August 2025 Badger Common'Tater

$28/year | $2.50/copy | Volume 77 No. 08 | August 2025

THE VOICE OF WISCONSIN'S POTATO & VEGETABLE INDUSTRY

RESEARCH & SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ISSUE

INTERVIEW:

DR. MATT RUARK

UW-Madison Professor/ Extension Soil Scientist

THE AUTOMATED Nematode Detective POTATOES & DIABETES: Busting Myths for Better Nutrition WPVGA SUPPORTS Potato Research Projects MASS HONEY BEE LOSSES Linked to High Viral Loads Professor and Extension Soil Scientist Matt Ruark provides a “Nitrogen Optimization Update” at the 2025 Hancock Agricultural Research Station Field Day, July 10, 2025.

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Inventory • Replenishment services • Handle all freight needs • Long-Range planning • Jenna Wenzel • John Eckendorf Nic Bushman • Chris Lockery • Tim Feit Mike Gatz, Jim Stefan and Chris Fleming (Milwaukee) Paul Hegewald (All fruits and vegetables) Mike Whyte (Michigan) Transportation: Matt Dobbe • Denise Moze Mike Carter CEO | John Hopfensperger COO

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On the Cover: University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Professor and Extension Soil Scientist Matt Ruark updates 2025 Hancock Agricultural Research Station Field Day attendees on nitrogen optimization. Ruark is the inaugural recipient of the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association BCS Chair at the UW-Madison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences.

8 BADGER COMMON’TATER INTERVIEW: When this photo was taken, WPVGA base-funded researcher Dr. Matt Ruark said, “It’s a great day to be soil sampling for on-farm research.” Dr. Ruark led a $10 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Great Lakes region, and most recently, was named faculty director of the Dairy Innovation Hub, which the state of Wisconsin is supporting to the tune of $7.8 million per year. .

DEPARTMENTS: AUXILIARY NEWS............... 50 BADGER BEAT.................... 52 DISHING IT UP WITH DANA... 61

15

32

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BUSTING MYTHS FOR BETTER NUTRITION

SEED PIECE

NEW PRODUCTS

Potatoes can be nutritional for people having diabetes

One Gallenberg Farms team wears matching T-shirts at the 2025 Spud Seed Classic

Introducing the AccuVision 360 produce sorter and optical grading system

EYES ON ASSOCIATES......... 47 MARK YOUR CALENDAR...... 6 MARKETPLACE................... 48 NOW NEWS....................... 24 NPC NEWS......................... 40

FEATURE ARTICLES:

PEOPLE.............................. 30

20 AUTOMATED NEMATODE Detective uses AI tools to help identify persistent pests

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

39 WPVGA AWARDS $384,000 in base funding and competitive grants for 2025-’26

POTATOES USA NEWS........ 57

44 RESEARCH SHOWS honey bee losses due to high levels of infection/mite resistance

WPIB FOCUS...................... 42

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BC�T August

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Home | Auto | Farm | Business | Life WPVGA Board of Directors: President: John Bustamante Vice President: Wendy Dykstra Secretary: Josh Knights Treasurer: John Hopfensperger Directors: Mike Baginski, Randy Fleishauer, Brian Lee, J.D. Schroeder & Jeff Suchon Wisconsin Potato Industry Board: President: Heidi Alsum-Randall Vice President: Andy Diercks Secretary: Nicola Carey Treasurer: Keith Wolter Directors: Rod Gumz, Jim Okray, Eric Schroeder, Joe Seis & Tom Wild WPVGA Associate Division Board of Directors: President: Matt Selenske Vice President: Ethan Olson

Connect with your local agent

RuralMutual.com Secretary: Melissa Heise Treasurer: Paul Salm Directors: Brady Patoka, Scott Scheer, Morgan Smolarek, Sally Suprise & Brandon Taylor Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association Board of Directors: President: Charlie Husnick Vice President: Andy Schroeder Secretary/Treasurer: Markus Shafel Directors: Mitch Mattek & Clover Spacek Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary Board of Directors: President: Heidi Schleicher Vice President: Dakotah Smiley Secretary/Treasurer: Samantha Cypher Directors: Jody Baginski, Misti Kinnison, Jenna Suchon & Erin Meister

Mission Statement of the WPVGA: To advance the interests of WPVGA members through education, information, environmentally sound research, promotion, governmental action and involvement.

Mission Statement of the WPVGA Associate Division: To work in partnership with the WPVGA as product and service providers to promote mutual industry viability by providing technology and information resources.

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

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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

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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.

The editor welcomes manuscripts and pictures but accepts no responsibility for such material while in our hands.

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MARK YOUR

Calendar JULY 31-8/10 WISCONSIN STATE FAIR West Allis, WI

AUGUST 5-7

WISCONSIN FARM TECHNOLOGY DAYS Clinton Farms Bear Creek, WI

6-9

POTATOES USA SUMMER MEETING Boston, MA

9

45th ANNUAL ANTIGO TATER TROT Antigo City Park, 8:20 a.m., and Virtual Antigo, WI

SEPTEMBER 6

39TH ANNUAL SPUD BOWL Community Stadium at Goerke Park Stevens Point, WI

OCTOBER 16

6TH ANNUAL SPORTING CLAYS SHOOT Wausau Skeet and Trap Club Wausau/Brokaw, WI

16-18

IFPA GLOBAL PRODUCE & FLORAL SHOW Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA

27-28

WPVGA RESEARCH MEETING Hancock Ag Research Station and virtual, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily Hancock, WI

NOVEMBER 9

MADISON MARATHON Capitol Square, 7 a.m.

Madison, WI

JANUARY 2026 6-8

POTATO EXPO 2026 Gaylord Texan Dallas, TX

FEBRUARY 3-5

2026 GROWER ED CONFERENCE & INDUSTRY SHOW Holiday Inn & Convention Center Stevens Point, WI

MAY 16-26

6

NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION SHOW McCormick Place Chicago, IL BC�T August

Planting Ideas Word travels fast in 2025.

No sooner had I read my news feed in the morning when I received a text from my friend and potato grower Brian Bushman of Bushman Trucking, LLC in Wittenberg, Wisconsin, saying “We need to find the article about this lovely lady.” In fact, I’d just read the article he sent me a screen shot of online, as it had been shared by WSAW NewsChannel 7 in Wausau. The story goes that 114-year-old Bonita Gibson (above), one of the oldest people in the United States and believed to be the oldest living person in Michigan, says potatoes are her secret to long life. Bonita celebrated her 114th birthday on July 4, 2025.

Born in 1911 in rural Missouri, Bonita has lived through World War I, World War II, and The Great Depression, and has survived mumps, measles, whooping cough and COVID twice. She says her secret to a long life is eating potatoes, and no drinking or smoking.

And regarding my friend, Brian, he and Trisha Grezenski have agreed to drive the Spudmobile to some of the more major events like the Wisconsin State Fair and Green Bay Packers games as interim help while the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) interviews potential Spudmobile drivers. Sadly, Spudmobile Education and Outreach Administrator George Neuber passed away at home on February 2, 2025.

If you are someone who likes to travel and interact with people, the position involves driving the Wisconsin Spudmobile to and from events among other duties. The Spudmobile is a 37.5-foot recreational vehicle (RV) containing educational and promotional exhibits related to the Wisconsin potato industry. The successful candidate should have strong communication and public relations skills. A good driving record is essential, and he or she must have or be willing to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). This position requires statewide travel with most work occurring on weekends and in the spring and summer months (March through October). The ability to successfully pass a background check, as well as periodic and random drug and alcohol screenings, is required.

Two to three years of related work experience and/or a working knowledge of agriculture is desired. Knowledge of vehicle maintenance is helpful. Email your resume and three references to Dana Rady at drady@wisconsinpotatoes.com.

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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NAME: Dr. Matt Ruark POSITION: Professor and Extension Soil Scientist UNIVERSITY & DEPARTMENT: UW-Madison Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences LOCATION: Madison, WI HOMETOWN: Sun Prairie, WI YEARS IN PRESENT POSITION: Seventeen PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT: Post-Doctoral Research Associate at California-Davis, working on rice production SCHOOLING: Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (1999) and Master of Science in Soil Science (2002), both from the University of Minnesota, and Ph.D. in Agronomy (2006) from Purdue University ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS: Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) base-funded researcher, and faculty advisor to the Wisconsin AgriBusiness Association (WABA), Dairy Innovation Hub, and UW Discovery Farms

Interview DR. MATT RUARK,

Professor and Extension Soil Scientist, University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences

By Joe Kertzman, managing editor, Badger Common’Tater

Having researched nitrogen and phosphorus, and carbon cycling and losses from agricultural systems, Dr. Matt Ruark committed to the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison as an Extension Soil Scientist and (at that time) Assistant Professor of Nutrient Management, in 2008.

Seventeen years later, Dr. Ruark is a familiar face in the Wisconsin potato and vegetable industry, and in 2023, was named the inaugural recipient of the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) BCS Chair at the UW-Madison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS).

(15), and son, Leo (13)

Dr. Ruark also led a $10 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Great Lakes region, and most recently, was named faculty director of the Dairy Innovation Hub, which the state of Wisconsin is supporting to the tune of $7.8 million per year.

HOBBIES: “Driving my kids to their youth sports activities, being in as many fantasy football leagues as possible, sampling the finest beers Wisconsin has to offer, and thinking about the nitrogen cycle.”

The Dairy Hub harnesses research and development at the UWMadison, Platteville and River Falls campuses to keep the state’s $52.8 billion dairy community at the global

AWARDS/HONORS: WPVGA Researcher of the Year, WABA Award, and inaugural recipient of WPVGA BCS Chair at the UWMadison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS)

FAMILY: Wife, Jenny, daughter, Ainsley

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forefront in producing products in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable manner.

“As it relates to potatoes, I’ve been Above: Dr. Matt Ruark (right), UW-Madison Professor and Extension Soil Scientist, holds up an in-situ column, or capsule, used to capture ammonium and nitrates as Clare Doss (second from right), an agroecology graduate student who works in the Ruark Lab, explains a soil study being conducted at the Hancock Agricultural Research Station. Larissa Correia (left) is a postdoctoral student in the Ruark Lab who set up the research trial. The study is looking at how nitrates move in the soil and are taken up by plants under several scenarios, from which crops are grown in a rotation to how the previous crop decomposes, if it matters whether nitrogen is applied pre-plant, at hilling or post-hilling, the soil itself providing nitrogen to plants, and such things as using polymer-coated urea or if residual nitrogen is being applied through irrigation.

able to be a lot more focused on understanding not only how potato responds to nutrients,” Ruark says, “but also nitrogen uptake and patterning, how the crop grows, and what the optimal times are for nitrogen application.”

How has your role and career progressed at UW-Madison over the past 17 years? Over the span of my career, I’ve had the chance to conduct research focused on a variety of subjects such as fertility and water quality, often with support from national grants and state-level programs.

Now I’ve moved into some small administrative roles in organizations such as the Dairy Innovation Hub. What gains can you specifically point to in nitrogen management, particularly as it relates to potatoes, over that period? That’s a tough one.

Potato is a high-value crop, and from an agronomic perspective, there’s not a lot of incentive to decrease nitrogen application like there is for other crops for which there are economic losses when it is overapplied.

With potatoes, it comes down to application timing, and we’ve had some success with controlled-release fertilizers. It’s about getting more evidence out there and trying to really assess what the true agronomic value is in optimizing nitrogen

application rates. It’s been tough.

For example, polymer-coated urea fertilizer has been successful in reducing nitrate leaching, but the consistency of a benefit year-to-year is still in question.

But perhaps the biggest gain is just building the dataset of nitrogen response trials to provide a databased approach to develop nutrient guidelines for potato.

How has it been working and communicating with potato and vegetable growers regarding their best practices? One of my favorite parts of the job and why I like

Left: Matt Ruark was named faculty director of the Dairy Innovation Hub, which the state of Wisconsin is supporting to the tune of $7.8 million per year to drive research and development and ensure the state’s $45.6 billion dairy industry remains a global pacesetter.

Right: Identifying optimum N rates for nodulating and non-nodulating snap beans has been a big part of Dr. Matt Ruark’s research program.

working with potato growers is that it’s a strong community. There are big audiences attending the annual Grower Education Conference & Industry Show.

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Interview. . .

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I always felt like I’ve received great support for my research and a ton of interest in this kind of work. I can have conversations with growers and debate specific points or topics.

What we need to do next is figure out how to do more on-farm research together. That’s probably the biggest hurdle right now.

We have some potential opportunities. There’s the

NOPP, which is DATCP’s nitrogen optimization pilot program, through which farmers can apply for grants individually to conduct their own on-farm trials in collaboration with the university.

I can help them set up a few funded potato projects. Even though no growers applied for the program this round, we should try to work through funding together. We’ve done some

Left: Growth rates of potatoes are evaluated early in the season by Dr. Matt Ruark’s Nutrient Cycling and Agroecosystems Lab. Right: Matt Ruark discusses The Potato Soil Health Project during the National Potato Council’s 2019 Summer Meeting at the Chula Vista Resort, in Wisconsin Dells.

trials on corn, and I can budget for grower compensation to cover some yield loss, but it’s more expensive for potatoes.

There may also be opportunities through other funding mechanisms to do on-farm field trials. We’ll see what happens.

In 2023, you were named the inaugural recipient of the WPVGA BCS Chair at CALS. How has that bolstered your research program?

It’s been great. We used the funding to hire a post-doc last year, and we were finally able to publish some data we collected through funding from the WPVGA on nitrogen and water quality, in which we measured nitrogen leaching on a famer’s field.

