Spud farm turns over to the 4th generation

AMERICAN FALLS, Idaho – In the flat of Pleasant Valley, with the peaks of the Bannock and Pocatello ranges off in the distance, a cloud of dust rose in a plume behind the spud harvester.

It was a clear, blue-skied afternoon Wednesday, the first day of the potato harvest on the Tiede farm outside of American Falls.

This year marks the beginning of a 10-year transition of management and ownership of the farm, from Jim Tiede to his son, Alex. Jim is a third-generation farmer in Idaho, and Alex – recently graduated from college with a degree in business management and marketing – has returned home to become the fourth.

Jim’s grandfather started with 160 acres a century ago and grew his dry farming operation to 1,500 acres before Jim’s father took the reins and switched the enterprise to irrigated crops. Since taking over, Jim has kept the irrigated approach and doubled the farm’s acreage.

“My grandpa homesteaded in 1908; he immigrated from Germany. So next year we’re going to have a 100-year farm,” Jim said.

Alex said he returned home to farm because he loved the work and the lifestyle. He studied business, Jim said, because the business side of farming has taken precedence over everything else.

Alex was amid the rows of potatoes Wednesday operating a harvester. He directed spuds by the thousands – careful not to bruise them – into the bed of a truck driving beside the tractor, beneath the harvester’s conveyor.

The fields in the rolling valley adjacent to the spud sections were painted with mustard plants – a vibrant, shimmering yellow. Jim said they’ve been planting the mustard for four years now because the oil it produces acts as a natural nematicide, or pest and fungus killer.

“It’s an environmentally sensitive control,” Jim said. “We like using it. We plant it in every section where it’s possible to plant it.”

He said he believed some people have a misconception that farmers are unconcerned about the environment and use chemicals indiscriminately.

“I think a lot of environmentalists think we love chemicals,” Jim said. “I hate them. We try to use as little as possible.”

Jim said he didn’t expect this year’s potato yield to be as good as last year’s record crop, but he was encouraged by what they found once they started digging up the spuds.

“They actually look pretty good, it’ll probably be above average for Burbanks,” Jim said. “I think this year it was just a little too hot. It was hard to keep them wet. Actually, I was surprised when we dug and they looked as good as they did.”

Tiede’s farm sells its potatoes for processing into french fries, Tater Tots, and KFC wedges, Tiede said. All of the spuds from his crop have already been contracted for sale under multiyear agreements, about half to Simplot and half to Lamb Weston.

Tiede said he didn’t like the risk associated with the fresh market, which tends to have higher highs and lower lows. Instead, he prefers to lock in prices for several years at a time.

“Before I plant them, I know they’re sold,” he said.

The recent low-carbohydrate diet fad, which reached its pinnacle a couple of years ago, put a dent into his profits, he said, but a shift back to a more balanced diet, and what he calls “comfort foods,” has helped business.

“We really suffered under the Atkins craze, but we’re rebounding now,” Jim said.