Having been involved with potatoes in production or processing his entire career, Jon Jacobs’ father, Greg, founded Cedar River Potato Co. in 1990, in Colfax, Wisconsin, when he decided to get back into the production side of the business as a contract grower.
At that time, Greg, his brother, Jamie, a partner, John Mommsen, and Jon were all part of the original business plan. Greg and Jon eventually purchased Jamie’s and John’s shares of the company, and now Cedar River Potato Co. is strictly a family farm.
How many acres of potatoes and what varieties do you grow? Cedar River currently averages 1,400 acres of potatoes annually, all of which are Russet Burbank. We have grown Ranger Russet, Norkotah, Sierra Gold, Goldrush, Silverton, Castile and other varieties in the past.
Do you grow other vegetables, and do you grow for the fresh or processed potato market? And for what customers? We currently only grow potatoes, although we have grown snap beans, soy beans, sweet corn, field corn, oats, wheat and alfalfa in the past. Potatoes are grown for the processed market for McCain Foods and Michael’s Foods.
