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Here You Go – Weston’s Organic Potato Chips!

December 11, 2020 By Gold Dust Farms 17 Comments

We’re pretty sure it’s unanimous that 2020 has been a train wreck of a year.  COVID-19, the ensuing pandemic, economic disruption, an election year – there’s been very little to celebrate. Well, we might have found something

Introducing Weston’s Organic Potato Chips!

Weston’s Organic Potato Chips!

What are those you ask?

Obviously, they’re potato chips – organic potato chips. And one of the reasons we’re excited about these chips is we’re providing the organic chipping potatoes that are fried up into these tasty snacks. They’re grown right here in the Klamath Basin, which, in our opinion, makes these potato chips extra delicious.

Fried up by family-owned and operated Warnock Food Products of Madera, CA, this is the same company that produces the rose fingerling potato chips we wrote about back in February. 

We’ve been able to find them at our local Grocery Outlet in Klamath Falls

Weston’s Organic Potato Chips seems to be a regional brand only found on the West Coast. Though they may be a mostly Californian product, we were able to find them at our local Grocery Outlet in Klamath Falls. On a personal note, it’s pretty exciting to go to a grocery store and see potato chips with your family’s farm on them.

Even more exciting is when you know the “Weston” behind them.

If you haven’t guessed yet, the Weston printed on the big white bags is in reference to our very own Weston Walker. Jaap Langenberg, the brain behind the rose fingerling chips and Weston’s Organic Potato Chips, visited our farm a while back. During his visit, he was amused that Weston was so dedicated to growing and providing chipping potatoes he even named his dog Spud. With the image of a farmer and his dog in Jaap’s mind, a brand was born.

Now the big question – how do they taste? 

We might be a tad biased. Regardless, these potato chips fry up nice and nearly white – just as a proper chipping potato should. Being thick-cut, wavy-style chips, they have a nice, crisp crunch. There are two flavors to choose from – Sea Salt and Sea Salt ‘N’ Vinegar. While you get the familiar flavor of sea salt and the pungent punch of salt and vinegar, what’s nice about these potato chips is you can actually taste the spud. The flavors don’t overwhelm the natural potato taste, which in a world of overly-salted snacks is a nice change. And again, we might be slightly biased so you need to find a bag and try them yourself!

We hope you’re able to find a bag of Weston’s Organic Potato Chips in a store near you. Since these are an organic product, if the white bag doesn’t stand out on the shelf of the snack section, you might have to go look for them in the natural foods aisles. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

  • Simple ingredients make them simply delicious!
  • The perfect potato crisp to go with a pint of bitter

Filed Under: Gold Dust & Walker Farms, Organic Potatoes, potato chips

Chipping Potato Harvest 2018

November 5, 2018 By Gold Dust Farms Leave a Comment

Two potato bulkers parked in a chipping potato field near Malin, Oregon.Save for fall farming, the fields are mostly quiet again. The hay has been stacked in the barns, waiting to be sold and shipped and the granaries are full of wheat and barley. Chipping potatoes have been piled in our cellars while spud trucks run from the storages to the packing shed instead of from the fields to the storages. Another successful potato harvest is in the books!

This year’s harvest began back in August. Considering we finished up shipping in July, our packing shed didn’t have much time to turn around and get ready for our annual Open House Field Day, let alone for shipping season to start again. But, as we’ve mentioned in the past, we have amazing crews and some of the best employees in the Klamath Basin. Needless to say, they were able to get everything buttoned down and to start shipping!

Gold Dust Potato Processors employee and plant mechanic Felimon Acosta outside the Malin, OR processing plant.
Here’s one of the guys responsible for getting our packing shed ready – Felimon Acosta.
Two employees for Gold Dust Potatoes sort chipping potatoes at the company's Malin, OR campus.
Before they’re washed, chipping potatoes are pre-sorted going into the packing shed.
Employees for Gold Dust Potato Processors sorting washed chipping potatoes at the company's packing shed in Malin, Oregon.
Another round of hand-sorting before our chipping potatoes are shipped!
A crew at Gold Dust Potato Processors sewing sacks of chipping potatoes shut and stacking the sacks on a pallet.
Sew ’em up and ship ’em!

Crews pulling irrigation pipe from a potato field near Malin, OR.
Before this potato field can be dug, the pipe needs to be pulled.

