 2017 Hancock Agricultural Research Station Field Day.

immunity) refers to the indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune or resistant to infection, thereby providing a measure of protection for individuals who are not immune.

In a population in which many individuals are immune, cycles or chains of infection are disrupted, limiting the spread of disease.

The larger the proportion of immune individuals, the smaller the probability that those who are not immune will be exposed to an infectious individual. In sum, there is inoculum reduction.

Individual immunity can be gained through recovering from a natural infection or through vaccination.

In the plant parallel, this immunity can be gained from use of varietal resistance or preventive fungicides.

Some human individuals cannot become immune due to medical reasons, and in this group, herd immunity is an important method of protection.

This is the group that I see likened to home gardeners. Other than a few late blight tolerant cultivars, there are few to no options for plant varietal “immunity,” and the use of preventive fungicides is not typically favorable in the home garden setting.

What are the side-effects of late blight outreach to home gardeners?

In educating non-commercial audiences on late blight, it is necessary to provide a background for the importance of disease control as it impacts all growers in a region, including commercial growers.

Many gardeners have been surprised and interested to learn of Wisconsin’s rich agricultural roots and

Figure 1: At top-left is a community in which no one is immunized, and an outbreak occurs. In the middle box, some of the population is immunized but not enough to confer community immunity. In the bottom box, a critical portion of the population is immunized, protecting most community members. Figure courtesy of the National Institute of Health, 2013

contemporary, local food-producing strengths.

Gardeners revel at the acreage, industry and food-generating capacity of their commercial neighbors.

With complicit pride and shared mission, many gardeners take the knowledge of disease identification and responsibility to manage very seriously.

They obligate themselves to better understand the disease and control and take part in further sharing of the information within their communities.

The late blight pathogen is referred to as a “water mold” since it thrives under wet conditions. Symptoms of tomato or potato late blight include leaf lesions beginning as pale-green or olive-green areas that quickly enlarge to become brown-black, continued on pg. 46 BC�T October 45

Badger Beat. . .

continued from pg. 45

water-soaked and oily in appearance.

Lesions on leaves can also produce pathogen sporulation that looks like white-gray fuzzy growth. Stems might exhibit dark brown to black lesions with sporulation.

LESIONS AND GROWTHS Fruit symptoms begin small, but quickly develop into golden to chocolate brown, firm lesions or spots that can appear sunken with distinct rings within them. The pathogen can also sporulate on tomato fruit giving the appearance of white, fuzzy growth.

The time from first infection to lesion development and sporulation can be as fast as seven days, depending upon the weather.

Since 2009, many national late blight confirmations and characterizations have been made publicly available in an online format (www.usablight.org) through the efforts of research and extension scientists formerly funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The coordinated project, entitled “Reducing losses to potato and tomato late blight by monitoring pathogen populations, improved resistant plants, education, and extension,” conducted basic and applied research with the team goal of learning more about the pathogen and disease to further reduce losses in crop yield and quality.

As per this national database, the US-23 lineage comprised just under 20 percent of reported and characterized potato and tomato late blight cases in 2009.

This percentage has grown to 90100 percent of the cases in recent years (Figure 2). So far in 2019, late blight of type US-23 has again 46 BC�T October

predominated in Wisconsin and across the United States.

In my lab, our late blight diagnostics and management approaches address clonal or asexual (nonmating) populations of the pathogen.

We can characterize the pathogen for genotype/clonal lineage/strain and have a result that is tightly associated with mating type, mefenoxam/ metalaxyl resistance, and at times, host preference.

In this current epidemic scenario, there is an end to the late blight disease cycle when the affected plant tissues are dead.

A sexual or mating population creates a different scenario, one that has not been predominant in the United States and in which we can no longer associate pathogen character or phenotype to a genotype/clonal lineage/strain due to introduction of new phenotypes through recombination.

The disease cycle in this latter scenario does not end when plant tissues are dead. Rather, the pathogen remains in the soil in absence of plant tissues, providing an ongoing source of inoculum for the long-term.

Careful monitoring of P. infestans in conjunction with vigilant early detection and management are critical in confining this pathogen, and subsequently, this disease to its asexual nature.

Over the past 5 years, my program has collaborated with Dr. Philip Townsend of UW-Forestry and Wildlife Ecology and recent UW-Plant Pathology graduate Dr. Katie Gold of Cornell University to advance early late blight detection strategies in potato using hyperspectral systems.

We’re proud of these developments and will continue to improve upon the technology to provide innovative strategies of disease detection to commercial potato production.

We are continuing to refine and validate an additional web-based disease forecasting tool that is part of the UW-Madison Division of Extension Disease & Insect Forecasting Network.

COLLABORATIVE EFFORT This work has been funded by the Wisconsin Specialty Crop Block Grant program and supports a collaborative effort between the potato and vegetable extension programs of myself (Dr. Amanda Gevens) and Dr. Russell Groves (Entomology).

The link, http://vdifn.net/, will take you to our site which currently has potato late blight Blitecast and carrot foliar disease Tomcast tools available in addition to numerous insect pest tools.