When this photo was taken, Matt Ruark says, “It was a beautiful day to harvest and grade potatoes.”

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We’re also working to build a relationship with the University of Minnesota to share nitrogen response data and build out bigger datasets. I hired a second post-doc to start new research on nitrogen timing

and have been working through and organizing older WPVGA-funded projects.

There’s value in discovering new data and continuing to build out our dataset. I have someone working full time in the lab on nitrogen in potato now, so through the BCS Chair funding, we’re getting a lot done.

The ability to set up new field trials working off old data that has already been collected is fantastic.

Growers focus on increasing yields and return on investment. What can you do to help them reach those goals? It comes down to figuring out what their economic return is for the nitrogen applied in the field, especially if they’re applying rates above those recommended.

The datasets we are developing can be used to answer such questions as “What’s the economic gain on reds for nitrogen applied?” Or, if farmers are in the Central Sands and under

“One of my favorite parts of the job and why I like working with potato growers is that it’s a strong community.”

– Dr. Matt Ruark pressure to improve water quality, “How can we use the datasets we have to help them reduce nitrate leaching?”

You also led a $10 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Great Lakes region. What did you learn that can you pass on to specialty crop growers? In the dairy system, there are many sources of greenhouse

gases such as methane released from cows and nitrous oxide and methane emissions from manure. Thus, there are opportunities to reduce emissions.

For potato growers, there’s less opportunity to reduce emissions.

It comes down to the amount of nitrogen they’re applying and any sort of reduction in application rates that can be achieved. continued on pg. 12

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Interview. . .

continued from pg. 11

You need nitrogen out there to maximize yields in potato crops, but not so much that it’s leaching into the groundwater through rainfall.

This is where the sandy soils are working against us. There’s nitrogen movement from rain, and in season, it’s all about timing, rate, and source to reduce losses.

How can you help growers achieve sustainability goals or retailer sustainability requirements? When it comes to growers being under pressure from the supply chain and retailers setting sustainability standards, it’s about reducing

fertilizer application rates and losses from nitrate leaching.

Growers must also maintain productivity, and the data suggests it’s about being comfortable with not overapplying nitrogen and other nutrients.

Growers must find a comfort level at which they achieve the yields and return on investment (ROI) that they seek, but in doing so, become more efficient. If you apply that last 50 pounds of nitrogen late in the season, what if you don’t have that option in the future? Are you comfortable reducing your application rate?

Left: Triticale is harvested at the Hancock Agricultural Research Station (HARS) as part of a cover crop and winter silage study.

Right: Mack Naber and Nick Bero take deep soil cores at HARS.

Congratulations on being recently named faculty director of the Dairy Innovation Hub. How can the two segments of agriculture—dairy and specialty crops—help or learn from each other? There are a lot of similarities. Potato growers, for example, are getting together and forming producer-led groups, writing their own grants, and implementing best practices.

That’s similar to what the Dairy Innovation Hub is about, but in a more formal structure with a program that’s running through the university to hire faculty and fund researchers. But potato growers have been doing that for a long time.

The parallel between the dairy groups and WPVGA is in caring about research and placing value on the ROI that they’re getting through funded studies, as well as through learning from each other.

A field crew samples plants as part of a sweet corn nitrogen rate trial conducted by the Ruark Lab. 12 BC�T August

What are one or two takeaways in evaluating fertilizer, manure and cover crop management on overall crop production, water quality or soil health? Thinking about the kind of work being done in the Central Sands, there are soil health benefits from

growing cover crops or in stimulating microbial activity, but we don’t have data showing the overall long-term benefits to the potato crop.

We’re finding that soil health is very much about disease management and suppression. So, this has forced the soil fertility and plant pathology folks to work together.

We can change microbial activity relatively quickly and to a noticeable degree, especially in the springtime, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to crop benefits at the end of year.

Diseases, on the other hand, have a big effect on crop yields at the end of the year.

As a professor and extension specialist, do you teach classes?

I taught for a short period, but the university changed its rules regarding extension specialists teaching courses.

I did teach a UW soil biology class, and it was fun sharing research and findings with the students. It was an overall good experience getting undergrads active in science, and some of the more enjoyable lectures were when I shared data with them.

We’re in a good position in Soil and Environmental Sciences with new faculty and staff, so we have plenty of new folks to teach classes right now.

on cover crops, manure application timing and nitrogen management at the Arlington and Hancock Agricultural Research Stations, and I have a large, ongoing potato soil health project.

Above: Matt Ruark addresses potato soil health during the 2023 HARS Field Day. Image courtesy of Troy Fishler

We’ve established long-term potato plots on an annual crop rotation to study the continued effects of fumigation and cover cropping, and we have conducted quite a few nitrogen trials at HARS (the Hancock Agricultural Research Station).

That’s what we’ve got to figure out.

How do we work with this high-value crop on very small areas of land to test and evaluate techniques to reduce inputs without breaking the bank?

What do you see as the biggest hurdle today and in the future for potato growers? I think it’s how we can conduct on-farm testing better.

We can easily set up simple trials Do you have ongoing projects at any of the Wisconsin Ag Research for corn farmers on silt loam soils to Common'Tater (7.25x4.75).v1.pdf 1 2025-07-08 10:19 am Stations?08-25 Yes,Badger I’m conducting trials learn about the value they are getting

from their fertilizer. How can we do that with potatoes?

We’ve been limited to HARS, and we need to account for residual nitrogen applied through the pivot, so it’s tough to work under those conditions.

The data we have is valuable, but we need more. There have been some continued on pg. 14

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Interview. . .

continued from pg. 13

successes in pinpointing optimum application rates and justifications for university recommendations, yet there are still challenges in doing onfarm nitrogen optimization work with potatoes.

Wallendal Farms and Coloma Farms have been great collaborators, but if they already have a lot of nitrogen in their pivots, it’s difficult to account for it in optimization trials. It’s easier to do with other crops. I could do 10 nitrogen trials on corn for the same cost of one nitrogen optimization trial on potatoes.

So how can they overcome that hurdle? Growers need to figure out how much of their land they’d be willing to devote to research and test plots. It also entails time and labor to take measurements and dig potatoes by hand, all of which is also dependent on the type of equipment they use.

We probably need to reengage on that front, and unlike dairy farmers or corn and bean growers where there’s been a lot of opportunities for engagement, it’s way more challenging for potatoes.

N V S

You’ve spent a large portion of your career working with growers on soil and nutrient management issues. You must enjoy it. I love doing applied research that people can use. I find that extremely rewarding.

I like being involved with Extension where I get to travel all over the state and meet a lot of people. Generally, the people who I get to meet are interested in learning more about field trials and coming to field days, and conferences.

Also, I hate to admit it, but I really

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enjoy working and collaborating with all the other Extension Specialists who work on potato production.

Do you get to have one-on-one time with growers? I suppose I don’t as much as I used to, being pulled now in different directions, but I’m always happy to take someone’s phone call and talk through things.

Usually, by the time the question gets to me, it means it’s a tough one. But those are always fun to work through with the farmer or consultant.

I talk to a lot of people during field days each year and am always happy to engage in conversations at the Grower Education Conference.

What do you hope for the future of your position, Matt, and nutrient management or soil health?

I certainly see myself in this role for a long time. I really enjoy it.

Honestly, I hope that I can continue to complete the work I’m doing and evolve it into what’s next.

I really hope there are opportunities for federal research dollars because it would be great to bring in big funds and bigtime research for potato growers.

Potatoes & Diabetes Busting myths for better nutrition

By Jenny Heap, MS, RDN As nutrition professionals, we understand that starchy vegetables, including potatoes, can be perplexing for patients and clients with diabetes.

We’ve all heard the questions: Shouldn’t I avoid starchy vegetables?

Is it true that potatoes are no better than white bread?

Armed with the facts and a few responsible preparation tips, potato enthusiasts with diabetes can enjoy the nutritional benefits of a favorite comfort food with ease.

C requirements and that higher intakes might help improve both blood pressure and glycemic control.1 A recent analysis of EPIC–Norfolk and NHANES datasets demonstrated that participants with type-2 diabetes (T2D) required a higher intake of vitamin C to reach adequate

circulating levels than those without diabetes.

This indicates that the disease process increases vitamin C usage, bumping nutritional needs to approximately 1.5 times the standard requirements.2 Additional evidence continued on pg. 16

Before discussing how to include potatoes, we should first address the “why.” When appropriate preparation methods are used, potatoes are a smart, nourishing addition to diabetes-friendly diets.

Did you know that potatoes are a significant source of several star nutrients for diabetes management?

One medium skin-on potato delivers: Vitamin C: 20mg, 30% of the Daily Value Vitamin C is a topic of rising interest for researchers of diabetes. Studies show that diabetes increases vitamin BC�T August 15

Potatoes & Diabetes . . continued from pg. 15

suggests that oxidative stress might play a role in the development of T2D and that natural sources of vitamin C may be protective.3 Vitamin B6: 0.2mg, 10% of the Daily Value Vitamin B is known to play an important role in carbohydrate metabolism, but it doesn’t stop there. There is ample evidence to suggest that serum levels of vitamin B6 are inversely related to T2D and its progression.4 Magnesium: 46.7mg, 11% of the Daily Value Potatoes are a significant source of magnesium in Americans’ diets, with an estimated 5% of the mineral coming from potatoes.5 Magnesium helps regulate blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

Magnesium insufficiency is common in T2D and is thought to worsen insulin sensitivity.6 A new retrospective analysis of NHANES data (1999-2018) found that higher intakes of dietary fiber and magnesium were associated with reduced long-term risk of cardiovascular death and death from all causes in people with T2D.7 Dietary Fiber: 2g, 7% of the Daily Value The fiber in potatoes slows digestion

and absorption of carbohydrates, helping to blunt the glucose response. Fiber also enhances satiety, contributes to bowel regularity, and may have beneficial effects on the gut microbiome.

High-Quality Plant Protein: 3g It’s well understood that protein is critical to blood sugar management.

While potatoes aren’t high in protein, the biological value is surprising.

Depending on variety, the biological value of potato protein comes in between 90 and 100, approaching that of an egg, and scores higher than protein from soybeans and legumes.8 Glycemic Index and Diabetes Management The glycemic index (GI) is a popular, research-backed food scoring system widely adopted by consumers. It attempts to predict the impact of individual foods on blood glucose levels.

Though it appears to simplify food choices, the practical application of GI scores is limited as they cannot account for the context of day-to-day eating occasions.

For example, though cooked potatoes are considered high-GI food, the actual impact on serum glucose can vary significantly.

The impact of cooked potatoes on serum glucose depends on the method of preparation, portion size, and macronutrient composition of other foods consumed at or near the same time (sometimes referred to as glycemic load), in addition to potato maturation, variety, and origin.

The glycemic response to any given food can also vary widely between individuals.9, 10, 11 REAL-LIFE VARIABLES Selecting foods based solely on a GI score discounts real-life variables that determine the glycemic impact of meals eaten outside of a controlled laboratory setting.

Mary Ellen Phipps, M.P.H., RDN, LD, is the author of “The Easy Diabetes Cookbook” and a contributing writer, recipe developer, and content expert for WebMD, CNBC, and other leading health and wellness news outlets.

Having managed type 1 diabetes since she was five years old, she has a wealth of practical experience and shares this advice with clients managing diabetes.

A lifelong type 1 diabetic, Mary Ellen Phipps, M.P.H., RDN, LD, is author of “The Easy Diabetes Cookbook” and has a wealth of practical experience to share.

16 BC�T August

“While paying attention to the glycemic index and choosing foods that are low on the glycemic index can play a positive role in blood sugar

management, it’s also important to pay attention to the overall glycemic load of your meal,” Phipps says.

“Adding additional protein and fiber sources to higher glycemic foods can reduce the overall glycemic load of the meal you’re enjoying,” she notes.

RESISTANT STARCH Potatoes contain amylose, a resistant starch that is not broken down by digestive enzymes and has a smaller impact on blood sugar levels.

It functions somewhat like a soluble fiber, undergoing fermentation by gut microbes and producing beneficial short-chain fatty acids. Though the cooking process makes amylose more digestible, cooling potatoes after cooking returns some of the starch to its resistant state.

“Try cooking your potatoes the day before you want to enjoy them,” Phipps advises. “Raw potatoes contain something called resistant

“Adding protein and fiber sources to higher glycemic foods can reduce the overall glycemic load of the meal you’re enjoying.”

– Mary Ellen Phipps,

M.P.H., RDN, LD

starch. Our bodies treat resistant starch like fiber, which is a great thing for your blood sugar levels!”

“When we cook potatoes, much of the resistant starch gets converted to more easily digestible starch, which can increase the glycemic impact of the potatoes,” she says. “However, the process of cooling [them] down, storing them in the refrigerator, and

reheating them after several hours can re-capture some of that resistant starch, potentially decreasing the glycemic impact.”

Research bears this out. Studies show that cooling cooked potatoes overnight reduces the glycemic impact. While eating the potatoes cold results in the lowest glycemic

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Potatoes & Diabetes. . . continued from pg. 17

response, a reheated potato will still have a lower GI score than the same potato that’s freshly cooked and eaten hot.12 JUST ADD VINEGAR Studies also suggest that simply adding vinegar to complex carbohydrate meals can also help blunt glycemic response. One study showed that adding a vinaigrette dressing (made of olive oil and white vinegar) to cooked potatoes reduced the post-meal glucose and insulin response.13 Another study found that including 20g (two teaspoons) of white vinegar with a meal composed of complex carbohydrates reduced the glycemic impact by 20% (compared to placebo).14 In summary, thoughtful preparation can turn a high-carbohydrate meal into an opportunity to maximize flavor and nutrition while supporting healthy blood sugar.

