Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association

In the March 2011 Badger Common’Tater

Be sure to read the March 2011 issue of The Badger Common’Tater for full coverage of the 2011 Grower Ed Conference and Industry Show.

 

August Winkler

Hall of Fame Honors Go to Schroeder, Winkler

The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association Hall of Fame honors lifetime achievement in the development of the state’s potato industry.  The 2011 WPVGA Hall of Fame inductees are John H. Schroeder of Schroeder Brothers Farms, Antigo and August Winkler of Winkler Farms, Three Lakes.  See the March issue of The Badger Common’Tater for more on these great men.

WPVGA Presents Industry Awards

In addition to its annual Hall of Fame induction, the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association presented several other annual industry awards at a banquet held February 2, 2011 in Stevens Point.  Among the 2011 award winners are:  Cliff Gagas, Jeremie Pavelski, Dan Wild, Dr. Amanda Gevens, Nick Somers, Steve Tatro, Caroline Wild, Andy Diercks, Jerome Bushman, David Carter, Alex Crockford, Dr. Molly Jahn, Dr. Ann MacGuidwin and more.  Check out the March 2011 issue of The Badger Common’Tater for complete coverage.

Farming to Fight Famine

Heartland Farms and Walther Farms work with U.S. universities to improve potato production in Ethiopia 
By Charlie Higgins, Ph.D., Director of Research & Development, Heartland Farms and Walther Farms

Potato yields in Ethiopia were less than 50 cwt/acre in 1969 when my wife, Judy, and I were teachers there with the Peace Corps.  The population in Ethiopia has grown from 20 million to 80 million over the last 40 years, but potato yields per acre are the same.  Small farmers with just three or four acres in the high mountains only have potatoes to feed their children after the grain is used up before the next harvest.

In the photo above, a young Ethiopian boy eats a potato.  About forty percent of the children in Ethiopia do not receive enough calories for healthy living.  Increased potato production is helping to alleviate the famine problem.

Read the article in the March 2011 issue of The Badger Common’Tater to see how the potato industry in the U.S. is helping to prevent starvation in Ethiopia.

 

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