The colorized/gridded map provides disease forecast/risk generated from the North American Meso-scale weather model (NAM 12km) from the National Weather Service. Blitecast and weather data appear when you click on any point/place on the map.

This online tool is in addition to our longstanding UW-Plant Pathology Blitecast Information Network that is driven by four in-potato-field weather stations in Wisconsin (Grand Marsh, Hancock, Plover and Antigo).

The accessibility and reliability of this network has been greatly enhanced in 2019, with capacity for real time availability of late blight and early blight forecasting tools as well as graphics to easily visualize in-season weather and disease risk trends (https://wivegdis.plantpath.wisc.edu/ dsv/).

Varietal resistance: In our research, we have demonstrated that isolates of the US-23 P. infestans type will infect tomato, potato, hairy nightshade, black nightshade and petunia. Select cultivars of eggplant, pepper and tomatillo did not become infected.

US-23 produces roughly twice as many spores per lesion as other late blight genotypes and has great potential to rapidly reproduce and spread, as well as remain viable under longer durations of colder temperatures than other clonal lineage types.

Some tomato cultivars have resistance to late blight, but it is not complete. Cultivars containing both Ph-2 and Ph-3 resistance genes are most resistant (Iron Lady is robustly resistant).

Several varieties also exhibit some resistance, including Sun Sugar, Pruden’s Purple and Matt’s Wild Cherry. Potato cultivars with some resistance to late blight through traditional breeding include Payette, Jacqueline Lee and Defender.

ROBUST RESISTANCE Through biotechnological advances, the J.R. Simplot Company recently developed a potato (Innate Generation 2.0) with robust

resistance against current strains of the late blight pathogen.

Advancements in crop resistance to late blight could substantially reduce reliance upon fungicides for disease control.

Summarizing considerations for fungicide programs to manage late blight, there is not one recommended fungicide program for all commercial late blight susceptible potato and tomato fields in Wisconsin.

Fungicide selections and timing of application vary based on variety, type of inoculum introduction, proximity to infected fields, crop stage, late blight strain, conventional or organic production status and other diseases that may be in need of management in the field.

Please note that home garden fungicide selections are limited to few choices, including copper, chlorothalonil and azoxystrobin.

Copper-containing fungicide choices would generally fall in line with organic production approaches, with the latter two fungicide selections, previously listed, falling into the category of conventional production.

A UW-Madison Division of Extension fact sheet for gardeners outlines fungicides and their common trade names available at several home

Figure 2: Illustrated are the frequencies of late blight pathogen (Phytophthora infestans) clonal lineages/genotypes in the United States between 2009 and 2018. Note the increasing predominance of the US-23 type. Graphs courtesy of the team of scientists contributing to and maintaining the usablight. org website

garden centers http://hort.uwex.edu/ articles/home-garden-fungicides-0/.

Under high late blight pressure, I recommend fungicide programs with Revus Top, Forum, Curzate 60DF, Ranman, Tanos, Gavel, Previcur Flex, Zampro, Zing!, Omega and Orondis.

Mefenoxam-containing fungicides such as Ridomil Gold SL can also be highly effective in controlling late blight caused by the pathogen strain US-23. This strain has been identified in all Wisconsin cases in 2019.

The US-8 strain was also identified in a few fields over the past five years.

There have been questions on the continued efficacy of mefenoxam on US-23 strains due to some detection of resistance during 2015 in other states. My lab will further investigate the resistance phenotype in US-23 isolates collected from Wisconsin.

TANK MIXES Note that Ridomil will not work to control the US-8 strain. In most cases, I recommend tank mixes of one

continued on pg. 48 BC�T October 47

Badger Beat. . .

continued from pg. 47

of the above-mentioned specialty fungicides with a broad pathogen protection spectrum base protectant, such as chlorothalonil or mancozeb.

In Wisconsin, the QoI inhibitors Headline (pyraclostrobin, Group 11), Priaxor (Headline plus fluxapyraxad, 7), Quadris (azoxystrobin, 11), Tanos (cymoxanil, 27 and famoxadone, 11) and Reason (fenamidone, 11) have offered good late blight control at high label rates under moderate late blight pressure and should be used in a manner that mitigates pathogen resistance development.

I recommend an in-tank mix with protectant fungicides such as mancozeb or chlorothalonil-based products and limiting consecutive applications.

Phosphorous acid formulations such as Crop-phite, Fosphite, Phostrol, Prophyt and Rampart can increase potato tuber protection to late blight and pink rot through an apparent increase in phosphites within the tuber tissue.

However, in-field rates must be high and multiple applications made for significant tuber protection initiating at dime-size tuber and following up with two more applications made 14 days apart.

This group doesn’t provide great foliar control of late blight on potato or tomato and some phytotoxicity can be seen on foliage with high rates under some conditions.

In 2015, we saw moderate phytotoxicity on our potato trials with greater than two applications of high rates at the UW Hancock Agricultural Research Station.

Post-harvest applications serve both as contact fungicides and as inducers of tuber resistance due to an increase in phosphites.