Share these tips and strategies with your potato-loving diabetic patients and clients: • Be mindful of portions and preparation method: Enjoy smaller portions and let potato dishes share the limelight with non-starchy vegetables and lean proteins. When you’re craving something crispy, try prepping potatoes in the air fryer.

• Complement with healthy fats, fiber, and protein: Add olive oil, plain Greek yogurt, sliced avocado and/or other healthy fats and proteins to a baked or mashed potato to slow digestion and reduce the glycemic load. Leave the skin on for texture, color, and to maximize fiber.

• Try cooling cooked potatoes overnight: Reheat the next day or better yet, use cooled potatoes as part of a cold dish to maximize resistant starch content.

18 BC�T August

• Add vinegar: Dress a cool potato salad with homemade vinaigrette to reduce the post-meal glucose response.

Try this craveable Lower Carb, Gluten-Free Potato Salad developed

by Mary Ellen Phipps, M.P.H., RDN, LD, author of “The Easy Diabetes Cookbook” by visiting https://www. milkandhoneynutrition.com/recipes/ lower-carb-gluten-free-potatosalad/#recipe.

The dressing incorporates apple cider vinegar and includes equal parts mayo and plain Greek yogurt to maximize protein.

Enjoy!

The content of this article was produced in partnership with the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA).

The WPVGA represents growers committed to good agriculture, food safety, nutrition, traceability and providing America with fresh, highquality produce.

Wisconsin-grown potatoes offer more than just great taste. Local and sustainably sourced, they’re packed with nutrition no matter the variety.

Every one of our Wisconsin Healthy Grown® farms is certified by an independent oversight organization.

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Look for the Wisconsin Healthy Grown certification.

1 Mason SA, Parker L, van der Pligt P, Wadley GD. Vitamin C supplementation for diabetes management: A comprehensive narrative review. Free Radic Biol Med. 2023 Jan;194:255-283. doi: 10.1016/j. freeradbiomed.2022.12.003. Epub 2022 Dec 14. PMID: 36526243.

2C arr AC, Lunt H, Wareham NJ, Myint PK. Estimating Vitamin C Intake Requirements in Diabetes Mellitus: Analysis of NHANES 2017-2018 and EPIC-Norfolk Cohorts. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Oct 15;12(10):1863. doi: 10.3390/antiox12101863. PMID: 37891943; PMCID: PMC10604478.

3 T uell DS, Los EA, Ford GA, Stone WL. The Role of Natural Antioxidant Products That Optimize Redox Status in the Prevention and Management of Type 2 Diabetes. Antioxidants (Basel).

2023 May 23;12(6):1139. doi: 10.3390/ antiox12061139. PMID: 37371869; PMCID: PMC10295461.

4M ascolo E, Vernì F. Vitamin B6 and Diabetes: Relationship and Molecular

2016;104:1004-1013.

12 L eeman M, Ostman E, Björck I. Vinegar dressing and cold storage of potatoes lowers postprandial glycaemic and insulinaemic responses in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Nov;59(11):1266-71. doi: 10.1038/ sj.ejcn.1602238. PMID: 16034360.

13 L eeman M, Ostman E, Björck I. Vinegar dressing and cold storage of potatoes lowers postprandial glycaemic and

insulinaemic responses in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Nov;59(11):1266-71. doi: 10.1038/ sj.ejcn.1602238. PMID: 16034360.

14 Johnston CS, Steplewska I, Long CA, Harris LN, Ryals RH. Examination of the antiglycemic properties of vinegar in healthy adults. Ann Nutr Metab. 2010;56(1):74-9. doi: 10.1159/000272133. PMID: 20068289.

Mechanisms. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 May 23;21(10):3669. doi: 10.3390/ ijms21103669. PMID: 32456137; PMCID: PMC7279184.

5 Beals, K.A. Potatoes, Nutrition and Health. Am J Potato Res. 2019;96:102– 110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230018-09705-4 6 Barbagallo M, Dominguez LJ. Magnesium and type 2 diabetes. World J Diabetes. 2015 Aug 25;6(10):1152-7. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v6.i10.1152. PMID: 26322160; PMCID: PMC4549665.

7 Wang F, Mao Y, Sun J, Yang J, Xiao L, Huang Q, Wei C, Gou Z, Zhang K. Models based on dietary nutrients predicting all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in people with diabetes.

Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 7;15(1):4600. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-88480-9. PMID: 39920222; PMCID: PMC11805981.

8 King JC, Slavin JL. White potatoes, human health, and dietary guidance.

Adv Nutr. 2013;4(3):393S-401S. Published 2013 May 1. doi:10.3945/ an.112.003525

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9 Fernandes G, Velangi A, Wolever TMS. Glycemic index of potatoes commonly consumed in North America. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105:557-562.

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11 M attan NR, Ausman LM, Meng H, et al. Estimating the reliability of glycemic index values and potential sources of methodological and biological variability. Am J Clin Nutr.

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Automated Nematode Detective AI-based tools help scientists accurately identify persistent pests

By Sudha G.C. Upadhaya, Cynthia Gleason and David Wheeler of Washington State University; Inga Zasada and Timothy Paulitz from USDA-ARS; and AGNEMA’s Sam Chavoshi Potato Association of America original article reprinted with permission from Spudman (https://spudman.com/article/automated-nematode-detective/?oly _enc_id=6688E1259556B2A) Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are microscopic, non-segmented roundworms that pose a significant threat to potato production

worldwide. If uncontrolled, PPNs can cause significant yield losses and compromise tuber quality, affecting marketability.

Above: A nematode is shown under the microscope. Image courtesy of The Seed Collection

Most PPNs live in the soil, and since they are not visible to the naked eye and do not produce obvious aboveground symptoms, it is challenging for farmers to detect nematode problems in the field and accurately assess damage.

It is important to identify PPNs and count their population levels in the soil before planting. This information helps farmers decide which crops

Left: Potato cyst nematodes have infested the plant root.

Above: Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are microscopic, non-segmented roundworms that pose a significant threat to potato production worldwide.

Adobe stock image 20 BC�T August

or cultivars to plant and which management options, such as crop rotation or nematicide application, to implement.

Each year, farmers in the Pacific Northwest send thousands of samples to nematode diagnostic labs for nematode identification and quantification.

The typical process for nematode quantification involves extracting nematodes from the soil, identifying the genus or species level and counting their numbers under a microscope. This morphologybased counting requires specialized nematology skills and is timeconsuming.

Although molecular methods for nematode quantification exist, they are expensive and have not yet been scaled to a commercial level.

Some of the major groups of PPNs specific to potato include root-knot nematodes, root lesion nematodes

and stubby root nematodes. These nematodes appear very similar under the microscope to untrained eyes, but they do have subtle morphological differences.

AI TO THE RESCUE The use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools may help to automate nematode identification

Above: Plant growth in a field has been stunted by potato cyst nematodes.

and quantification, making the diagnostic process highly efficient and reproducible.

We are in an exciting time of rapid advancements in AI tools continued on pg. 22

BC�T August 21

Automated Nematode Detective. . . continued from pg. 21

and techniques. Consciously or subconsciously, we are using AI tools in our daily lives, from face recognition in our cell phones to human disease diagnosis.

Developing a robust AI-based algorithm for nematode detection requires training a system with thousands of nematode images.

With funding from the Northwest Potato Research Consortium (NPRC), plant pathologists and nematologists in Washington and Oregon and the AGNEMA Laboratory in Pasco, Washington, are working together to develop an AI tool to detect major groups of PPNs that pose challenges to potato production in the region.

We captured more than 7,000 images of root-knot, root lesion and stubby root nematodes as well as other PPNs and non-parasitic nematodes found in soil.

Okra roots show severe nematode damage. Image courtesy of The Seed Collection

Non-parasitic nematodes were included, as they are generally more common than PPNs, and the

algorithm needs to differentiate these two groups to be applicable under real-world scenarios.

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The images were annotated at the pixel level and labeled to the respective categories of which they belonged. We then used these labeled images to train a state-of-theart, segmentation-based algorithm, YOLOv11-seg.

SHAPES, SIZES & TEXTURES This algorithm has been trained to identify shapes, sizes, textures and subtle morphological differences in the nematodes from the images.

It locates the pixels of each nematode, draws bounding boxes around the detected nematodes and produces their locations in the image along with the predicted nematode identification.

After training, the algorithm was tested on previously unseen nematode images to assess its performance.

Based on the model’s performance on the test dataset, we found that the algorithm correctly identified nematode groups with an accuracy ranging from 88% to 94%, which is a very promising result for this type of complex problem.

We also employed the model to identify and count live, moving nematodes, and our results showed that the tool can be used for realworld nematode diagnostic work.

The use of AI-based tools in nematode detection can help diagnostic labs to efficiently process large numbers of samples at a reasonable cost with reproducible results. The technology can be expanded to identify additional PPNs of potato and other crops as well.

The goal is to develop a fully automated system for detecting and quantifying PPNs accurately and provide the potato industry with a scalable tool for making faster, timely and more informed PPNs management decisions.

“We found that the algorithm correctly identified nematode groups with an accuracy ranging from 88% to 94%, which is a very promising result for this type of complex problem.”

– The authors,

Sudha G.C. Upadhaya, Cynthia Gleason, David Wheeler, Inga Zasada, Timothy Paulitz and Sam Chavoshi

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Now News

T.I.P., Inc. Hosts Dewulf Sales Meeting

Tatro Irrigation & Potato named “Dealership of the Year” at first annual gathering Dewulf held is 1st Annual North American Sales Meeting at T.I.P., Inc. (Tatro Irrigation & Potato), in Custer, Wisconsin, on June 18, 2025.

“Dealership of the Year” and presented owner Steve Tatro, his son, Max, and their entire team with a plaque commemorating the honor.

In business since 1974 and named the first Double L dealer the same year, T.I.P., Inc. is now the official hub for all Dewulf equipment shipped into North America from Belgium and elsewhere before being distributed to dealers across the United States.

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) attended the Dewulf North American Sales Meeting at T.I.P., Inc., where he addressed those gathered, extended congratulations and answered questions from Steve and the audience, mainly regarding tariffs and their effect on foreign trade and movement of equipment between countries.

During the North American Sales Meeting, Dewulf named T.I.P., Inc.

Above: Bill Tatro (left) and Max and Steve Tatro (fifth and seventh from left, respectively) pose with 20 of the 23 Dewulf dealers and factory reps from across the country and around the world who attended the 1st Annual North American Sales Meeting at T.I.P., Inc., on June 18, 2025.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD “The U.S. doesn’t want a trade war with Canada, Mexico or the European Union, but over the years, we have had bad deals signed,” Rep. Van Orden said. “What’s killing everyone is the uncertainty. We want a level

T.I.P., Inc. Director of Agronomy Kenton Mehlberg (center at right) gives Dewulf dealers and factory reps a quick rundown on the company’s AgGrow Solutions and Redox AG blending facility.

24 BC�T August

playing field and we don’t have one right now.”

dedicated to Dewulf parts and equipment in the future.

“It’s been 120-130 days since the Trump Administration took over and it’s going to take time,” he added. “We’re trying to make sure that countries like Canada, The Netherlands and Belgium realize that we’re all allies and that we treat each other that way. Deals are coming into place, and the framework is coming into place.”

Founded by Bill Tatro, T.I.P., Inc. offers a full line of planters, harvesters, irrigation pivots, box fillers and conveyors, as well as innovative agronomy products through its AgGrow Solutions division. The company also manufactures and offers turf improvement tools that sweep, aerate, groom and de-compact the surfaces of natural and artificial turf.

T.I.P., Inc. has been busy clearing, cleaning and converting a building to use as the Dewulf North American Distribution Center and has plans to potentially build a new facility

Its custom manufacturing facility is fully stocked and staffed with qualified fabricators who build a large assortment of agricultural

Left: U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (left) attended the Dewulf North American Sales Meeting, where he addressed those gathered, including T.I.P., Inc. founder Bill Tatro (right), extended congratulations and answered questions from the audience.

Right: From left to right, Max and Steve Tatro accept the “Dealership of the Year” award from Dewulf North American Sales Manager Brecht Petillion (right).

tools and equipment.

For more information on T.I.P., Inc., visit https://www.tipinc. net, or check out the company’s YouTube channel at https:// www.youtube.com/channel/ UCQvsrm9ABg0uMBgKtRKdK9w. continued on pg. 26

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (center, blue flannel shirt) poses with the T.I.P. Inc. team and Dewulf dealers and factory reps during the North American Sales Meeting.

BC�T August 25

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Now News. . .

pg. 25 Alsumcontinued Farmsfrom & Produce is proud to announce the recipients of the Wisconsin potato grower, packer, shipper’s inaugural Farms & Produce is proud to announce the Ten recipients the Wisconsin potato shipper’s inaugural schoolissenior program. $1,000 scholarships have beengrower, awarded to deserving students preparing to rms high & Produce proudscholarship to announce the recipients of theof Wisconsin potato grower, packer, packer, shipper’s inaugural chool senior scholarship program.

Ten $1,000 scholarships haveawarded been awarded to deserving preparing to ol senior scholarship program. $1,000 scholarships have been to deserving studentsstudents preparing to make a positive impact in Ten the agricultural industry. aositive positive impact in agricultural the agricultural industry. impact in the industry.