If we were to venture a guess of when our busiest season is, planting and spring farming might get quite a few votes, but it’s probably potato harvest. It takes a lot of work to get the fields ready for digging, let alone the fact we’re cutting grain, still cutting hay, firing up the processing plant and our offices are running at full tilt. Then there’s all the community-related events, like the the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair at the beginning of September and the Klamath Basin Potato Festival in October. We usually also welcome school tours to check out our shed and learn about agribusiness and how a farm operates. There’s a lot of action during potato harvest, and somehow our crews manage to keep everything rolling along.

Speaking of our crews, we cannot thank them enough for their dedication and the hours they put in to make it another successful potato harvest. From the shed to our offices, from the tractors and trucks to the fields, we manage to get a great group of people together to help us make Gold Dust and Walker Farms a continuing success. It isn’t always easy, but with their help and dedication we make it through. Thank you to everyone who works for us, and for another great harvest!

Gold Dust and Walker Farms grower Kyle Patterson unloading chipping potatoes at Gold Dust Potato Processors' Malin, Oregon campus.
One of our growers, Kyle Patterson, unloading a load of chippers.
A Walker Farms tractor working over a field north of the Gold Dust Potato Processors' Malin, Oregon potato storage facilities.
A little fall farming just north of our cellars.

Though the bulkers have been put to bed, it doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy a few photos of them in action.  Below are some photos taken just below the Tule Lake leases in the shadow of Mt. Shasta and from the Caledonia, located just Northwest of Klamath Falls by the Running Y Ranch.

A potato truck sits in a potato field in Modoc County, California.
Waiting in a potato field.
Two potato bulkers at work filling a potato truck and a belt trailer being pulled by a tractor.
Two potato diggers fill a spud truck and a belt trailer.
Two potato trucks follow a spud truck and a belt trailer being filled with organic chipping potatoes.
All aboard the potato harvest train!
A full potato truck driving in a chipping potato field in Modoc County, California.
Heading home
A potato bulker fills a spud truck with organic chipping potatoes in a field south of Tulelake, California.
Mt Shasta makes a dramatic backdrop for this organic potato field.
A potato bulker filling a belt trailer being pulled by a tractor in a potato field near Tulelake, California.
Filling a belt trailer with organic chipping potatoes.
A potato truck headed to a field on the Caledonia Farm near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Heading to the last field on the Caledonia.
A spud truck getting loaded by a potato harvester in a chipping potato seed field near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Loading a spud truck with chipping potato seed.
Two potato bulkers dig potatoes, filling a spud truck and belt trailer while a tractor pulls a roller in a potato field near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
It takes a lot of equipment to dig potatoes!
A potato harvester fills a spud truck with chipping potato seed on the Caledonia Farm near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Filling a spud truck.
A potato harvester filling a belt-trailer pulled by a tractor with chipping potato seed near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
That’s a lot of potato seed!
A semi hooks to a belt trailer filled with chipping potato seed after being dropped off by a tractor.
Now that the belt trailer is full, it’s time to haul it home!

Here’s to another successful harvest. Now bring on shipping season!

Filed Under: chipping potatoes, farm, Gold Dust Potato Processors, Klamath Basin Potato Festival, Organic Potatoes, potato harvest, potato shed, potato shipping, Walker Farms

Where Do Kettle Brand Chips Come From? Ask Tater Tracker!

December 4, 2017 By Gold Dust Farms 1 Comment

Bags of Kettle Brand potato chips on a kitchen counter.
Ever wonder where the potatoes for your Kettle Brand Chips come from?

As a chipping potato grower, we get to work with a lot of recognizable brand names from around world – and it’s pretty cool. People love to know where their food comes from, and as we attempted to answer the question “where do potato chips come from?” in another post, we’ve been given an opportunity to answer it again!

Ever been snacking on Kettle Chips and ever wonder where they came from? Well, they’ve provided an online tool to give you the answer! Kettle Brand has released their Tater Tracker, which highlights their potato growers and the farms where the potatoes come from. As you might recall from our Open House Field Day post – we’re one of those growers. And, yes, Gold Dust and Walker Farms is featured on Kettle Brands’ Tater Tracker page as well as a profile on Weston!