48 BC�T October

In organic systems, copper-containing fungicides continue to prove most effective and provide greatest broad spectrum disease control in tomato and potato.

In organic systems, copper-containing fungicides continue to prove most effective and provide greatest broad spectrum disease control in tomato and potato.

We evaluated EF-400 and BacStop (Anjon Ag) in recent years and did see some control in controlled greenhouse late blight trials with tomato. Open field trials in Michigan on potato late blight also demonstrated effectiveness of this treatment.

LESS CONTROL While further investigating EF-400 on tomato, we are beginning to see less control of late blight with current types of the US-23 pathogen.

While our previous lab and greenhouse investigations with Zonix indicated efficacy of the rhamnolipid for late blight control on tomato with a single inoculation, open field evaluations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina have not shown good control.

Copper fungicides were, in most cases, two times better at controlling late blight than the Zonix treatments (based on season-long disease or AUDPC).

Timing and frequency of fungicide applications are critical elements in an effective disease control program on susceptible crops.

Five-to-seven-day application

intervals are needed to protect the crop under conditions of rapid growth and high disease pressure.

Late blight will, likely, be around in potato and tomato production systems for the next few years. We have seen the epidemic trend of 2009 to current as like the mid-1990s.

Following comprehensive management approaches across systems and in non-commercial crops, along with more arid weather conditions, might once again give us a few years respite from this potentially devastating crop disease.

The UWEX Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic continues to accept late blight potato and tomato samples for free diagnoses. The clinic contact information and sample shipping practices can be found by visiting http://labs.russell.wisc.edu/pddc/.

Further information on late blight and disease management recommendations can be found at the UW Potato and Vegetable Pathology website: https://wivegdis. plantpath.wisc.edu/, by visiting usablight.org or in the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Publication entitled “Commercial Vegetable Production in Wisconsin,” publication number A3422 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/ files/1/0145/8808/4272/files/A3422. pdf.

Marketplace

By Dana Rady, WPVGA Director of Promotions and Consumer Education

Billboards Tout Nutrition and Family Farming Recently, while driving along Interstate 39/U.S.-51, I noticed a billboard with a statistic that said 80-some percent of drivers read and pay attention to such billboards.

That got me thinking about the thousands of billboards I’ve seen throughout my hundreds of car rides on various interstate corridors and in different states, and the ones that have resonated with me.

I’ve seen billboards that promote clean bathrooms by saying, “We aim to keep clean bathrooms. Your aim will help.”

Another promoted a bakery item originating in Czechoslovakia but being made and sold at a Texas convenience store. The billboard read, “Czech out our sausage kolaches!”

Still others tout the reason for advertising on billboards. They are decorated with eye-catching colors and big letters that say, “Made you

look!” It’s a humorous way of proving that billboard advertising is a valuable investment.

The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable

Above: Keith Wolter of Hyland Lakes Spuds in Antigo, Wisconsin, is featured with his wife, Danielle, and daughters, Paige, Hadley and Reese, on a billboard along Interstate 39/U.S.51. The billboard, sponsored by the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, faces south near Highway W in Bancroft.

Growers Association is once again investing in billboard advertising along I-39/U.S.-51 in the Central Sands area of the state.

continued on pg. 50

WORK. WITH A PURPOSE. DIRECTOR OF AGRONOMY Job Duties: ■ Propagate agronomic best practices across all of the organization’s farms.

■ Lead the company-wide agronomy research program.

■ Lead the analysis of any quality, disease, or yield issues encountered at our farming operations.

This position would be located at or near one of our farm locations in Winamac, IN; Sturgis, MI; Forest River, ND; or Grand Forks, ND (HQ).

Apply Online: www.blackgoldfarms.com/careers BC�T October 49

Marketplace. . .

continued from pg. 49

The messages might not be quite as comical as some of the examples listed above, but they are just as direct and appealing.

The message is vital in today’s climate that unfortunately often shows agriculture on the receiving end of pointing fingers and angry voices.

THIS SPUD’S FOR YOU! The first features a large and healthy loaded baked potato accompanied by the “eatwisconsinpotatoes.com” website address and a message that says, “This Spud’s for You! Nutritious, Delicious, Versatile.”

It’s so easy within the confines of that climate to see people as less than they are. An example is the belief that farmers aren’t stewards of the environment and don’t have the public’s best interest in mind when growing their crops, or that growers simply need to stop what they are doing!

Featuring bright and inviting colors paired with large and easy-to-read verbiage, the ad touts nutrition and the importance of buying local.

The billboard faces north and is located on the east side of the interstate just south of County Highway B in Plover.

The second ad faces south and is located a little farther south near County Highway W in Bancroft. While just as eye-catching as the other, this billboard’s message has a slightly different focus.

With Wisconsin potato grower Keith Wolter and his family featured, the billboard simply says, “Farmer, Father, Friend.”

50 BC�T October

I wonder if people who hold views and opinions like that really stop to think about the repercussions of their request. If growers simply stopped what they are doing, what would happen to our food supply? Why is it so easy to say, “Stop what you are doing” and so difficult to say, “Can we sit down and discuss this?”