The recipients were selected based on academic achievement, as well as agricultural, community and youth organization ients were selected based on academic achievement, asProduce wellasaswell agricultural, and youth organization cipients were selected oninacademic achievement, as agricultural, community youth organization involvement, and allbased reside the Alsum Farms & growing orcommunity packing regions ofand Wisconsin.

Each scholarship ent,recipient andand all reside in the Farms & Produce growing or packing regions of Wisconsin.

Each scholarship ement, allreceived reside ina Alsum the Alsum Farms & Produce growing or packing regions of Wisconsin.

Each scholarship $1,000 award for educational tuition expenses.

Wisconsin potato grower, packer, shipper announces received a $1,000 award for educational tuition expenses. nt received a $1,000 award for educational tuition expenses. highearning school senior recipients Students an Alsum Farms & Produce scholarship are Ally Saloun (Portage), Ashton Brusveen (Cambria), Isaac earning an Alsum Farms & Produce scholarship are Ally Saloun (Portage), AshtonAshton Brusveen (Cambria), Isaac Isaac nts earning an(Arena), Alsum Farms &Jahnke Produce scholarship areRimmert Ally Saloun (Portage), Brusveen (Cambria), Ziebarth Kaylee (Friesland), Kylie (Cambria), Madyson Bitsky (Grand Marsh), Max Luedtke Arena), Kaylee Jahnke (Friesland), Kylie Rimmert (Cambria), Madyson Bitsky (Grand Marsh), Max Luedtke th (Arena), Kaylee Jahnke (Friesland), Kylie Rimmert (Cambria), Madyson Bitsky (Grand Marsh), Max Luedtke and(Waupun). our rural communities,” says Alsum Farms & Produce is proud recipient received a $1,000 award (Beaver Dam), Nicholas Medema (Randolph), Ryan Clark (Mayville) and Tabitha Buwalda Dam), Nicholas Medema (Randolph), Ryan Clark Clark (Mayville) and Tabitha Buwalda (Waupun). er Dam), Nicholas Medema (Randolph), Ryan (Mayville) andtuition Tabitha Buwalda (Waupun). for educational expenses. to announce the recipients of the Larry Alsum, Alsum Farms & Produce Wisconsin grower, packer, president andto chief executive officer “In our inauguralpotato year of the Alsum Farms & Produce scholarship we are proud to be able invest in future Students earning anprogram, Alsumto Farms augural year of the Alsum Farms & Produce scholarship program, we are proud be able to invest in future r inaugural year ofinaugural the Alsum Farms & Produce program, we Alsum are proud to & beProduce able to invest in future shipper’s high school senior scholarship (CEO). leaders in agriculture and our rural communities,” says Larry Alsum, Farms president and chief Produce scholarship are Allypresident and chief n agriculture and our rural communities,” says Larry & Alsum, Alsum Farms & Produce s in executive agriculture and our rural communities,” says Larry Alsum, Alsum Farms & Produce president and chief scholarship program.

Ten $1,000 officer (CEO).

Saloun (Portage), Ashton Brusveen officer (CEO).

“We believe in supporting these ive officer (CEO). scholarships have been awarded (Cambria), Isaac Ziebarth (Arena), young adults,” he adds, “and are to deserving students preparing “We believe in supporting these young adults,” heoptimistic adds, “and are optimistic seek careers in agriculture eve in supporting these young adults,” he adds, “andKaylee are the students will the seekstudents careers inwill agriculture Jahnke (Friesland), Kylie optimistic students will seek elieve supporting these adults,” “and are(Cambria), optimisticMadyson the students will seek careers the in agriculture to make a positive impact inagriculture.” the he adds,Rimmert andinthe businesses thatyoung support usinesses that support agriculture.”

Bitsky careers in agriculture and the e businesses that support agriculture.” agricultural industry.

(Grand Marsh), Max Luedtke (Beaver businesses support learnFarms how & Alsum Farms & Produce’s sustainably grown potatoes make their waythat from field toagriculture.” fork howTo Alsum Produce’s farm-fresh and farm-fresh sustainably grown potatoes make their way from field to fork Dam),and Nicholas Medema (Randolph), The recipients were selected based and sustainably rn how Alsum Farms & Produce’s farm-fresh grown potatoes make their way from field to fork using the Wisconsin Healthy Grown® program,Ryan visitClark www.alsum.com.

Wisconsin Healthy Grown® program, visit www.alsum.com.

(Mayville) and Tabitha To learn how Alsum Farms on academic as well he Wisconsin Healthyachievement, Grown® program, visit www.alsum.com.

Buwalda (Waupun). & Produce’s farm-fresh and as agricultural, community and youth sustainably grown potatoes make organization involvement, and all “In inaugural year of the Alsum earning an Alsum Farms Produce Scholarship are,Scholarship topour row, leftare, to right, Ally Saloun, Ashton Brusveen, and Students earning an&Alsum Farms & Produce top row, left to right, Ally Saloun, Ashton Brusveen, and their way from field to fork using the reside in the Alsum Farms Farms & Produce scholarship barth; in the second row, to right, Kaylee Jahnke, and Madyson Bitsky; and in the Bitsky; bottom nts earning an Alsum Farms & Produce Scholarship are, Rimmert, top row, left to right, Ally Saloun, Ashton Brusveen, Isaac Ziebarth; in theleft second row, left to right, Kylie Kaylee Jahnke, Kylie Rimmert, and Madyson and inand the bottom Wisconsin Healthy Grown® program, & Produce growing orMedema, packing regions program, weRimmert, are proudand to Madyson be able toBitsky; to right, Max Luedtke, Nicholas Ryan Clark, and Tabitha Buwalda. iebarth; in the second row, left to right, Kaylee Jahnke, Kylie and in the bottom row, left to right, Max Luedtke, Nicholas Medema, Ryan Clark, and Tabitha Buwalda. visit www.alsum.com. future leaders in agriculture of Wisconsin.

Each scholarship eft to right, Max Luedtke, Nicholas Medema, Ryaninvest Clark,inand Tabitha Buwalda.

Alsum Farms & Produce Awards $10,000 in Scholarships

Ally Saloun

Ashton Brusveen

Isaac Ziebarth

Kaylee Jahnke

Kylie Rimmert

Madyson Bitsky

Max Luedtke

Nicholas Medema

Ryan Clark

Tabitha Buwalda

26 BC�T August

Kenya to Host the 13thth World Potato Congress

Kenya to Host the 13th World Potato Congress Focus will be on advancing the role of potatoes in global food systems

It is with great excitement and much anticipation that the World Potato Congress Inc. (WPC) announces Kenya will be hosting the 2026 World Potato Congress! A location change comes following an agreement reached between the Polish Potato Federation and WPC to cancel the event scheduled for Gdansk, Poland in June 2026.

to contribute to ending extreme poverty and improving food security around the globe,” he says. “By hosting this event in Kenya, we will spotlight the importance of potatoes as a vital food crop and its potential to drive inclusive economic growth,

particularly for youth and women in the sector.”

WPC ORGANIZERS Key organizers of the event include the National Potato Council of Kenya (NPCK) representing the potato continued on pg. 28

In late March, the WPC Board of Directors reviewed the formal request led by the National Potato Council of Kenya to have their initial bid reconsidered for a future Congress.

“Initially, the 2026 Congress had been awarded to Kenya,” says WPC President Peter VanderZaag. “And it had been with great regret to announce in May 2024 that the WPC would need to step away to allow for Kenya to further develop contractual relationships in the country.”

“Hosting a World Potato Congress comes with many important factors to be considered. We are excited that the Kenya host committee was immediate and proactive in addressing the key areas to ensure a global success story for their country,” VanderZaag adds.

P O Box 267, Monte Vista, CO 81144 ColoradoCertifiedPotatoGrowers.com Lyla@ColoradoCertifiedPotatoGrowers.com (719) 274-5996

“The World Potato Congress aims BC�T August 27

Now News. . .

continued from pg. 27

industry, and FreshCrop Limited representing the private sector with technical and organizational support from the International Potato Center (CIP).

“With the engagement of the global potato industry and local potato organizations, backed by corporate sponsors, we have been able to

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obtain the logistical resources needed to pull off the event at the caliber expected by the WPC and its partners,” says Wachira Kaguongo, WPC international advisor and CEO of the NPCK.

Main Topics to Include:

Set to take place October 26-30, 2026, in Naivasha, Kenya, it will be the first time in its over-30year history that the World Potato Congress will be hosted in SubSaharan Africa, marking a milestone moment for the continent and the global potato community.

• Disease and pest management, post-harvest management and value addition

The venue for WPC 2026 will be the scenic Sawela Lodges and Convention Centre, located on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s iconic Great Rift Valley. This landmark edition is expected to bring together over 1,000 delegates from more than 60 countries, including leading voices in agriculture, science, policy, investment, and development.

The Kenya Congress will focus on advancing the role of potatoes in global food systems, climate-smart agriculture, and inclusive economic growth. Delegates can look forward to five days of learning, networking, and collaboration, with a rich program featuring plenary sessions, technical talks, exhibitions, field visits, and innovation showcases.

• Potato variety development and seed production systems

• Potato technologies, innovations, mechanization, climate-smart approaches and big data utilization • Potato contribution to food and nutrition security, with inclusive models for women, youth and micro, small and medium enterprises • Potato partnership and private sector investments Highlights of the WPC Kenya 2026 landmark edition: • Participation from 60-plus countries • Over 1,000 delegates expected • A spotlight on Africa’s emerging potato potential • Five days of high-impact engagement and learning Additional activities will include partner-program activities and postCongress events with industry field tours, and local scenic and safari tour options.

Wyma Solutions Volunteers with Kairos Food Rescue Organization is dedicated to reducing food waste and addressing food insecurity

As part of the Fortifi Group’s “Enriching Communities” initiative, Wyma Solutions is proud to partner with Kairos Food Rescue, an organization dedicated to reducing food waste and addressing food insecurity in the community.

May 7, 2025, marked the first volunteer session in this ongoing commitment, where four Wyma team members joined forces with four colleagues from MHM Automation to lend their hands and hearts to Kairos Food Rescue’s mission. The combined team eagerly rolled up

their sleeves to support the vital work this organization does throughout the community.

The crew got straight to work assembling food packages, applying labels on tins and sorting through donated food items. It was satisfying to see how much was accomplished in just a few hours together.

Each Wednesday, a new group of four Wyma volunteers will join four MHM teammates at Kairos. This regular schedule ensures consistent support for the important work Kairos does

Above: Four Wyma team members joined forces with four colleagues from MHM Automation to lend their hands and hearts to Kairos Food Rescue’s mission. The crew got straight to work assembling food packages, applying labels on tins and sorting through donated food items.

in redistributing food that would otherwise go to waste.

As a nice surprise, everyone got to take home a bag of fresh vegetables at the end of the shift.

Wyma Solutions is looking forward to continuing this partnership and making a real difference.

As a nice surprise, volunteers got to take home a bag of fresh vegetables at the end of the shift. Wyma Solutions is looking forward to continuing its partnership with Kairos Food Rescue and making a real difference.

BC�T August 29

PEOPLE WPVGA Hall of Famer Gerri Okray Passes Away She was the first woman elected to the National Potato Board (now Potatoes USA) Germaine “Gerri” Okray, of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, passed away at Marshfield Medical Center - River Region Hospital in Stevens Point, on June 26, 2025, at the age of 93.

Gerri was born on December 7, 1931, in Stevens Point, daughter of the late Bernard and Margaret (Mrozinski) Koss. She was a lifelong resident of Stevens Point, even living with her grandparents for a time during World War II while her mother went to work at a defense plant in Milwaukee.

In 1948, Gerri was a proud graduate from St. Joseph Academy.

Gerri went on to become Mrs. Al Okray. Hand in hand, Gerri and Al worked hard to build a beautiful life together and were blessed with 47 years of marriage until Al’s passing.

As a strong, independent woman, Gerri was dedicated to leading by example, showing the best version of herself. The most important thing in the world to her was the love of her children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren. She cherished the time spent in the pool over time as they grew up and was sure to attend their events.

Watching them reach milestones filled her heart with so much pride.

She more than earned her status as a hero and role model for her family.

In return, Gerri’s family was her pillar, always there when needed for anything with their help, love, and support.

When speaking of her family, Gerri would say, “I won’t be here for all of your lives, but I’ve loved you for all of mine.”

30 BC�T August

Gerri lived a life of adventure and knowledge. She was an avid reader and world traveler, traveling to 24 countries, 20 islands, visiting 46 of the 50 states, and wintering in Florida for over 30 years.

She loved animals and was a longtime co-owner of thoroughbred racehorses, including champion Flying Gerri. She was also known for having a vast collection of elephants.

WPVGA HALL OF FAME Gerri was also a pioneer as she was the first woman elected to the National Potato Board (now Potatoes USA), one of the original members of the Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary (WPGA), and the second woman inducted into the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) Hall of Fame, in 2002. Furthermore, she served as President for the WPGA for three terms.

While Gerri was a hard worker and a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, she was also a great friend. When she could, she loved spending time with friends at the casino, laughing together and creating lasting memories.

Gerri is lovingly survived by her children, Tracy Thrun (Chuck), Jim Okray (Heidi), and Vicki Peskie (Alan); her grandchildren, Alex Okray (Anna), Kaitlyn Grupp (Alex), Annalisa Okray, Charlie Okray, and Sam Peskie; and her great-grandchild, Hazel Okray.

Gerri was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Al Okray; her brother, Jerome Koss; and her parents, Bernard and Margaret Koss.