The Kettle Brand potato chips company car at Gold Dust and Walker Farms' Malin, Or campus during the 2017 Open House Field Day.
The Kettle Brand Potato Chips company rig stood out at the Open House Field Day

So, how does the Tater Tracker work? First, you obviously have to get a bag of delicious Kettle Brand potato chips (we recommend buying at least a dozen!). Next, locate the “Best Before” date located on the top right corner on one of the many bags you’ve purchased. Just below it you’ll find two numerical codes – type the second one into the space on the Tater Tracker page and you’ll see which Northwest potato farm your chips came from!

Consumer purchasing Kettle Brand potato chips at a store.
Step 1: Locate and procure bag of Kettle Brand Potato Chips
An image of Kettle Brand potato chips' Tater Tracker grower code.
Step 2: Locate the Tater Tracker code just below the “Best Before” date. Yes, the last four digits too.
A photo of a Samsung Chromebook and Kettle Brand's Tater Tracker page opened with a chipping potato grower code entered in it.
Step 3: Enter the entire code into the Kettle’s Tater Tracker. As you see, the last four digits are entered at the end.

If you look at our grower profile, just under Weston’s bio you’ll see something else that Kettle has done with these pages – a virtual farm tour! While best viewed on an Android device, as the video plays you can turn your phone to get a 360 degree view of our potato farm, the sheds and even chipping potatoes being harvested. It’s a great way to see where your potato chips are coming from and give visitors an idea of what makes each of these potato farms unique.

Video by MaxwellPR.com

We love that Kettle Brand is as proud to work with us as we are with them. Not only does their dedication to sustainable agriculture match ours, it’s great to work with a snack company located in the Pacific Northwest that features local farms on its site. Thank you, Kettle Brand!

 

Filed Under: chipping potatoes, customers and clients, farm, Gold Dust Potato Processors, Organic Potatoes, potato chips, potato customers, potato harvest, potato shed, sustainable farming, walker brothers

17th Annual Open House Field Day

September 28, 2017 By Gold Dust Farms Leave a Comment

Guests for Gold Dust and Walker Farms' Open House Field Day inspecting chipping potato samples in Cellar 1 on Gold Dust's Malin campus.
We literally opened up our doors for our 17th Annual Open House Field Day!

This year’s Open House Field Day was as much about change as it was showing off our processing plant and fields. We’ve always loved this event because it gives us an opportunity to share the insights and inner-workings of our farm and shed with the people who’ve helped us grow into the sustainable businesses that we are. And from that point of view, our 17th Annual Open House Field Day was like others in the past. However, some of this year’s changes could be summed up by our new company slogan, “Where together we grow”.

We kicked off the Open House Field Day on August 28th with our usual pre-function dinner at Bill and Jan’s house where old and new friends gathered to catch up and enjoy ahi seared by Rabobank’s Ken Hibbard, a delicious prime rib roasted by Jan and a few drinks. The next morning, our guests were treated to hearty, country-style breakfast at Mike and Wanda’s in Tulelake. After Weston recognized and thanked our many customers and partners and Bill thanked our growers, Lexi unveiled the new logo and company motto.

Inspiration for “where together we grow” came from talks Lexi had with employees trying to find out what motivates them to come to work everyday. The overwhelming response was that our employees took ownership of their jobs, and as part of taking ownership, knew that if they didn’t do their job someone else wouldn’t be able to get their work done. “Not only do we grow crops, but we grow friendships, intelligence, partnerships, families, strong communities, personal strength, faith and love,” explained Lexi. “We are all connected and need each other in order to sustain this business.”

Bill Walker thanking chipping potato growers at Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 17th Annual Open House Field Day breakfast at Mike & Wanda's restaurant in Tulelake, CA.
Bill thanked our elite growers for helping Gold Dust and Walker Farms succeed
Lexi Crawford sharing her inspiration for the new company motto and unveiling the new logo at the 2017 Open House Field Day breakfast at Mike & Wanda's Restaurant in Tulelake, California.
Lexi shared our new slogan – “where together we grow” – with our guests
Klamath County Commissioners Donnie Boyd, Kelly Minty-Morris and Derrick DeGroot answering questions at Mike & Wanda's Restaurant during Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 17th annual Open House Field Day.
The Klamath County Commissioners shared the work they’ve been doing as well as answered community concerns.