FARMER, FATHER, FRIEND With emotions high, it’s easy to forget that, while farmers are farmers, they are also husbands, fathers and friends! They have their families’ best interests at heart just as they do that of the public. If there’s one inherent message that this billboard portrays, it’s that.

Above: A second billboard located along I-39/U.S.-51 sports a nutrition and “buy local” message for traffic heading south. The board is located just south of the Highway B exit in Plover.

The Wolter family of Hyland Lakes Spuds in Antigo is one of hundreds of families across Wisconsin and the Midwest who are making a living by putting food on the plates of American families, including their own.

Keith is one of many growers in the state who works countless hours throughout the year to plant, monitor and guide his crops to provide nothing but the highest-quality potatoes for consumers, as well as his family.

Keith and his wife, Danielle, are raising their children just like other couples.

Supporting farmers like the Wolters, working with them and respecting their vocation in feeding families is a vital message that needs to be communicated to the up-and-coming generations.

Yes, Keith is a farmer. He is also a father as well as a friend.

Thank you, Wisconsin farmers, for feeding your families and ours!

New Products

Automated Produce Equipment Offers Optical Sorter Raynbow optical sorting machine features high-resolution sensors for examining potatoes What does a commercial onion peeler, optical sorter and a robotic palletizer have in common? They are key offerings by Automated Produce Equipment out of Marietta, Georgia.

The Raynbow by Raytec Vision is an optical sorting machine with highresolution sensors that examine the product using a high-speed double vision system that analyzes 100 percent of the surface of all produce, including potatoes.

The system is used to check agrofood products: fruit and vegetables.

Raynbow can dispose of color defects, marked produce and foreign bodies, even if they are the same color as quality product.

The produce is fed on a conveyor belt used to stabilize potatoes and other vegetables to prevent them from rolling off the machine. By doing so, all produce can be inspected and, if necessary, ejected on presenting the same conditions in both the vision zone and the reject zone.

Options for the Raynbow optical sorter include a palette reject system with either electro-pneumatic or air activation using electrically controlled

ejection valves.

DEFECT DETECTION It is operational using a singleejection system or in 3Way mode and can have two reject systems that differentiate unusable produce from defects considered second choice.

It is a hexa-chromatic machine equipped with NIR (Near Infrared) technology for visible color analysis.

NIR technology can detect the presence of rot and foreign bodies (even if completely black).

Visible color analysis allows color defects to be detected, such as green products, yellowing, etc.

In optional mode, the machine can conduct chlorophyll analysis to allow accurate detection of foreign bodies in products with high chlorophyll content (apples, green beans). continued on pg. 52

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New Products. . .

continued from pg. 51

An ethernet connection is available for remote control.

The machine detects statistical data on rejected products for quality analysis of the selected raw material.

Ideal for Sorting: • Tomatoes • Cherry tomatoes • Potatoes (peeled and unpeeled) • Carrots • Green beans • Onions (peeled and unpeeled) • Peppers (whole and de-cored) • Artichokes • Olives • Apricots

• Cherries • Oranges • Apples • Walnuts (with shell) • Peaches • Strawberries • Pears

• Automatic capture of images of rejected products and their filing for post-production analysis

Benefits and Strengths: • High production capacity. Enables selection of large quantities of product in little time

• User-friendly for easy use and programming

• Significant labor savings (up to 100 percent according to application) • Detection in real time of qualitative and quantitative data of raw material analyzed

• Constant selection over time, also over three work shifts • Low maintenance costs

For more information, contact Automated Produce Equipment, LLC, attn: Mike McKnight, 1563 Woodmore Dr. SW, Marietta, GA 30008, 678-383-4566, mike@ automatedproduceequip.com, www.automatedproduceequip.com

Big Iron Equipment Debuts Mini Rock Picker

Rock-Itt can be pulled by a 40-horsepower tractor and is ideal for landscaping Ideal for landscaping or small farm plots, the Gagnon Construction RockItt™ mini rock picker is the brainchild of Bill Zelinski of Big Iron Equipment, Plover, Wisconsin, whose company previously offered only large, full-size rock pickers.

Zelinski, who helped name the

52 BC�T October

Rock-Itt, wanted something smaller that could be pulled by a 40-horsepower tractor. He contacted Gagnon Construction of New Brunswick, Canada, which complied with his request.

The two-bed mini rock picker features a 1.25-yard bucket hopper

and is offered exclusively by Big Iron Equipment.

For more information, contact Big Iron Equipment, attn: Zach Mykisen, 2731 Maple Dr., Plover, WI 54467, 715-344-3401, www.bigironequipment.com, zach@bigironequipment.com

Eyes on Associates

By WPVGA Associate Div. President Kenton Mehlberg, T.I.P. / Ag Grow Solutions

Greetings, all. I hope everyone is doing well. The 2019 harvest is

year. Thank you to those who provided input, and for those who didn’t, please plan on doing so this year.

All spring it seemed like things were running a month behind schedule and now I would argue it seems like we are a month ahead as far as the weather goes, not exactly the trend we were all hoping for ... August seemed more like September, and much of September felt more like October.