Germaine “Gerri” Okray December 7, 1931 – June 26, 2025

For those wishing to express their sympathies, the family kindly requests in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Portage County, where a memorial will be established in Gerri’s name.

The family would like to express a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Dominee Manzon and her assistant, Courtney, as well as all the nurses at Marshfield Clinic/Hospital in Stevens Point, for the exceptional care provided to Gerri and her family.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on July 3, 2025, at St. Peter Catholic Church in Stevens Point, with a General Rosary, on July 2, at Shuda Funeral Chapel and again at the church on July 3 preceding the service.

Shuda Funeral Chapel was honored to assist the family.

Bulas Named Wisconsin Small Business Persons of the Year Signature Farms chipping potato operation contributes to industry and community On April 30, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Wisconsin District Office celebrated the state’s Small Business Persons of the Year and six additional honorees as it prepared for National Small Business Week, which took place May 4-10, 2025.

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler acknowledged the Bula’s, who were announced as this year’s runners up for the National Small Business Persons of the Year Award, on May 5, at the National Small Business Week Kick-off and Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Along with awards ceremonies, the week included a national small business roadshow with SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, a twoday virtual summit, community events and educational sessions about manufacturing, digital marketing, cybersecurity and cryptocurrency, as well as online business resources and renowned speakers.

SBA’s Wisconsin office celebrates the state winner and additional local businesses who have empowered entrepreneurial success, created jobs and driven economic growth in the last year, including:

The SBA recognized Mark and Shawn Bula of Signature Farms II, LLC in Grand Marsh, Wisconsin, as its SBA Wisconsin 2025 Small Business Persons of the Year.

After a 40-year partnership and expansion of the chip potato farming operation with another family, the Bula’s purchased the partner’s share with the help of an SBA 504 loan and their community banker in 2021.

Their farming expertise has since helped them increase harvest, acreage, workforce, and profits while contributing to the industry and their rural community.

• S BA Wisconsin 2025 Small Business Exporter of the Year: Thomas J. Muldoon, American Exchanger Services, Hartford. A manufacturer of large-scale heat exchangers for industry and power plants, the company has used SBA export financing several times to expand sales and service globally, often partnering with local businesses.

• S BA Wisconsin 2025 Emerging Small Business: Courtney Skinkis Spangler, Confluence Graphics, Milwaukee. Courtney used SBA financing to purchase Confluence Graphics in 2021. She has expanded the firm’s capabilities and profitability while continuing to educate herself via SBA’s T.H.R.I.V.E. program and courses with SBA resource partners.

Shawn Bula of Signature Farms in Grand Marsh, Wisconsin, accepts the national “Runners Up” award for Small Business Persons of the Year from SBA Associate Administrator Lisa Shimkat. The Small Business Association (SBA) National Small Business Week Kick-off and Awards Ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 2025. On April 30, the SBA named Mark and Shawn Bula as its Wisconsin 2025 Small Business Persons of the Year. Photos courtesy of the Small Business Association

Details on National Small Business Week, the virtual summit and speakers are featured on www. sba.gov/NSBW. Local events are featured on www.sba.gov/events and identifiable by searching with #SmallBusinessWeek.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship.

As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster.

It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

BC�T August 31

Seed Piece It was a Sporting Good Time at Spud Seed Classic

Ag industry arrived in full force for the annual fundraiser at Bass Lake Golf Course

By Joe Kertzman, managing editor, Badger Common’Tater

Solidarity and support were not in short supply during

the 2025 Spud Seed Classic golf tournament, June 20, at Bass Lake Golf Course in Deerbrook, Wisconsin. The event sold out with 42 teams comprised of four golfers each signing up prior to tee time for the 18-hole scramble-style match and fundraiser.

The potato and vegetable growing industry, including associated business professionals and guests, hit the links and enjoyed fair weather, competition, frivolity, side games, drawings and delicious food and drinks.

Proceeds from the annual fundraiser held by the Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association (WSPIA) are used toward vital research and research station needs, as well as promotion of the state’s certified seed potato program and industry.

32 BC�T August

Garnering incredible support each year and timed perfectly after planting in most Wisconsin counties, the golf outing serves as a way for growers and industry professionals to enjoy a beautiful day at the course and some much-needed camaraderie and fun with friends and business associates.

Not only was the event a resounding success in those respects, but thanks to the generosity of golfers and tournament sponsors, the 2025 Spud Seed Classic raised $28,600, equating

Above: From left to right during the 2025 Spud Seed Classic at Bass Lake Golf Course, in Deerbrook, Wisconsin, are Matt Young, Jason Hutkowski and Aaron Kakes, three of a foursome making up the Roberts Irrigation team. Not pictured is Ryan Fassbender.

to $3,300 more than last year.

Since 1998, the Spud Seed Classic, previously known as the Tony Gallenberg Memorial Golf Tournament, has raised approximately $214,500, with proceeds invested directly back into the industry.

A special treat this year is that Tony Gallenberg’s son-in-law and grandson, Rick and Tony LeBrun, the latter named after his grandpa, golfed in the tournament.

2025 SPUD SEED SPONSORS 2025 Spud Seed Classic sponsors include Ag Logistics, Inc.; AgCountry Farm Credit Services; Big Iron Equipment, Inc.; Bushman’s Riverside Ranch; Eagle River Seed Farm LLC; Hyland Lakes Spuds; Insight FS; IState Truck Centers; J.W. Mattek & Sons, Inc.; Kretz Truck Brokerage LLC; Krueger & Stienfest, Inc.; Nichino America, Inc.; Northwestern Mutual

Wealth Management Company; Nutrien Ag Solutions-Great Lakes; Schroeder Bros. Farms, Inc.; Schumitsch Companies; Sommer, Olk & Payant SC; Swiderski Equipment, Inc.; Syngenta; Volm Companies; and WSPIA. Handing out prizes, gift packages, beverages and swag were representatives from occupied hole

Left: Family patriarch Terry Kretz (center) poses with the 2025 Spud Seed Classic 1st Place Team made up of his kids and grandkids, who are, from left to right, Ty, Fritz, Trey and Pete Kretz. A score of 55 at the four-person scramble was enough to land the Kretz Truck Brokerage LLC team atop of the leader board.

Right: Bob Pohl of IState Truck Center smashes a serious tee shot during the 2025 Spud Seed Classic. continued on pg. 34

WISCONSIN'S NEWEST DEALER SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE! BC�T August 33

Seed Piece. . .

continued from pg. 33

sponsors CoVantage Credit Union, Express Employment Professionals, Parsons of Antigo, Riesterer & Schnell, Inc., Roberts Irrigation, T.I.P., Inc., Venture Ag Drones, Vista Financial Strategies, and the WSPIA. Tom Schmidt’s daughter-in-law, Ashly Schmidt, married to Tom’s son, Nathan, occupied the “In Memory of Tom ‘Tater’ Schmidt and Lewis Bowman” hole. Tom was a partner in Guenthner Farms, Inc., of Antigo,

and served on the WSPIA Board of Directors, and Lewis worked for Insight FS and golfed in the Spud Seed Classic tournament for many years.

Additionally, more than 20 companies and organizations sponsored but did not occupy holes and another 15, including the WSPIA and Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, made monetary and raffle prize donations to the event.

See the full-page Spud Seed Classic

Playing for the Culver’s team, Randy King kicks up some sod and leaves a little divot with his fairway chip shot.

34 BC�T August

Above: A score of 57 and help from a scorecard playoff landed the New Holland team, from left to right, John Theorin, Joe Allen, Corey Mattek, and C.J. Levis, 2nd Place at the Spud Seed Classic. It was C.J.’s day, as he also won the raffle for a 65-inch LG UHD (Ultra-High Definition) TV donated

by Arlen’s TV & Appliances.

“Thank You” ad in this issue.

Pam Jansen and the staff at Bass Lake Golf Course prepared a delicious dinner buffet followed by the WSPIA Spud Seed Classic Awards Ceremony,

From left to right, Angela Zarda and Scott Houdek of Venture Ag Drones show Gage Meddaugh and Pat Goodwin from Heartland Farms a 10.5-gallon custom aerial applicator drone on display at the Spud Seed Classic.

during which top golfers and raffle prize winners were announced.

Kretz landed a Milwaukee M12 5-Tool Combo Kit donated by the WSPIA.

C.J. Levis took home a 65-inch LG UHD (Ultra-High Definition) TV donated by Arlen’s TV & Appliances, Adam Stainbrook won a Stihl chainsaw with battery and charger from Fuller Sales & Service, and Peter

More than 15 prizes were awarded for such feats as the longest putt at a certain hole, shortest drive at another or closest to the cart path at a third. For being closest to the pin on the Par 3 Eighth Tony Gallenberg

Above: Happy Gilmore jerseys and hockey sticks were the play of the day at Spud Seed Classic for the Cropping Central LLC team, from left to right, Joe Markgraf, Kristi Poltrock, Bryce Kuenzli, and Trevin Hofmann. The team was fully aware that, “It’s all in the hips. It’s all in the hips. It’s all in the hips.” continued on pg. 36

BC�T August 35

Seed Piece. . .

continued from pg. 35

Hole, John Theorin pocketed a cool $500.

Appreciation goes out to Jansen and Jim Pukall of Bass Lake Golf Course, and Karen Rasmussen and Julie Braun of the WPVGA, for planning and executing an important fundraising golf event.

Thanks to the incredible turnout and generosity of 165-plus golfers and all sponsors, the industry eagerly anticipates the Spud Seed Classic returning to Bass Lake Golf Course in 2026.

Golfing for the Okray Family Farms team, Marshall Lee tries to chip a whiffle ball into a red yard-golf bucket for an entry to win a free bottle of Traveller Whiskey at the Express Employment Professionals sponsored hole.

Making up the team playing for Spud Seed Classic sponsor Nichino are, from left to right, Andrew Pribransky, Kalie Christensen, Jacalynn Gumz, and Tim Schrank.

With prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd, 7th and last place at the Spud Seed Classic, landing in 7th Place with a score of 61 was a good omen for the Mike Wolter Riverside Farms team, including, from left to right, Matthew Wolter, Kendall Kuenzli, Brian Mattmiller, and Eric Greening.

Trevor McCarthy (center) golfed for one of two Guenthner Farms teams and jumped at the opportunity to get his photo taken with WPVGA Financial Officer Karen Rasmussen (left) and WPVGA Executive Assistant Julie Braun (right).

Golfing for one of three Gallenberg Farms teams, Ryan Schrieber tees off a screamer.

36 BC�T August

continued on pg. 38

Seed Piece. . .

continued from pg. 36

Above: Pictured here with WPVGA Executive Director Tamas Houlihan (left), Tom Schmidt’s daughter-in-law, Ashly Schmidt (right), married to Tom’s son, Nathan, occupied the “In Memory of Tom ‘Tater’ Schmidt and Lewis Bowman” hole.

Tom was a partner in Guenthner Farms, Inc., of Antigo, also serving on the WSPIA Board of Directors, and Lewis worked for Insight FS and golfed in the Spud Seed Classic tournament for many years.

Left: Representing GP Ventures at the Spud Seed Classic are, from left to right, Kathy Monien, Polly Knauf, Cheri Guenthner, and Courtney Czaja. Whoever hit their tee shot closest to the Wisconsin Certified Seed Potato bag on the fairway at that hole won a prize.

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Above: “Golf Spuddies” playing for one of two Guenthner Farms teams are, from left to right, Jolene Guenthner, Karen McCarthy, Jordan Nagel, and Michele Nagel.

WPVGA Supports Potato Research Projects Base funding and competitive grants for 2025-’26 add up to $384,000 BASE FUNDING PROPOSALS: (BFP) Project Leader

Project Title

Approved

Babler, Brooke

BFP: Seed Certification

$25,000 $16,500

Colquhoun, Jed

BFP: Weed Management

$8,500 Funded by Chip Commitee

Endelman, Jeffrey

BFP: Potato Breeding

$25,000

Gevens, Amanda

BFP: Disease Management

$25,000

Groves, Russell

BFP: Insect Management

$25,000

Ruark, Matthew

BFP: Fertility Management

$25,000

Wang, Yi

BFP: Potato & Vegetable Production

$25,000

Gallenberg, Kevin

BFP: Langlade County Potato Research Station Support

$15,000

Total Base Funded Proposals $190,000 COMPETITIVE GRANT PROPOSALS: Project Leader

Project Title

Approved

Babler, Brooke

Developing and Validating a DTT Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assay for PVY and PLRV

$15,000 Funded

by WPIB

Caraza-Harter, Maria

Breeding for Resistance to the Colorado Potato Beetle

$15,000

DiGennaro, Peter

Investigating the Roles of Nitrogen Requirements and Nematode Virulence

$15,000

Gevens, Amanda

Investigating Crop Protectants & Alternative Strategies to Manage Diseases in Potatoes in Production & Storage Systems

$14,000

Groves, Russell

Insect Management Systems for Potato Production

$14,000

Hall, Steven

Harvesting Plant Biomass to Decrease Nitrate Leaching from Potato Fields

$15,000 Funded by Water Task Force

Lankau, Richard

Analyzing and Comparing Economic and Environmental Outcomes in Fields Fumigated with Metam Sodium and Chloropicrin

$14,000

Rakotondrafara, Aurelie

Potential Interference of Viruses When Using Small RNAs for Managing Disease of Potatoes

$14,000

Schoville, Sean

Spatiotemporal Modeling of Insecticide Resistance in Colorado Potato Beetle $14,000

Townsend, Philip

Imaging Support for Potato Research at UW-Madison

$14,000

Walker, Amber

Tuber Quality & Storability Profile of Elite Potato Varieties Grown in a Low Nitrogen Environment & Processing Chip Potato Cultivars

$8,500 & $6,500 Funded by Chip Cmte.