Afterwards, Lexi introduced our special guest speakers, the Klamath County Commissioners. Kelley Minty-Morris, Donnie Boyd and Derrick DeGroot. The commissioners discussed some of the challenges they overcame on behalf of the County as well as fielded questions and concerns from the audience. From the need for air service at Crater Lake Regional Airport and bringing a grocery store to downtown Klamath Falls to the LNG pipeline and what can be done to bring Basin ag power rates to being on par with farmers on the Columbia River, the three of them did their best to address the concerns being discussed in the room.

Following breakfast, we headed to the fields to see how the current chipping potato crop looked. In a parade of pickups, SUVs and the few sedans, our crowd emptied out on the streets of Tulelake to the surrounding farmland.

The first field we looked at was a variety of potatoes named 1867s grown by Donnie Heaton. Donnie has been growing chipping potatoes for us for a while, and judging from the sample spuds he dug up he’s doing another fine job this year. Keeping with his normally quiet demeanor, Donnie let the potatoes do the talking. The shovelful of chippers were right on target for the time of year and looked great. He did mention “it’s been a long, hot summer” but as of the day of the field tours, he figured he’d dig that field towards the end of September or early October.

Klamath Basin potato grower Donnie Heaton bringing a sample of chipping potatoes for the field tour during Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 2017 Open House Field Day.
Donnie Heaton took a sample of chipping potatoes from his field
Donnie Heaton's sample of chipping potatoes for Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 17th Open House Field Day.
Donnie pulled out some really great chipping potatoes
Potato grower Donnie Heaton answering questions from Gold Dust and Walker Farms' guests at the 2017 Open House Field Day.
Though he let the potatoes do the talking, Donnie answered questions from our guests

Next we went to a field of 2137 chipping potatoes grown by Staunton Farms. Marc Staunton led the way and told our group a little about his family’s history in the Klamath Basin. His family’s 1927 homestead was not far from the field we were looking at. Though Marc talked about his family’s roots, the main thing he wanted to share was that his message was about sustainability, and as he put it, “Not the grocery store meaning of the word.” Between regulations, labor costs and availability, marketing and pressure from environmental groups, every year it gets harder to farm. However, by being proactive, Mark assured our visitors they’re in it for the long haul. And the chippers? Though Marc tried to downplay our expectations, he showed us another great sample of potatoes.

Mark Staunton, potato grower, sharing his family's history in the Klamath Basin in a potato field near his family's original homestead outside of Tulelake, CA.
Before digging up sample, Mark Staunton shared his family’s farming history and thoughts on sustainability
Mark Staunton holding sample chipping potatoes from his field near Tulelake, CA at Gold Dust's 2017 Open House Field Day.
Though he downplayed his potatoes, Mark’s chippers look pretty good
Gold Dust and Walker Farms' guests visiting Staunton Farms' field of 2137 chipping potatoes near Tulelake, California.
Despite the smoke, Staunton’s field of 2137s looks pretty good.

The third field we visited was a crop of Lamoka chipping potatoes grown by M.D. Huffman Farms. For Matt and his son, Drew, these potatoes represented a new opportunity for them – growing an organic crop. Though extremely adept at growing chipping potatoes, Huffmans had never grown organic potatoes before, and though challenging and presenting a learning curve, they realized they had to get into those markets. So, with “lots of chicken manure and fancy compost” as Matt put it, they’re putting up an amazing crop of potatoes – organic or conventional. We were also shown another field of organic Waneta potatoes they were growing, and it looked as good as the Lamokas.

Matt Huffman and his son, Drew, standing in a field of organic chipping potatoes near Tulelake, CA and Malin, OR.
Matt Huffman and his son, Drew, dug up organic Lamoka chipping potatoes
Weston Walker, of Gold Dust and Walker Farms, and Ryan Burge, of Kettle Brand potato chips, inspecting organic Lamoka chipping potatoes while Matt and Drew Huffman watch.
Weston and Ryan Burge inspected Matt and Drew’s organic chipping potatoes
Matt and Drew Huffman digging up organic Waneta chipping potatoes in a field near Malin, OR and Tulelake, CA during Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 17th annual Open House Field Day.
Matt and Drew Huffman tag-teamed digging up organic Waneta chipping potatoes

For our fourth stop, we visited Rob Unruh’s field of Dakota Pearls. The Unruh’s are another long-time Basin farming family, and Rob shared with us the field we were looking at was one his grandfather homesteaded in 1937. Rob’s son and grandfather farm with him, making almost four generations of family farming together. Before growing for Walker Farms, Rob mentioned his family were commercial growers. However, when the fresh market went sideways, times got tough. “Farming is a great life,” he said. “Just a hard way to make a living.” Regardless of markets, Rob’s talent for growing chipping potatoes is evident. The Dakota Pearls (the seed arrived by rail from PD Sproule) were perfect examples of what we’re looking for in chipping potatoes.