Booth reservations for exhibitors were sent out in early September.

If you have not done so, please return your forms as soon as possible so we can save space for you and ensure the best possible location in the show.

upon us! I’m not sure what judgment to make about the weather, but here is my best effort.

Proof is once again pelting the window as I sit here with the mercury holding steady at 46 degrees. Within the next week, most of the state will be in the full potato harvest swing, and by the time you are reading this, most should be finishing up.

events next year.

At our recent Associate Division meeting, the Board read the comments and suggestions from last year’s Industry Show and reviewed the Grower Education Conference surveys.

CRUCIAL FEEDBACK We take this feedback seriously in order to improve our event every

For the last several years, we have been offering vendors a chance to make presentations to Grower continued on pg. 54

I truly hope that Mother Nature cooperates more than she did last year and allows everyone time to get their crops out of the field. I’m optimistically hopeful that she will be despite our current pattern.

With the 2019 Putt-Tato Open golf outing and Hancock Agricultural Research Station (HARS) Field Day behind us, most WPVGA Associate Division Board efforts are focused on the upcoming Grower Education Conference & Industry Show, as well as other events in 2020.

I would like to give one last thank you to everyone who participated in, helped plan or contributed to the Putt-Tato Open and HARS Field Day. We all look forward to these great

During the 2018 Industry Show in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, WPVGA Associate Division Board member Chris Brooks (right) presented Nick and Dianne Somers with a plaque celebrating their milestone of 50 years of farming and promoting the “Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Potatoes” message.

BC�T October 53

Eyes on Associates. . . continued from pg. 53

Education Conference attendees. The Associate Division Board is planning to include vendor presentations on the Tuesday agenda again for the 2020 show.

This segment of the conference, titled “Bringing Value to Ag,” involves five Associate Division member exhibitors who each make a 10-minute presentation. The presentations are motivated by our desire to ensure that participating Associate Division members receive as much exposure as possible, as well as to provide grower members with new and relevant information regarding member companies.

sporting clays shoot in the fall of 2020. The event will take place in late October next year in a location to be determined.

length in our recent board meetings is how, as a division, we can help educate and get youth involved in our industry. All of us have a responsibility to keep people informed, young people especially, about what we do and the impact we have as an industry.

Associate Division members and growers are encouraged to attend.

I will be providing more information in upcoming articles on this exciting new event.

TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY Career and employment opportunities within the potato and vegetable industry are tremendous.

Our challenge is demonstrating advantages to young people and keeping them interested and motivated long enough to pursue and realize such opportunities.

If anybody has questions, comments or concerns about any of our sponsored events, please share your ideas with a WPVGA Associate Division member. We would be happy to discuss them as a group.

We have some fantastic ideas, and I am excited to see where this will go.

More updates to follow in upcoming articles, so stay tuned!

The main purpose of these presentations is to educate and inform. Vendors will be receiving detailed information on how to submit proposals in the coming month.

Lastly, I would like to officially announce that the Associate Division will be sponsoring its first annual

A new topic we have discussed at

Godspeed to all of you throughout this harvest season. Try to enjoy what is left of this beautiful season, and I look forward to seeing you out in the field or through next month’s column.

Kenton Mehlberg

WPVGA Associate Division President

WPIB Focus Wisconsin Potato Assessment Collections: Two-Year Comparison Month

Jul-18

Aug-18

Sep-18

Oct-18

Nov-18

Dec-18

Jan-19

Feb-19

Mar-19

Apr-19

May-19

Jun-19

Year-to-Date

CWT

1,631,620.99

1,724,518.33

3,356,139.32

Assessment

$114,203.25

$125,436.11

$239,639.36

Month

Jul-19

Aug-19

Sep-19

Oct-19

Nov-19

Dec-19

Jan-20

Feb-20

Mar-20

Apr-20

May-20

Jun-20

Year-to-Date

CWT

1,737,634.84

616,558.70

2,354,193.54

Assessment

$139,082.75

$42,984.69

$182,067.44

54 BC�T October

Measuring Nitrogen Movement Much of the nitrogen in wastewater leaves the soil and harmlessly enters the atmosphere

By David Tenenbaum, science writer, communications, University of Wisconsin-Madison For more than a century, cheesemakers and vegetable processors have applied water remaining after production to open fields and farmland.

Producers have removed most impurities from this wastewater. But there was no definitive answer on whether the remaining nitrogen (in the form of nitrate) was polluting groundwater.

The report of a three-year study, jointly funded by industry and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, was released late last year.

The results offer some support for the long-held belief that much of the nitrogen in the wastewater leaves the soil and harmlessly enters the atmosphere.

Wastewater disposal is a daily need at Del Monte’s canning factory in Cambria (Columbia County), Wisconsin, which processes green

beans, peas and sweet corn for about five months every year.