Wang, Yi

Seeing Beneath the Soil: Using AI-Augmented Ground-Penetrating Radar for Non-Destructive Visualization and Characterization of Potatoes

$5,000 Funded by WPVGA Contingency Fund

Wang, Yi

Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing to Develop Predicted On-Farm Field Maps for Potato Petiole Nitrate-N

$15,000 Funded by Water Task Force

Bolte, Chuck

Water Flow & Phosphorus Monitoring in the Antigo Flats Potato & Vegetable Production Area

$15,000

Drought, James

Comparative Evaluation of Nitrate Leaching and Groundwater Recharge Beneath Contiguous Cultivated and Uncultivated Agricultural Fields Within the Central Sands Region of Wisconsin

$15,000 Funded by Water Task Force

Total Competitive Proposals

$194,000

TOTAL RESEARCH PROJECT FUNDING

$384,000.00 BC�T August 39

NPC News

NPC President Tschirky Hosts 2025 Summer Meeting Event included committee and board meetings, and advocacy updates

On June 24-27, 2025, National Potato Council (NPC) President and Washington state potato grower Ted Tschirky brought the industry together for the NPC Summer Meeting, hosted this year in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The event included committee and board meetings,

as well as updates on the council’s ongoing advocacy efforts on behalf of the industry.

Growers and industry partners attended Wednesday morning’s general session featuring a talk by Mark Pavek, Ph.D., professor and potato specialist at Washington State

It was a packed house for the NPC Summer Meeting, June 24-27, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

40 BC�T August

Above: National Potato Council (NPC) President and Washington state potato grower Ted Tschirky said it was a privilege to welcome the industry to his adopted second home of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for the 2025 NPC Summer Meeting.

University, on the importance of sustained research funding.

The general session also included a dialogue with Washington State Rep. Mary Dye and Idaho Rep. and prior NPC President Britt Raybould on the challenges and opportunities of representing agriculture communities on the state level, and a presentation

by Derek Sandison, Washington Director of Agriculture, on bridging the rural-urban policy divide.

In addition to organizational meetings and updates, the group enjoyed a dinner cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene, a dinner and a reception at the Hagadone Event Center and Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, and a cooking class and luncheon at the Culinary Stone for guests.

“It was a privilege to welcome the industry to my adopted second home of Coeur d’Alene,” Tschirky said. “Thanks to all the sponsors from Washington, Idaho, and across

the country for their support of this important meeting for our industry.”

To see more summer meeting photos, visit https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/?vanity=nationalpotatocou ncil&set=a.1130972275737446.

Above: From left to right, the three Wisconsin NPC Board Members attending the Summer Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, are Eric Schroeder of Schroeder Bros. Farms, Keith Wolter from Hyland Lakes Spuds, and Mark Finnessy, Okray Family Farms.

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BC�T August 41

WPIB Focus DATCP Certifies Wisconsin Potato Industry Board Election Results Out-going board member John Fenske is recognized for his dedicated service The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has certified the 2025 Wisconsin Potato Industry Board (WPIB) election results.

As of July 1, 2025, the following growers began three-year terms on the Board.

District 1: Keith Wolter, Antigo Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Iron, Kewaunee, Langlade, Lincoln, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Pepin, Pierce, Polk,

Price, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix, Taylor, Vilas, and Washburn counties District 2: Andy Diercks, Coloma Marathon, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, Waupaca, and Waushara counties At-Large: Joseph E. Seis, Grand Marsh Representing all producers across the state.

The WPIB is composed of nine producers in three districts across the state, with one at-large member elected every third year.

Above: The 2025-’26 Wisconsin Potato Industry Board (WPIB) members are, from left to right, Andy Diercks (vice president), Tom Wild, Joe Seis, Keith Wolter (treasurer), Heidi Alsum-Randall (president), Rod Gumz, Eric Schroeder, Nicola Carey (secretary), and Jim Okray.

Diercks and Wolter were reelected for three-year terms. Seis was elected to a three-year term and replaces John Fenske, who stepped up to fill a vacancy in 2024.

Candidates were nominated during the period that ended March 28, 2025. Potato growers had from May 12 through June 16, 2025, to vote on the candidates.

The rest of the WPIB members are Heidi Alsum-Randall (president); Nicola Carey (secretary); and Rod Gumz, Jim Okray, Eric Schroeder and Tom Wild (directors).

The Board oversees the collection

Wisconsin Potato Assessment Collections: Two-Year Comparison Month

Jul-23

Aug-23

Sep-23

Oct-23

Nov-23

Dec-23

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Apr-24

May-24

Jun-24

CWT

1,313,762.07

1,528,723.01

977,118.59

2,045,401.98

2,686,018.96

2,077,816.49

2,083,671.00

$172,787.78

2,168,247.92

3,200,286.89

2,629,261.77

3,482,051.19 26,203,548.86

Assessment

$105,353.00

$122,297.83

$78,169.48

$163,634.01

$214,877.01

$165,983.07

$166,830.95

$160,961.88

$173,459.55

$256,024.32

$210,308.70

$278,144.36 $2,096,044.16

Month

Jul-24

Aug-24

Sep-24

Oct-24

Nov-24

Dec-24

Jan-25

Feb-25

Mar-25

Apr-25

May-25

Jun-25

CWT

2,082,664.08

1,837,453.47

642,921.10

2,193,868.28

2,558,234.61

2,533,917.93

2,160,286.12

1,795,454.22

1,467,937.58

2,343,812.59

1,959,992.68

3,067,814.29 24,644,356.95

Assessment

$167,100.87

$146,986.28

$51,433.66

$175,474.49

$204,693.85

$202,713.44

$172,787.78

$143,636.38

$117,470.22

$187,505.21

$156,799.28

3,067,814.29 $1,972,026.66

42 BC�T August

Year-to-Date

Year-to-Date

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and use of approximately $1.9 million in assessment fees paid by Wisconsin potato growers.

This funding is used to support the potato industry through research, education, and promotion of Wisconsin-grown potatoes.

DATCP administers elections for Wisconsin commodity marketing boards. To learn more about market order boards, visit https:// datcp.wi.gov/Pages/About_Us/ MarketingBoards.aspx.

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BC�T August 43

2025 Honey Bee Losses Linked to High Viral Loads

USDA research points to high levels of infection and mite resistance New research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDAARS) sheds light on the causes behind the catastrophic honey bee colony losses reported by commercial beekeepers earlier this year.

The findings point to alarmingly high levels of viral infections, vectored

by Varroa destructor (Varroa) mites with resistant genes to a common treatment, as key drivers of colony collapse.

The study, which analyzed samples from six major commercial beekeeping operations affected by the losses, provides the most detailed evidence to date of the biological factors behind the widespread dieoffs.

Collectively, these operations managed nearly 184,000 colonies, or roughly 7% of all U.S. hives, and 44 BC�T August

reported losses averaging over 60%, just as bees were being staged for California’s almond pollination season.

“The beekeeping and bee health community appreciates the work of the USDA-ARS bee research laboratories,” says Matt Mulica, senior project director at Keystone Policy Center, which facilitates the Honey Bee Health Coalition.

“They quickly took samples of lost colonies,” Mulica adds, “and now that they’ve released the analysis, beekeepers can better understand what happened and take action.”

“We understand more analysis is occurring,” he acknowledges, “and we look forward to learning more about the other potential causes of these significant colony losses.”

DEFORMED WING VIRUS Researchers found high levels of

Beekeepers need a complete picture of what caused colony losses so they can make sound decisions moving forward.

Deformed Wing Virus (DWV-A and DWV-B) and Acute Bee Paralysis Virus in both pooled colony samples and individual bees showing shaking and other signs of morbidity.

Experimental inoculation further confirmed these viruses as the likely cause of mortality in collapsing colonies.

Crucially, all Varroa mites collected from affected colonies tested

positive for a genetic marker linked to resistance to amitraz, the most commonly used miticide in commercial beekeeping. This finding underscores the urgent need for new tools and integrated pest management strategies.

“This is a critical moment for honey bee health,” says Patty Sundberg, president of the American Beekeeping Federation. “We can’t continue relying on a single line of defense against Varroa. These mites are evolving quickly, and our management tools must evolve just as fast.”

“We also need to find treatments for these viruses,” Sundberg remarks, “and we await the release of how pesticide exposure and poor nutrition amplify the impacts from these viruses.”

While viruses and Varroa were confirmed as primary contributors,

the USDA-ARS research also acknowledges that other stressors, including pesticide exposure, poor nutrition, and environmental conditions, may have exacerbated the losses.

ACTIONABLE INFORMATION “The findings released this week are a crucial first step in providing beekeepers actionable information,” states Steven Coy, president continued on pg. 46

Learn More!

BC�T August 45

2025 Honey Bee Losses Linked to High Viral Loads. . . continued from pg. 45

“We can’t continue relying on a single line of defense against Varroa.

These mites are evolving quickly, and our management tools must evolve just as fast.”

– Patty Sundberg, president of the American Beekeeping Federation

of the American Honey Producers Association. “It highlights the necessity for additional miticides and methods of controlling Varroa and the associated viruses.”

“We urge the USDA to provide the results of the impacts of nutritional,

chemical and environmental stress as soon as possible,” Coy says.

“Beekeepers need a complete picture of what happened in order to make sound decisions regarding the health of our colonies.”

Coalition published the “Guide to Varroa Mite Controls for Commercial Beekeeping Operations,” which laid out a vision that addresses the risks of amitraz resistance created by offlabel use.

In 2021, the Honey Bee Health

The continuous use of off-label amitraz, with increasing dosages (as it becomes less effective), is likely to cause amitraz to lose its effectiveness, just as other products like coumaphos and tau-fluvalinate have become largely ineffective for controlling Varroa mites.

The Honey Bee Health Coalition continues to support innovation in honey bee health, including research, tool development, and education aimed at helping beekeepers and farmers manage evolving threats.

The Coalition will release an updated version of its “Tools for Varroa Management” guide later this year. The guide is a key resource for beekeepers, providing sciencebased strategies for monitoring and controlling Varroa populations.

The USDA-ARS researchers have submitted a manuscript to a scientific journal for peer review. To access the full study, visit: https://www.biorxiv. org/content/10.1101/2025.05.28.656 706v1.

46 BC�T August

Eyes on Associates

By WPVGA Associate Div. President Matt Selenske, Allied Coop’s Pest Pros Division

Hello, everyone. It’s a

beautiful summer day in Wisconsin with plenty of sunshine and a cool breeze. It is the kind of day that you enjoy so much because you know in the pit of your stomach tomorrow will be different.

We had a couple of beautiful days like this in a row earlier in the week. The Putt-Tato Open Associate Division golf outing and the Hancock Agricultural Research Station (HARS) Field Day took place on equally nice summer days, July 9 and 10, respectively.

Members of the Associate Division were busy setting up and registering golfers at the golf outing and our own Brady Patoka cooked chicken and sweet corn for the 2025 HARS Field Day. A shout out goes to Flyte Family Farms for their donation of sweet corn, which was delicious as always!

Both events were well attended and will be spotlighted in the September 2025 issue of the Badger Common’Tater. A lot of work goes into the outings, that truly highlight our industry, to ensure they go off without a hitch.

I’d like to thank the HARS staff and Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, as well as Associate Division board members and everyone who lent a hand in planning and execution.

SPORTING CLAYS SHOOT Speaking of planning, we are working on our next event, the 6th Annual

Sporting Clays Shoot. It will be held on Thursday, October 16, at the Wausau Skeet and Trap Club. Last year, Condon Oil took the 1st Place Team trophy home, while Jake Meister and Tia Leonhard had the top men’s and women’s individual scores.

My team and I have been practicing up, and we plan on giving them a run for their money this year!

It’s August and harvest is right around the corner. Enjoy these summer days, as you might miss them in February.

Until next time!

Matt Selenske

WPVGA Associate Division President

Registration information will be forthcoming in the Badger Common’Tater and through upcoming editions of the weekly Tater Talk e-newsletter.

During the April Associate Division Board Meeting, we reviewed grant proposals from the University of Wisconsin Agricultural Research Stations (ARS) and the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program and Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association.

Subsequently, the Associate Division Board awarded $20,000 for tools, machines and services that the research stations and programs need, yet they don’t currently have access to other funding outlets or resources.

The grant proposals are not for big-ticket items, but rather those essential to making life easier for the employees, such as parts and services necessary for maintaining older cooling systems, or in one case, a new electric pallet jack for HARS (see the accompanying photo).

From left to right, Hancock Agricultural Research Station (HARS) storage research technicians Vanessa Barczi, Sam Perez, and Jamie Boyd are enthusiastic about the electric pallet jack that HARS was able to purchase using grant money from the WPVGA Associate Division.

BC�T August 47

Marketplace

By Dana Rady, WPVGA Director of Promotions & Consumer Education

Wisconsin Potatoes Showcased at Run Madtown 2025 WPVGA helps participants power through via potato nutrition info for athletes As Memorial Day Weekend dawned, May 24-25, thousands of runners, walkers, and volunteers descended upon Madison, Wisconsin, to celebrate fitness, community, and for one high energy sponsor, nutrition.

As a key weekend sponsor, the WPVGA set up an engaging booth and tasting station at the event’s finish line along with a Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes personal record bell that participants could ring.