Rob Unruh, fourth generation Klamath Basin farmer, digging up Dakota Pearl chipping potatoes in a field near Malin, Oregon.
Rob Unruh looked pleased with the Dakota Pearl chipping potatoes he dug up
Rob Unruh carrying a shovelful of Dakota Pearl chipping potatoes from a field near Malin, OR during Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 2017 Open House Field Day.
Rob found quite a shovelful of Dakota Pearls
Ryan Burge of Kettle Brand potato chips inspecting Rob Unruh's Dakota Pearl chipping potatoes in a field near Malin, Oregon during Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 2017 Open House Field Day.
Ryan couldn’t wait to get a look at Rob’s Dakota pearls

Our last stop on the field tour was just on the other side of Turkey Hill from our packing shed at Luke Robison’s field of 2126 chipping potatoes. Luke is a fourth generation farmer, and, if his youngest son goes into the family business, the boy will be the fifth generation. Like our other growers, finding good labor has become a challenge so Luke has what he referred to as a “family farm crew”. Despite the size of his crew, they’re more than capable of getting the chippers from the fields to storage. Speaking of potatoes, Bill mentioned the 2126s were some of the hardest to grow. Not only do they require more fertilizer, the potato plants send out runners across the rows, making it hard to grow good sized tubers. Despite the challenges of 2126s, Luke and his son have produced a great crop of chippers that will be perfect when they finally dig the field.

Potato farmer Luke Robison digging up 2126 chipping potatoes in a field outside of Malin, OR during Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 2017 Open House Field Day.
Luke Robison dug up samples of 2126 chipping potatoes
Malin potato farmer Luke Robison piling samples of 2126 chipping potatoes for Gold Dust's guests to examine during the 2017 Open House Field Day.
As Weston pointed out, with this variety “if you can’t beat ’em with size you beat ’em with quantity!”
Ryan Burge inspects 2126 chipping potatoes grown by Luke Robison in a field near Malin, Oregon.
Judging by this pile of chipping potatoes, Luke has quantity and quality in this field

At this point, you may have noticed something – while we usually focus more on our fields, this year we solely focused on our potato growers. And it fits with our new slogan. A few of the growers talked about the experience and advice Bill and John offered them with the varieties they decided to grow and how to grow them. We, on the other hand, have been able to count on having the expertise of elite growers helping us fill our contracts. In an industry where quality is everything, we can rely on them producing top-quality chipping potatoes for our customers while providing our growers with a contract for fair and reliable price for their potatoes. Just as Paul Sproule helped us, we’re now able to help other farms grow.

After the field tours, we headed to our campus for lunch and to check out the various varieties of chipping potatoes we’re able to supply our customers. Usually we have this part of the Open House Field Day inside the processing plant, but, with shipping season already underway, we had another change – we instead went to Cellar 1. Tables were set up for lunch, and our guests were able to see the progress of the potato varieties.

Guests for Gold Dust and Walker Farms' Open House Field Day parked their cars outside Cellar 1 for lunch and shed tours.
After the field tours, our guests met us at Cellar 1 on our Malin campus
Kettle Brand potato chips' Jeep parked on Gold Dust Potato Processors' Malin Campus during the 2017 Open House Field Day.
Anyone guess which customer this Jeep belongs to?
Sample of chipping potatoes grown by Walker Farms are laid on the floor of Cellar 1 on Gold Dust's Malin campus at the 2017 Open House Field Day.
Samples of chipping potato varieties were laid out on the floor for our guests to check out
Tricia Hill of Gold Dust and Walker Farms talking with head accountant Dianne Spires in Cellar 1 during the 17th annual Open House Field Day.
Tricia and accountant Dianne Spires talked numbers and spuds before lunch
Gold Dust and Walker Farms' guests enjoyed lunch in Cellar 1 during the 2017 Open House Field Day.
Lunch time!
Tricia Hill, Jeremiah McElligott,, Destiney Huffman and Lexi Crawford visiting during lunch at Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 2017 Open House Field Day.
Guests visited with Gold Dust and Walker Farms management during lunch

Another variation from years past is the fact the packing shed was up and running – which meant our guests could actually get a tour from plant manager Matt Thompson and see exactly how the chipping potatoes move through the plant. From spud truck to getting sacked and stacked at the end, Matt showed everyone how the processing plant works as well as a few of the improvements he made to the shed over the summer.