Each day, the Cambria plant pumps over 264,000 gallons of wastewater,

Above: Del Monte maintains a 150-acre field near its Cambria, Wisconsin, plant, where a center-pivot irrigator releases spent wash water in a controlled application. Photo courtesy of David Tenenbaum, UW-Madison

mainly from washing, blanching and cleaning, to a nearby hayfield, where a center-pivot irrigator drips it onto the soil.

continued on pg. 56

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BC�T October 55

Producing 3.3 billion pounds of cheese in America’s Dairyland creates about 5.5 billion gallons of an effluent that carries a higher concentration of nitrogen than cannery wastewater and is typically disposed of in furrows.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT Some large cheese facilities use inplant wastewater treatment systems, a solution that is expensive for vegetable processors who operate seasonally and for small- and mid-size cheese plants.

Above: The green beans have passed the first processing round at the Del Monte cannery in Cambria, Wisconsin. Geoff Siemering (left) and facility manager Al Bodden watch the fast-moving belt coming from semitrucks parked just outside the facility. Photo courtesy of David Tenenbaum, UW–Madison

In both the vegetable and cheese industries, the study results could affect the cost of disposal by raising or lowering the need for land and equipment.

In addition to providing some support to the belief that much of the nitrogen in the wastewater leaves the soil and harmlessly enters the atmosphere, the groundbreaking study also shows that rates of this process, called denitrification, vary depending on season, soil type, crop cover and application rates, says Geoffrey Siemering, a University

56 BC�T October

of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison soil contamination specialist.

Because the atmosphere contains about 78 percent nitrogen, measuring transfers from the soil is extremely difficult, explains study leader Francisco Arriaga, a UW-Madison professor of soil science.

soundwaves that are generated.

This system measured nitrogen gas exiting the soil every few minutes.

The new results should help to refine disposal permits so vegetable processors and cheesemakers can maximize the amount of wastewater

disposal while still protecting the environment, Siemering explains.

The $255,000 project was funded by the Midwest Food Processors Association, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association and the state Department of Natural Resources.

The automated technology developed in his lab captures and measures nitrogen as it escapes to the atmosphere. Efforts by Ph.D. candidate Clay Vanderleest were instrumental in developing this technology for the study.

REAL-TIME MEASUREMENT “We expected to be surprised, as this important measurement has never, to our knowledge, been possible in real time,” says Siemering, who works with Arriaga.

“What we found was reassuring, on the whole, but also suggests that better system management could improve how the water is treated and further reduce the possibility of nitrogen entering groundwater,” Siemering adds.

The study made repeated measurements of nitrogen release at disposal systems used by three cheesemakers and three vegetable processors in Wisconsin.

Data was gathered from probes buried in the soil, and gas was collected from the soil surface during several one-week periods at different times of the year.

The heart of the system was a series of automated sampling chambers connected to a photoacoustic analyzer.

The analyzer, based on an 1880’s invention by Alexander Graham Bell, identifies elements by exposing samples to specific wavelengths of light, and then measuring the

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BC�T October 57

Potatoes USA News Potatoes Fuel Performance in Hy-Vee Stores

Hy-Vee is a leading chain of grocery stores in the Midwest United States.

In September, potatoes were the produce item of the month and the focus for Hy-Vee dietitians.

The direct partnership led to the development of in-store signage, handouts with facts about potatoes and the opportunity to educate HyVee’s dietitians on how potatoes fuel performance.

Starting the first of September, 100 dietitians who service 245 HyVee locations were the advocates of potatoes by educating their consumers through one-on-one

58 BC�T October

Point-of-sale materials were developed for the September promotion at Hy-Vee store locations, where dieticians talked about how potatoes fuel performance.

sessions, signage and in-store samplings focused on potato benefits.

The campaign ran in Hy-Vee markets, both online and in-store, through September 30.

People Vive Crop Protection Names New CEO Darren Anderson takes over chief executive officer position Vive Crop Protection announces that Darren Anderson stepped into the role of chief executive officer (CEO) effective July 1, 2019.

Anderson was most recently the president of Vive Crop Protection and is one of the co-founders of the company. Over 13 years with Vive, his roles have included product development, marketing and communications and new business development.

He has been critical to the organization’s success, moving from

concept to commercialization.

Anderson assumes CEO responsibility from Keith Thomas who moves to executive chair of Vive’s Board of Directors and remains one of Vive’s key investors. Thomas was instrumental in the startup and rapid growth of the company and is credited for gaining financing required to become a fastgrowing company in a competitive marketplace. In July, Vive is closing its $13 million financing round. continued on pg. 60

Darren Anderson assumes chief executive officer role at Vive Crop Protection.

What do you expect from the seed potatoes that you buy?

The varieties that yo

u need.

The early generation that you want.

The quality and yie ld you have come to that expect.

Wisconsin has it!

For a directory of Wisconsin Certified Seed Potato Growers or a free video, contact:

WISCONSIN CERTIFIED SEED POTATOES

Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association, Inc. P.O. Box 173, Antigo, WI 54409 715-623-4039 www.potatoseed.org

View a directory of the Wisconsin Certified Seed Potato Growers on your smartphone.

BC�T October 59

People. . .

continued from pg. 59

Thomas says, “We are fortunate to have someone uniquely suited to scale the operation as Vive continues its tremendous year-overyear growth.”