The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA), proudly featuring Wisconsin potatoes, fueled participants during Run Madtown’s eclectic weekend that kicked off summer in style.

The association’s aim? To nourish runners with education about locally grown potatoes, highlight the role of carbohydrate-rich, nutrient-dense spuds in endurance athletics, and give them a sample bag of Wisconsin potato chips.

Run Madtown, known to be the state’s most inclusive running event, featured a Twilight 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon, with scenic routes weaving around Madison landmarks, including the Capitol, Lakeshore Path, and Camp Randall Stadium.

The event also hosted the prestigious 2025 RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) National Half Marathon Championship, elevating the half marathon to elite status and attracting top competitors from across the nation.

48 BC�T August

ORIGINS OF THEIR FOOD WPVGA Director of Promotions Dana Rady expresses the team’s excitement, saying, “This year’s Run Madtown weekend was a great opportunity for us to connect athletes with the origins of their food and encourage them to eat Wisconsin potatoes.”

“We are excited to return in 2026 to power more runners and walkers to their personal bests with Wisconsin potatoes,” Rady adds.

The WPVGA’s presence helped reiterate a powerful message: wholesome, locally grown produce can be key to athletic performance.

Complementing the potatofueled installations, the Corporate Challenge, organized in coordination with the Wellness Council of Wisconsin, drew enthusiastic participation from local companies.

Teams of staffers swapped desks for running shoes, and many paired their fitness aspirations with visits to the Wisconsin Potatoes tent, perfectly blending workplace wellness, team Above: The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association set up an engaging booth and tasting station at the 2025 Run Madtown Half Marathon to nourish runners with education about locally grown potatoes, highlight the role of carbohydrate-rich, nutrient-dense spuds in endurance athletics, and give them a sample bag of Wisconsin potato chips.

The booth included a Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes record bell that participants could ring.

building, and nutrition education.

and Wisconsin community spirit.

Race weekend also featured festive flamingo-themed decor, live entertainment, and a post-race tailgate celebration complete with food, hydration, and socializing. New this year was Brooksee’s Laurel timing system, offering real time tracking, live announcer updates, and seamless result/photo access for athletes and supporters.

By pairing wholesome agricultural produce with fitness and health, the association created a recipe for success that will surely inspire on and off the course for years to come.

Left: Erin Meister and Dennis Halterman take a moment to pose enroute during the Run Madtown Half Marathon.

Right: The 77th Alice in Dairyland, Halei Heinzel, helps promote Wisconsin potatoes, on May 25, during the Run Madtown Half Marathon in Madison.

Highlights from the Half Marathon The half marathon witnessed top-tier performances as runners vied for RRCA crown titles: Male (Open) Isaac Wegner (23)

1:09:46

Female (Open) Marianne Novella (38) 1:30:36 Non-binary Alyssa Dobbs (24)

1:50:45

Buoyed by positive feedback, both race organizers and the WPVGA are eager for next year. With plans to amplify their presence in 2026, both groups hope to reinforce the message: homegrown nutrition helps power every finish line.

The WPVGA’s participation in Run Madtown 2025 was more than brand presence—it was a heartfelt investment in athlete well-being

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Auxiliary News

By Dakotah Smiley, Vice President, WPGA

Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary Celebrates 50 Years!

Event honors strong tradition of supporting ag education & promoting WI potatoes

On June 26, 2025, the

Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary marked a major milestone—50 years of dedicated service, advocacy, and connection within the state’s potato industry.

Hosted at the Food + Farm Exploration Center, in Plover, the Auxiliary’s 50th Anniversary Celebration was a heartfelt acknowledgment of the organization’s legacy, with roughly

The Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary elected board members during its June 26, 2025, Annual Meeting preceding the 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Food + Farm Exploration Center, in Plover. The 2025 Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary Board is, top row, from left to right, Jenna Suchon, Jody Baginski, Samantha Cypher (secretary/treasurer), and Misti Kinnison; and bottom row, left to right, Dakotah Smiley (vice president), Heidi Schleicher (president), and Erin Meister. Erin and Misti completed their first terms on the Board and were each reelected for a second term.

50 BC�T August

125 current and former members, growers, and industry supporters in attendance.

The event honored the strong tradition of the Auxiliary’s work in supporting agricultural education,

Held at the Food + Farm Exploration Center, attendees of the Auxiliary’s 50th Anniversary Celebration enjoyed an evening of reflection, fellowship, and appreciation for the many contributions that have shaped the organization over the past five decades.

Above: Longtime Auxiliary member and WPVGA Hall of Famer Dianne Somers (left in both photos) and current Auxiliary Board President Heidi Schleicher (at right in the images) were happy to address attendees of the Auxiliary 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Right: The Auxiliary is grateful to the many basket raffle donors whose contributions brought extra excitement and fun to the anniversary celebration.

promoting Wisconsin potatoes, and strengthening community ties across generations.

Attendees enjoyed an evening of reflection, fellowship, and appreciation for the many contributions that have shaped the organization over the past five decades.

We extend our sincere thanks to our generous sponsors who made the celebration possible: the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) and WPVGA Associate Division, Compeer Financial, Heartland Farms, and Wysocki Family Farms.

Their continued support reflects the strong partnerships that have helped sustain our mission and grow our impact. We are also grateful to our many basket raffle donors whose contributions brought extra excitement and fun to the anniversary celebration.

A special thank you goes out to our celebration planning committee, whose time, creativity, and hard

work brought this meaningful night together. From the beautiful venue to the thoughtful party favors, every detail reflected the heart, soul, and history of the Auxiliary.

As we look ahead to the future, we remain committed to carrying

forward the values that brought us to this moment: education, community, and pride in Wisconsin agriculture.

Enjoy the rest of your summer,

Dakotah

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.

BC�T August 51

Badger Beat

Impact of Solar Farms on Land Prices Cumulative acreage dedicated to large-scale solar installations in Wisconsin has risen dramatically

By Inder Majumdar, Ashley Cate, and Dr. Paul Mitchell, Professor and Chair of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

During informal conversations with Wisconsin farmers,

Above: The solar arrays are located within a Dean Kincaid Inc. field in Walworth County.

Team created materials to help state landowners understand and evaluate these contracts from a legal perspective: https://farms.extension. wisc.edu/topics/pricing-andcontracts/solar/.

many repeatedly raised concerns that solar farms are driving up land prices by removing prime farmland from production.

However, the economic question remains unanswered: How do solar farms affect land values?

They described long-term rental offers with unrealistically high annual payments, and many wondered if these offers would put upward pressure on local land markets. Many

In this article, we first summarize the current data and trends in Wisconsin for solar farms and farmland values with a focus on the Central Sands, home to the state’s potato and vegetable industry.

landowners were confused as to how the offers made sense but also did not want to miss out on a good deal.

The University of Wisconsin (UW)-Extension Farm Management

We then summarize results from a recent research paper that definitively answers the impact of solar farms on agricultural land values and provides our thoughts on how these results pertain to Wisconsin and especially the Central Sands.

This article builds on the summary of research we prepared for key stakeholders of the Wisconsin Rural Partnerships Institute: https://aae. wisc.edu/pdmitchell/wrpi/.

Figure Thisisisthe thecumulative cumulative number of Wisconsin large-scale solar installations.

Figure 1: 1. This number of Wisconsin large-scale solar installations.

(Source: USGS) (Source: USGS) 52 BC�T August

STATE SOLAR TRENDS Epic Systems installed Wisconsin’s first large-scale solar array in 2011 at its headquarters in Verona. Since that initial installation, developers have brought 75 additional large-

scale solar projects online in Wisconsin (Figure 1).

Although developers completed fewer than 10 installations between 2011 and 2016, subsequent growth in large-scale solar installations has accelerated significantly, maintaining a steady upward trajectory without signs of slowing.

The Wautoma Solar Project in Waushara County is the only large-scale solar facility located in Wisconsin’s Central Sands. The U.S. Geological Survey’s photovoltaic database ranked the Wautoma Solar Project as the seventh-largest solar facility in Wisconsin (Figure 2, highlighted in red).

The cumulative acreage dedicated to large-scale solar installations in Wisconsin has risen dramatically, especially between 2018 and 2021 (Figure 3). Indeed, the pace of land allocation to solar projects continued on pg. 54

The map chartslarge-scale large-scale solar installations in Wisconsin from 2011-2025.

Figure Figure 2: The2.map charts solar installations in Wisconsin from 2011-2025.

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BC�T August 53

Badger Beat. . .

continued from pg. 53

roughly doubled during this period, underscoring a marked intensification in solar development activities statewide.

LAND VALUE TRENDS Land values are tracked by many in the agricultural sector as a key indicator of the state of the farm economy. Hence, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service annually publishes average land values for each state, with the most recent data summarized in Figure 4.

At the state and national level, the figure shows stable land values for several years and then an increase after 2020. Based on these data, the average 2024 cropland value in Wisconsin was $6,800/acre, up 36% from 2020.

value trends in the Central Sands, we use data from Land Sales Bulletin, a company based in Monroe that collects land transaction data from county and state-level courthouses.

Figure 5 shows the average dollarper-acre land transaction value for selected townships across Adams, Portage, and Waushara counties that encompass the main potato growing region in the Central Sands.

However, this increase has slowed, and the average state cropland value was only up 1.3% from 20232024. The recent spike in corn and soybeans has ended, so increases in cropland values have slowed.

TRANSACTION VALUE The black line represents the yearly average dollar-per-acre transaction value for all recorded sales, so the sharp jumps, notably in 2019 and 2022, reflect a handful of high-priced,

Cropland values in Wisconsin’s Central Sands are of more interest to potato and vegetable growers, but the USDA data are not broken down to this level. To look at land 8,000

Average Cropland Value ($/ac)

7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000

WI

Figure3:3.The Here’s a cumulative acreage of Wisconsin solar installations.

Figure graph shows cumulative acreagelarge-scale of Wisconsin large-scale solar installations.

US

likely non-farm parcels that placed upward pressure on average per-acre values.

The blue line smooths out the fluctuations to reveal the underlying trend, and the gray band around it represents a 95% confidence interval: the wider the band, the less certain we are about the true average for that year.

Despite the noise shown by recorded land value transactions, the trend moves steadily higher, largely mirroring the statewide rise in cropland values in Figure 4. However, it is important to keep in mind that the data from the Land Sales Bulletin mixes agricultural and non-agricultural land transactions.

Commercial and residential lots can sell for several times what an agricultural producer would pay, and that mix likely plays a role in explaining year-to-year swings.

Between 2018 and 2019, for instance, statewide cropland prices barely budged, yet prices for commercial parcels in Figure 5 jumped almost 11%.

The red dotted line in Figure 5 marks 2023, when the Wautoma Solar Project in Waushara County came 0 online. Recent research suggests that 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 the price effect from a large solar Figure 4: Charted are average cropland for Wisconsin and the United States.USDA NASS) Figure 4. Charted are average cropland values values for Wisconsin and the United States.

(Source: array typically surfaces after a three(Source: USDA NASS) 1,000

54 BC�T August

year lag, so it is no surprise that we don’t observe any acute departures from the blue trend line.

In short, land in the Central Sands keeps getting pricier, and the role of the large solar array in contributing to this trend will become more evident within the next few years.

RECENT RESEARCH In June, Hu et al. (2025) published new research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that settles the academic debate for the time being on how large-scale solar projects impact land values.

The new analysis used a comprehensive database that covers 40 states from 1986 to 2021 to identify a consistent pattern: average land prices temporarily increase near Figure 5: The graph shows average dollar-per-acre land transaction values for the Wisconsin Figure 5. TheSands. graph shows average dollar-per-acre land transaction values for the Wisconsin Central Sands.

Central solar farms.

The average farmland price increase is 19.4% for parcels within 2 miles of large-scale solar installations, but this effect disappears beyond 2 miles, and this price effect peaks three years after installation and dissipates within six years.

They interpret this price pattern as an option value—a premium that arises because the nearby land could be added to an existing project at a relatively low cost. However, as one moves further away and as the project matures, the likelihood of expansion declines, and so does the option value.

Because smaller parcels are more easily added to existing projects, they have a greater option value and can expect larger price increases.

Indeed, Hu et al. (2025) found that only the small parcels near existing large-scale solar projects experience a statistically significant land value increase.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES For residential properties, Hu et al.

(2025) found that being near a largescale solar farm was a disamenity— residential land sales values within

3 miles of a large-scale solar farm experienced price declines of 4.8% on average. Again, this effect is temporary, fading within nine years of installation.

The Hu et al. (2025) study included data from Wisconsin but did not report Wisconsin-specific results.

If we were to repeat the study just

for Wisconsin, we expect price effects to show a similar pattern, but to vary in magnitude and by location.

Wisconsin has many areas devoted to specialized agricultural uses.

Intensive dairy regions need land for manure, and crops like potatoes, vegetables, cranberries, and ginseng continued on pg. 56

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BC�T August 55

Badger Beat. . .

continued from pg. 55

require special types of land.

Loss of land to solar installations in these areas would likely have a larger and longer impact on surrounding farmland values because alternative land to replace these losses is limited.

However, the effect would likely be smaller in areas with more typical crop land use (e.g., corn, soybeans, forage) for which substitute land is available nearby.

IMPACT OF PUBLIC PERCEPTION Public perception also plays an important role. Whether real or perceived, farmers and homeowners near solar farms are concerned about actual or potential effects on the value of their land and the perceptions of potential buyers.

Further, some rural opposition to solar projects can be explained by the perception that these projects use rural resources for the benefit of urban areas, a phenomenon known as the “rural burden” (Nilson & Stedman, 2023).