Gold Dust and Walker Farms' guests were taken on a tour of Gold Dust's processing plant near Malin, OR during the Open House Field Day.
Plant Manager Matt Thompson led our guests on a tour of the potato packing shed while it was running
Chance McAuliffe watching chipping potatoes being sorted by the Odenberg optical sorter during the 2017 Open House Field Day.
Seeing the optical sorter in action was one of the many benefits of the shed running potatoes
Kathy Poppe from Rusth, Spires & Associates watches potatoes being manually sorted during Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 17th Annual Open House Field Day.
Aside from the mechanical sorting, our guests also saw how much manual sorting and labor takes place in our potato packing shed

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Open House Field Day without our golf tournament and dinner. This year we held both events at Reames’ Country Club. Though the smoke from nearby forest fires threatened to force us to use a backup plan, afternoon winds cleared out the Klamath Basin and ensured we were able to hit the links. After the ceremonial shot of Crown Royal (seriously, they ought to sponsor this event), our guests headed out to the golf course for a shot gun start. And as usual, the competition was fierce!

Gold Dust and Walker Farms' Open House and Field Day guests at Reames' Country Club for golf and dinner.
As usual, our guests are some of the best looking most intelligent people around!

Once the teams putted their last hole, drinks and dinner was served at the club house. Awards were given to the top two teams as well as last place. So, who took home which honors?

The first place team for Gold Dust and Walker Farms' 17th Annual Open House Field Day Golf Scramble was Drew Huffman, Thomas Sitzer, Matt Thompson and Joel Strunk at Reames' Country Club in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
First Place: Drew Huffman, Thomas Sitzer, Matt Thompson and Joel Strunk
Second place team Billy Conrad, Marc Staunton, Weston Walker and Jeremiah McElligot for Gold Dust and Walker Brothers' Open House Field Day at Reames' Country Club golf course.
Second Place: Billy Conrad, Marc Staunton, Weston Walker and Jeremiah McElligot
Gold Dust and Walker Brothers' Open House Field Day Golf Scramble Last Place team of Suzie Frederickson, Tammie Staunton, Dianne Spires and Tricia Hill at Reames' Country Club.
Last Place: Suzie Frederickson, Tammie Staunton, Dianne Spires and Tricia Hill
Open House and Field Day longest drive for the women Destiney Huffman and Suzie Frederickson posing with Matt Thompson and Lexi Crawford at the 2017 Open House Field Day dinner at Reames' Country Club.
Ladies’ Longest Drivers Destiney Huffman and Suzie Frederickson
2017 Open House Field Day Men's Longest Drive winner Matt Huffman at Reames' Country Club.
Men’s Longest Drive: Matt Huffman
Gold Dust 2017 Open House Field Day Lady's KP winner Dianne Spires posing with Lexi Crawford at Reames' Country Club in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Ladies’ KP: Dianne Spires

Men’s longest drive: Jarod Marshall (somehow he avoided the camera!)

The Open House Field Day Dinner is also an opportunity for us to raise money for one of our favorite charities – Make-A-Wish. Katie Walker, Weston’s wife, showed a video of a Make-A-Wish recipient who spent a day with the Portland Trailblazers which moved many of the folks in the crowd to tears. On behalf of Make-A-Wish, Katie also presented Gold Dust and Pape’ Machinery with plaques for their generous donations over the years. As part of her presentation, Katie also shared the history of our fundraising for Make-A-Wish over the years.