Vive’s patented Allosperse Delivery System has unlimited potential in the North American and global crop protection markets. The technology allows chemicals that were previously

incompatible to now be mixed with liquid fertilizer and applied at the right time for maximum benefit to the crop.

It also saves farmers time and money by reducing a pass over the field. In 2019, Allosperse will be included in five Vive-branded products and many through other manufacturers.

Insight FS Awards Ag Scholarships Insight FS awarded 10 $1,500 scholarships to high school seniors and college students pursuing a degree in agriculture.

applications prove that the future of agriculture throughout Wisconsin and the [Michigan] Upper Peninsula will be bright.”

“At Insight FS, we feel it is vitally important to support area agriculture and the next generation of leaders in ag,” says Dave Mottet, general manager at Insight FS. “The

Scholarship applicants are evaluated on academic achievement, active participation in local and state clubs or groups promoting agriculture and environmental stewardship,

60 BC�T October

Vive makes proven products cutting edge with the Allosperse Delivery System. Allosperse improves the targeting and performance of pesticide active ingredients, helping farmers do more with less, while increasing crop quality and yield.

Visit www.ViveCrop.com for more information.

Above: The scholarship winners are, top row, left to right, Samantha Schuessler, Colin Wussow, Morgyn Haumschild, Carley Krull and Tiffany Van Buren; and bottom row, left to right, Katrina Pokorny, Grace Link, Audrey Pelikan, Sam Jesse and Kirstin Novak.

leadership potential and essay responses.

To be eligible, the student must be the dependent of an employee or patron of Insight FS. The student must also maintain a grade point

Samuel Jesse, from Lodi, is in his senior year at UW-Madison studying agronomy.

University while pursuing a degree in dairy science, with an agricultural communications minor.

Morgyn Haumschild, an Auburndale High School graduate, who is attending the University of Wisconsin (UW)-River Falls and majoring in dairy science.

Kirstin Novak, a recent graduate from Palmyra-Eagle high school, attends UW-Madison and is pursuing a degree in agricultural business management.

Audrey Pelikan, from Jefferson, is majoring in soil and crop science and environmental horticulture at UW-Platteville this fall.

Grace Link, of Stoughton, continues her pursuit of a degree in agricultural communications at Iowa State University.

Tiffany Van Buren, from Waupun, is in her sophomore year at South Dakota State. She is studying dairy production.

Carley Krull, from Lake Mills, is a senior at Iowa State University pursuing degrees in dairy science and international agriculture.

Katrina Pokorny is a Waupun Area High School graduate. She attends UW-Eau Claire, planning to advocate for agriculture while pursuing a public health major.

average of at least 2.5 on a 4-point scale.

Scholarship recipients include:

Colin Wussow, a Bonduel High School graduate, attends UW-River Falls majoring in agricultural business.

Samantha Schuessler, from Antigo, attends California Polytechnic State

Insight FS is headquartered in Jefferson, Wisconsin, serving patrons in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Insight FS is an agricultural cooperative with annual sales of $270 million (FY 2018 data) providing agronomy, energy, feed, turf and agrifinance products and services, as well as grain marketing. Insight FS is part of the GROWMARK System. More information is available at insightfs. com.

BC�T October 61

NPC News

Pennsylvania Hosts Excellent EPA Tour Event gives real-world context to overseeing crop protection tools

The week of August 19-23, the Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers, Inc. organized a tour of potato production areas for key Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials from Washington, D.C. The two-day tour took attendees to Sterman Masser Potatoes, Keystone Potato Products and Herr’s Potato Chips.

“We sincerely appreciate Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers’ work in coordinating this tour, and the hospitality of each of the host organizations,” says National Potato Council (NPC) COO Mike Wenkel.

“These events are so important for providing real-world context to EPA’s important work in overseeing crop protection tools for our industry,” Wenkel adds. continued on pg. 64

62 BC�T October

A two-day tour for key Environmental Protection Agency officials took them to Sterman Masser Potatoes, Keystone Potato Products and Herr’s Potato Chips in Pennsylvania.

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NPC News. . .

continued from pg. 62

Potato Industry Cheers Japan FTA Announcement The announcement by the White House that a Federal Trade Agreement (FTA) “in principle” was reached with Japan on agriculture tariffs was met with strong support from the NPC. “This announcement is welcome news for our industry. It allows U.S. potato exporters to recapture vital momentum in Japan and level the playing field against foreign competitors,” says NPC CEO Kam Quarles.

“Creating a new agreement with Japan that preserves benefits previously negotiated under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been a key objective of the National Potato Council,” explains Jared Balcom, chairman of NPC’s Trade Affairs Committee and a farmer from Pasco, Washington.

“We believe today’s announcement indicates that the White House, the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative (USTR) and the Department of Agriculture share that goal and are committed to making it a reality,” Balcom remarks.

LARGEST EXPORT MARKET Japan is the U.S. potato industry’s largest export market with exports

totaling over $350 million in the past year. Given a competitive tariff regime and reasonable market access agreements, it is believed that this market can grow by another $150 million annually (42 percent) in the very near future.