However, not all solar projects are the same. Farms or other rural businesses may install solar to meet their

own energy needs, while smaller, community-scale solar projects are built to serve a rural community.

Most academic research focuses on the impacts of large-scale solar installations, and it is unclear how perceptions and resulting changes to land values differ for business- or community-scale solar projects.

In the context of the “rural burden,” this type of solar installation could plausibly be viewed as favorable in rural and agricultural areas, as a source of pride for energy independence. Hu et al. (2025) finds some evidence supporting this effect, but the topic remains largely unexplored.

CONCLUSION Solar installations can temporarily increase the value of nearby cropland by creating an “option value” because the parcel can be added to the existing solar facility, but this price premium extends only a few miles from the facility and fades over time.

Residential properties have the reverse trend, which is a smaller decrease in property value due to the disamenity of being by the solar

facility, but this effect also fades over time and space. Based on these recent research findings, what can those owning farmland in the Central Sands expect?

The Wautoma Solar Project was installed in 2023, so landowners within a couple miles with smaller parcels can expect a jump in land prices of around 20% that will peak roughly next year and then begin to decline and disappear by 2029.

However, because the Wautoma project is already relatively large for Wisconsin, it may be less likely to expand.

Also, the federal renewable energy policies supporting the expansion of solar are subject to change, and so expansion of the Wautoma project or installation of new projects in the Central Sands seem less likely until this policy uncertainty is clarified.

Overall, these factors suggest that most cropland in the agriculturally unique Central Sands region will not see sustained price increases due to the current project or new solar projects unless the situation changes greatly.

References Hu, C, Z. Chen, P. Liu, W. Zhang, X. He, and D. Bosch. 2025. Impact of Large-scale Solar on Property Values in the US: Diverse Effects and Causal Mechanisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122 (24) e2418414122 https://www.pnas. org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418414122.

Nilson, R., and Stedman, R. 2023.

Reacting to the Rural Burden: Understanding Opposition to Utility‐Scale Solar Development in Upstate New York. Rural Sociology, 88:578-605 https://doi.org/10.1111/ ruso.12486

56 BC�T August

Potatoes USA News U.S. Potato Retail Sales Volume Grows

Consumer demand for versatile, nutrient-rich vegetable remains strong U.S. retail sales of potatoes maintained strong volume over the nine-month period from July 2024 to March 2025. Despite a small (-0.5%) drop in dollar sales to $14.72 billion, total potato retail sales increased 2.3% by volume compared to the same period last year, underscoring continued consumer demand for the versatile, nutrient-dense vegetable.

Sales volume over the July 2024-March 2025 period increased for fresh potatoes (+2%), chips (+2.6%), and frozen potatoes (+4.9%).

Sales volume declined for deliprepared sides and dehydrated potatoes (-4.5% and -2.7%, respectively), though dehydrated potatoes represent less than 6% of total volume sales, and deli-prepared sides represent less than 1% measured by fresh weight equivalent.

Dollar sales rose for potato chips (+1.6%) and refrigerated/deli potatoes (+2.3%) but declined most significantly for fresh potatoes (-4.7%) and dehydrated potatoes (-3.2%).

Consumer prices for potatoes fell each quarter of this period (JulySeptember 2024, October-December 2024, January-March 2025) compared to the same quarters the year prior. The average retail price for all potatoes declined 2.8% in July 2024-March 2025 to $2.26 per pound, driven by a 6.6% price drop in fresh potatoes to $0.89 per pound.

Among fresh types, russet prices fell the most at 13.6%. Only refrigerated/ deli potatoes (1.5%) and deliprepared sides (1.9%) saw price increases.

VOLUME SALES GROWTH Volume sales grew for all fresh potato pack sizes except for 5-pound packs and those greater than 10 pounds.

Volume sales for 8-pound packs grew the most (+18.5%), followed by 2- to 4-pound packs (+10.8%) and packs between 1 and less than 2 pounds (+6.4%).

Both volume sales (-27.1%) and dollar sales (-11.4%) declined for packs over 10 pounds.

Sales varied by type within the fresh category. Russets (+4.3%), yellows (+3.9%), and petites (+7.3%) all saw volume increases, while reds (-14%), whites (-3.2%), medleys (-7.6%), and purple potatoes (-9.3%) all saw volume decreases.

In terms of dollar sales, overall fresh potato sales decreased 4.7%, reflecting lower retail prices. Dollar sales increased for yellows (+5.7%), petites (+3.4%), and fingerlings (+2.4%) but declined for russets (-9.9%), whites (-11.9%), reds (-8.8%), purples (-8.5%), and medleys (-2.9%).

Consumer prices fell for potato chips, frozen potatoes, and dehydrated potatoes in the July 2024-March 2025 period, as well as for fresh potatoes.

Prices of chips fell 0.96% to $6.61 per pound compared to the same period the year prior, while frozen potatoes fell 4.8% to $2.20 per pound, and dehydrated potatoes fell 0.5% to $5.15 per pound.

The two categories that saw price increases during the period were refrigerated potatoes (+1.5% to $3.25 per pound) and deli-prepared sides (+1.9% to $1.20 per pound). These two categories make up 7.2% and 0.62% of volume sales (fresh weight equivalent), respectively.

Circana (IRI) compiles these figures by working directly with retailers.

Potatoes USA accepts no liability for the content of these reports or the consequences of any actions taken based on any information contained herein. Please reach out to media@potatoesusa.com with any questions.

BC�T August 57

New Products METOS® Knows How to Grow Potatoes

In-field data/solutions are collected and presented on the FieldClimate platform Potatoes are a high value crop where the investment in IoT (Internet of Things) products and services results in higher profits. Potato growing is a field of play that requires a lot of decision-making during the potato growing cycle to maximize yield and ensure the quality of the variety.

At the same time, strict legislation demands more data about the conditions in which the crop was grown and stored. METOS® products support your production with traceability for all production stages.

No matter which METOS monitoring solution you choose, all available

58 BC�T August

data is collected and presented on the FieldClimate platform in a userfriendly way as a Decision Support System.

Metos North America offers a wide range of in-field IoT solutions for potatoes and works in numerous countries with growers.

In-field IoT solutions include disease forecasting, crop modeling, insect traps, soil moisture monitoring/ irrigation, yield prediction, in-field plant assessment, storage conditions, field-specific alerting, and weather monitoring and forecasting.

EXAMPLES • Field specific data: temperature, relative humidity, leaf wetness, precipitation, wind speed/direction, soil probes • Field specific alerting: e.g., spraying – wind speed, Delta T, leaf wetness, precipitation • Field specific forecasting and work planning tools: plant nutrition, field accessibility, tillage ability, sowing

operations, spray window, harvest window, plant nutrition window • Insect monitoring and disease models: 80 disease models for over 40 crops, e.g., potato late blight model and iSCOUT Digital & Mobile for Colorado potato beetle • Yield prediction and satellite imagery solution to determine

crop zone or field yield (FarmView), e.g., wheat, corn, soybean, potato, barley, Durum Yield Prediction • In-Field Plant Health: Dualex for assessment of plant health by simultaneously measuring multiple indices such as chlorophyll, flavanols, anthocyanins, and the calculation of the Nitrogen Balance Index (NBI).

• Irrigation and soil mositure monitoring: real-time, field-level soil moisture values and nutrient efficiency For more information, contact METOS North America/Canada, attn: Guy Ash, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, guy.ash@metos.com, 204-229-6139, www.metos.at.

The AccuVision 360 Goes to College

Proven hollow-heart detection X-ray system identifies internal defects and cavities The new Exeter Engineering AccuVision 360 is the most capable produce sorter on the market today.

• Uses a unique presentation system that spins each product as it is imaged • Employs Exeter Engineering’s ID Technology, an industry-leading AI (artificial intelligence)-powered optical grading system • Uses proven hollow heart detection X-ray system to detect internal defects and cavities • Inexpensive to run, cheap to maintain, and built to last

accurately sort through research crops, giving scientists a consistent look at the development of stored potatoes over time.

The university chose the Exeter Engineering AccuVision 360 for its combination of superior presentation

and industry-leading AI-powered optical grading.

The AccuVision 360 spins each potato as it passes under an ID Technology suite of high-definition, multi-spectral continued on pg. 60

Those capabilities are a large part of why the University of Maine recently chose the AccuVision 360 to use in its research on stored potatoes.

Exeter Engineering is proud to partner with agronomy departments at universities across the United States. The company has and will continue to provide state-of-the-art optical sorting technology to assist with crop research and development efforts, helping improve the quality of the U.S. and world food supply.

The University of Maine is using Exeter’s newest optical sorter, the AccuVision 360, to gather data for ongoing research on post-harvest storage of potatoes. The university needed a machine to quickly and BC�T August 59

New Products . . . continued from pg. 59

cameras and custom-tuned LED lighting, allowing the cameras to see every area.

SUPERIOR RESULTS The high-quality images are instantly

analyzed by ID Technology’s AIpowered software suite, grading for size, weight, external quality, and via the Hollow Heart Detector, internal quality. Superior images combined with superior software and data

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Contact Pete Schroeder • 715-623-2689 Email: farm@sbfi.biz • Web: https://binfront.biz/ 60 BC�T August

means superior results.

This research could potentially lead to offering superior potatoes to consumers, reducing food waste and eliminating supply-chain inefficiencies.

AccuVision 360’s fast, consistent and high-quality results are key to ensuring that the data collected meets each project’s long-term needs. That’s why the University of Maine chose to partner with Exeter Engineering.

For more on the University of Maine’s AccuVision 360 research line, visit https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=zBvVfD_Ig0s.

If you’re looking for a partner in your potato business, whether it’s for cutting-edge research, commercial products or ordinary consumers, contact Exeter Engineering, 109 West Pine Street, Exeter, CA 93221, sales@ exetereng.com, 559-592-3161.

DISHING IT UP WITH DANA Flavorful Salad Satisfies all the Cravings

Warm, chewy gnocchi is combined with salad, baked corned beef and vinaigrette Column and photos by Dana Rady, Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association I have a confession. I’m a sucker for carbs. First off, yes, I know better than to classify potatoes as carbohydrates. So don’t worry, Wisconsin potatoes are not a food item that I eliminate or limit in my diet.

Let’s just say that when I’m hungry for a snack, which is quite often since I’d rather eat several small meals a day instead of three large ones, I don’t exactly gravitate to a protein.

And I certainly don’t crave salads.

I’d much rather dive into a box of crackers or a bag of popcorn.

I also love pasta. Thankfully, gnocchi is an Italian pasta made with

potatoes, and the combination is delicious! And, to further please the palate, I found a new way to use gnocchi that also involves an air fryer.

Air fryers are an incredibly popular tool nowadays. They cut cooking time immensely, which is huge when you’re in a rush. My family’s air fryer is built into the oven, which is quite convenient and doesn’t take up extra counter space.

QUICK PREP TIME Another reason I love gnocchi is their quick prep time. Typically, gnocchi are boiled. It barely takes 5 minutes for the little dumplings to rise to the continued on pg.62

Irish-Inspired Salad with Crispy Gnocchi INGREDIENTS: CRISPY GNOCCHI 2C 1 Tbsp.

2 tsp.

1/4 tsp.

1/4 tsp.

( 16 oz.) gnocchi, prepared olive oil garlic powder salt black pepper

IRISH-INSPIRED SALAD 1/2 C 2C 3C 3C

-3 slices deli corned beef, 2 baked and sliced carrots, shaved leafy greens cabbage

BC�T August 61

Dishing It Up with Dana…

Advertisers Index

continued from pg. 61

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INGREDIENTS: HONEY MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE 2 Tbsp.

2 Tbsp.

1 Tbsp.

1 Tbsp.

1 1/2 Tbsp.

1/2 tsp.

1/4 tsp.

1/4 tsp.

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D ijon mustard xtra virgin olive oil e fresh lemon juice apple cider vinegar honey minced garlic salt black pepper

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top of the hot water, and you know they’re done.

For this recipe, instead of boiling the gnocchi, we’re going to toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder, and stick them in the air fryer. The results are warm, chewy and flavorful bite-sized dumplings.

Now, we add them into a vegetable salad along with some baked corned beef and a honey mustard vinaigrette dressing, and the result is a flavorful salad that satisfies all the cravings.

This is a salad I genuinely enjoy eating.

The chewy, salty flavor of the gnocchi combined with the meat, veggies and tanginess of the dressing makes this salad light enough to not feel overly full after the meal, yet heavy enough to not be hungry an hour after eating.

I challenge you to try this for yourself.

And if you are adventurous, give yourself permission to experiment.

This salad isn’t the only one that air-fried gnocchi can complement.

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven or air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit. Toss the gnocchi with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.

Add the seasoned gnocchi to the air fryer basket or tray. Avoid overcrowding so the gnocchi can become crispy, working in batches if necessary. Air-fry the gnocchi for 11-14 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes to promote even browning. The gnocchi are done when the outsides are golden brown and crispy.

While the gnocchi are air frying, prepare the salad components by slicing the corned beef, shaving the carrots, shaving the cabbage, and washing the greens.

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Lay 2-3 slices of corned beef on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with a little bit of oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crispy.

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Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Crumble or chop the baked slices into bite-sized pieces.

T.I.P...............................................17

Whisk vinaigrette components together in a bowl.

Toss all salad ingredients with vinaigrette and serve.

Visit https://eatwisconsinpotatoes. com/recipes/irish-inspired-saladwith-crispy-gnocchi-2/.

62 BC�T August

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