Bart Crawford, Tricia Hill, Bill Walker, Weston Walker, Katie Walker, Lexi Crawford and Matt Thompson with plaques from Make-A-Wish recognizing the fundraising Gold Dust and Walker Farms has done.
Katie presented plaques from Make-A-Wish Oregon to recognize Gold Dust and Walker Farms’ contribution to fundraising

The first year Gold Dust used the Open House Field Day as a charitable event was 2013, and that year the crowd raised $1,900 which Gold Dust matched to bring the total to $3,800. Over the years, our guests have been more generous, raising thousands of dollars for Make-A-Wish. This year, however, not as many people were able to make the trip out for the Open House Field Day, but that didn’t keep those who were able to make it from breaking all of our records. By the time the pledging was done, $30,490 had been raised along with 135,000 airline miles! To put that in perspective, last year Gold Dust and our guests raised $21,814, which broke the previous year’s record of $18,381.

That kind of generosity is what helps not only our farm grow, but helps out people in our community. Each wish costs around $7,000 to grant. To put that in perspective, that is approximately four wishes we and our guests are able to grant – wishes for local kids like Krue Johnston, whom Jan and Kay Ratliff recently helped. We are constantly amazed and humbled by the charitable nature of the people and businesses we work with. Thank you to all who pledged.

Despite the smoke, we had a great time this year and hope all of our guests did too. We understand it takes a lot of planning to travel out here, but Tricia, Weston, Bill and John appreciate everyone who can make the trip out. A big thank you to everyone who was able to make it, and to the folks who weren’t able to attend we hope to see you next year!

Filed Under: chipping potatoes, farm, Gold Dust Potato Processors, Make-A-Wish Oregon, open house field day, Organic Potatoes, potato chips, potato customers, potato shed, potato shipping, sustainable farming, walker brothers

16th Annual Open House Field Day

August 22, 2016 By Gold Dust Farms 3 Comments

A Lamoka potato plant flower in a field near Newell, CA.
It’s Gold Dust Potato Processors’ 16th Annual Open House Field Day!

Every August for the last 16 years we have opened our doors and our fields to guests from not only all over the United States, but as with this year, all over the world. While things were a bit different this year from last, some things didn’t change – gratitude for our customers and partners for helping Gold Dust and Walker Brothers become the outstanding businesses they are.

On August 16th, the busy day started at 7:30 in the morning with a hearty breakfast at Mike and Wanda’s restaurant in Tulelake, California (just over the border from Gold Dust’s Malin-area campus). While our guests sipped coffee and enjoyed eggs, bacon and sausage, biscuits and gravy, and french toast, CEO Bill Walker welcomed the guests and introduced Lexi Crawford, who organized the day’s events.  After reminding everyone about Gold Dust’s support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Lexi introduced some of the folks who had traveled from far – Hyosang Park from Nong Shim (South Korea), Sunny Kang from IREH (South Korea), and Rob van Zadelhoff of RaboBank (the Netherlands via St. Louis, MO) as well as other important guests from much closer, such as Paul Sproule from North Dakota.

Following the introductions, Lexi then welcomed Rob van Zadelhoff to the front of the room. Mr. van Zadelhoff, CEO and President of RaboBank Agrifinance in St. Louis. With his roots in the Netherlands, Mr. van Zadelhoff talked to our audience about Brexit, the European markets and their effects on the States as well as the strength of the American agricultural market.  After he spoke, Tricia Hill introduced Dan Keppen from the Family Farm Alliance. Mr. Keppen has been involved in Klamath Basin water issues since 2001, and he updated the crowd with information on what’s happening on Capitol Hill as well as issues more specific to our locale.

Lexi Crawford of Gold Dust Potato Processors, welcomes guests at the 16th Annual Open House Field Day breakfast at Mike & Wanda's restaurant in Tulelake, CA.
Lexi started the day by welcoming guests from all over and outlining the days events
Rob van Zadelhoff, President and CEO of Rabo Agri Finance, speaks to Gold Dust Potatoes' guests at Mike & Wanda's in Tulelake, CA for the Open House Field Day breakfast.
Rob van Zadelhoff, President and CEO of Rabo Agri Finance spoke to our guests about the global issues concerning ag
Dan Keppen, Executive Director of the Family Farm Alliance, spoke to Gold Dust's guests at the breakfast for their Open House Field Day.
Dan Keppen of Family Farm Alliance spoke about the issues on Capitol Hill that will affect Oregon and California agriculture.