“We sincerely appreciate the dedicated work of Ambassador Lighthizer, Secretary Perdue and the agricultural professionals supporting them at USTR, the Foreign Agricultural Service and the Animal

Plant Health Inspection Service,” Quarles says.

It is believed that the two sides will work to solidify all the final details in the agreement over the next few months. Japan’s National Diet (legislature) will need to ratify the terms of the new agreement and it is unclear the timeline on that step.

The U.S. potato industry is also pushing for fresh market access to Japan. Those discussions will likely be a parallel process to the FTA.

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Ali's Kitchen

Potato Corn Chowder is Comfort Food For Ali, cooler temperatures warrant the warm, comforting goodness of soup Column and photos by Ali Carter, Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary Autumn means cooler temperatures and cooler temps mean it’s time for warm comfort food. For this Wisconsin girl, potato soup is high on the list of comforting goodness!

I chose to use Superior potatoes for this soup because that’s what we had in the pantry and Superiors offer a fabulous creamy texture. They are one of my favorite potatoes to boil, but russets will work wonderfully in

this recipe as well.

Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your liking. We enjoy a bit of heat here at the Carter house, so we tend to add an extra pinch or two of cayenne pepper, but there is no shame in being less enthusiastic with the spice if you prefer a tamer soup.

One ingredient that makes this chowder extra special is the bacon! continued on pg. 66

Potato Corn Chowder

• 1/2 an onion, diced • 3 slices of bacon, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces • 2 cups fresh (or frozen) corn • 1 clove garlic, minced • 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour • 1 cup whole milk • 4 cups chicken broth • 1 tsp. salt • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper • 3 potatoes, washed and cubed into 1/4-to-1/2-inch chunks • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated • Chives, roughly chopped for topping the soup (optional) BC�T October 65

Ali's Kitchen. . .

continued from pg. 65

I know it’s decadent, but I rarely drain the fat rendered from the bacon when making this soup. I find that the extra fat lends a delicious smoky flavor and is helpful when incorporating the flour and making the roux.

However, you may want to drain most of the fat from your pot before adding the flour, milk and stock. Just be sure to leave about two tablespoons of bacon fat behind. The flour must have something to absorb and soften it ,and if your pot is too dry, you will end up with a grainy texture that is not at all appetizing.

Like most soups, this one reheats well, although it does seem to thicken a bit, so I usually add a little water before reheating it.

If a steaming bowl of hearty soup is what you’re looking for, this Potato Corn Chowder is sure to warm you just as the perfect autumn comfort food should!

DIRECTIONS Set a large stock pot over mediumlow heat. Place the bacon and onion into the pot and cook for about 10 minutes until bacon has started to crisp up and the onion is tender and transparent. If desired, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from pot.

Add the corn and garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring often (careful not to burn the garlic).

Sprinkle the flour into the pot and whisk until the flour has coated the veggies.

Slowly add chicken broth, and then the milk. Be sure to add a little liquid at a time and whisk continuously to avoid lumpy soup base.

Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Turn heat up to medium-high and add

the potatoes. Simmer for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Once the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened, remove from the heat.

Sprinkle in the cheddar cheese and stir until incorporated.

Spoon into individual bowls and top with chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Find more recipes at www.LifeOnGraniteRidge.com.

SUPPORT YOUR FELLOW WPVGA MEMBERS When you need goods or services, please consider asking our Associate Division Members for quotes or explore what they have to offer. Together, we make a strong organization and appreciate how wonderful we are as a group.

66 BC�T October

Advertisers Index Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative.................................28 Advanced Farm Equipment, LLC....63 Baginski Farms Inc. .......................13 Big Iron Equipment........................15 Black Gold Farms...........................49 Bushmans’ Inc. ...............................3 Compeer Financial.........................24 Fencil Urethane Systems...............14 Heartland Ag Systems....................19 Jay-Mar..........................................18 John Miller Farms..........................25 J.W. Mattek....................................21 Lockwood Mfg. .............................67 Mid-State Truck Service.................64 National Potato Council...................2 Nelson’s Vegetable Storage Systems Inc..................................31 NNZ, Inc. .......................................16 North Central Irrigation...................5 Oasis Irrigation..............................68 Riesterer & Schnell........................55 Roberts Irrigation..........................57 Ron’s Refrigeration..........................9 Rural Mutual Insurance.................17 Sand County Equipment................29 Schroeder Brothers Farms...............7 Swiderski Equipment.....................61 ThorPack, LLC................................43 T.I.P................................................37 Vantage North Central...................33 Volm Companies............................11 Warner & Warner..........................23 WPVGA Subscribers.......................51 WPVGA Support Our Members.....66 WSPIA............................................59

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IRRIGATION LLC

IRRIGATION LLC IRRIGATION LLC

N6775 5th Avenue Plainfield, WI 54966 IRRIGATION LLC N6775 Avenue N6775 5th5th Avenue Plainfield, WI WI 54966 Plainfield, 54966 715-335-8300 N6775 5th Avenue Plainfield, WI 54966