By Joe Kertzman, managing editor, Badger Common’Tater
Paul Sowinski is proud of the fact that his father, Alvin, worked in conjunction with the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) to promote washed potatoes for chipping.
“They proved that washed potatoes save chip companies 50-70 cents per hundredweight,” he says. “Sowinski Farms is still working with the University of Wisconsin and other research facilities to breed better varieties, not only for the grower, but also for chip companies and consumers.”
Sowinski Farms signed its first contract with Frito-Lay in 1955 and received the company’s North Central Region Grower of the Year award in 2009.
Henry and Evelyn Sowinski started the farm, in 1932, where they logged, grew Christmas trees and raised dairy cows. Alvin and David (Sonny) began the potato operation with Henry in the late 1940’s.