After breakfast, everyone jumped in their rigs and headed to the fields. Instead of focusing solely on Walker Brothers’ fields, this year the field portion of the Open House Field Day included visits to two chipping potato fields just outside of Tulelake farmed by MD Huffman Farms and another farmed by the Staunton family. Both fields featured Lamoka potatoes, a variety, as Bill explained, is great for shipping and storage as well as for frying. The samples brought in from both fields showcased beautiful chippers, and, if the weather holds, will be dug in 30 days.

Gold Dust Potatoes' guests gather at a potato field near Newell, CA grown by MD Huffman Farms.
The first field visited was a Lamoka chipping potato crop farmed by MD Huffman Farm
Matt Huffman, MD Huffman Farms, walks out of a potato field with samples of Lamoka chippers near Newell, CA.
Matt, those are some good looking chipping potatoes!
Gold Dust Potato Processors' guests inspect the Lamoka chipping potatoes MD Huffman Farms has grown near Newell, CA.
Gold Dust’s guests check out the spuds Matt Huffman brought in
A chipping potato field grown by Staunton Farms, just outside of Tulelake, CA.
Staunton Farms’ potato field just outside of Tulelake, California
Mark Staunton, of Staunton Farms, brings samples of Lamoka potatoes from the field near Tulelake, CA.
Mark, you also have some good-looking potatoes!
Paul Sproule discusses the merits of Lamoka potatoes to Gold Dust Potatoes' guests at potato field near Tulelake, CA.
The crowd listening to Paul Sproule discuss Lamoka potatoes

Following the fields visits, the group went to Gold Dust’s packing shed to see sample digs of all varieties, take a shed tour and see the latest piece of equipment from Mayo Mfg. As is tradition, in the shed each potato variety grown by Walker Brothers was laid on the floor in a triangle to show how each progressed throughout the growing season. On a table were samples of potatoes as well as how they fried up – including the famed Lamoka variety. Once the shed tour was complete and everyone was done checking out the Harriston Dirt Eliminator and Sizer, our guests hopped back into their cars and pickups to swing by a new farm Walker Brothers started farming on the way to Running Y.

Guests look at chipping potato samples at Gold Dust's packing shed near Malin, OR during the 16th Annual Open House Field Day.
Our guests got a chance to check out potato packing shed near Malin
Bill Walker and Alan Collette looking at chipping potato samples at Gold Dust's potato processing plant near Malin, OR.
Bill Walker talks about the potato varieties grown by Walker Brothers with Alan Collette
A sample of Lamoka potatoes and Lamoka potato chips on display at the Gold Dust's 16th Annual Open House Field Day.
And here’s how those famous Lamoka potatoes fry up
Guests look at samples of chiping potatoes laid out on the floor at Gold Dust's 16th Annual Open House Field Day.
The triangles of potatoes show how each variety grew during the season
Gold Dust's guests are taken on a tour of the Malin, Oregon potato packing plant during the shed tour at the 2016 Open House Field Day.
And it wouldn’t be a shed visit without a shed tour
Guests look at a 2016 Harriston Dirt Eliminator and Sizer at Gold Dust's Malin, Oregon campus.
Yes – that’s a new toy for the farm!

At the Running Y, Bill and John along with agronomist Sachin Rawat showed off an organic chipping potato field. John discussed some of the differences in growing organic potatoes – including accepting weeds as a part of life – and remedies for other pests. Bill also fielded questions about the long-term market prospects of organic potatoes, which, looking at the current focus on organic crops in the marketplace, appears to be something people will be looking for many years to come.

A collection of cars and pickups at the Running Y Ranch to see an organic potato field operated by Walker Brothers farm.
Yes, that is a long line of cars
Bob Gasser and John Walker bring organic chipping potatoes from a field at the Running Y for Gold Dust's guests to inspect during the 16th Annual Open House Field Day.
Bob Gasser, Basin Fertilizer, and John bring in a sample of organic potatoes for chipping
John Walker, Sachin Rawat and Bill Walker talk about their experience growing organic chipping potatoes on the Running Y Ranch outside of Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Sachin Rawat, John and Bill discuss the learning curve on growing organic potatoes
A photo of an organic corn field grown by Walker Brothers on the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, OR.
Yep – that’s an organic corn field!
Gold Dust Potato Processors' guests stop and look at the organic corn field they're growing on the Running Y Ranch.
The crowd checks out the organic corn on the way to the Running Y headquarters
A photo of an organic corn field grown by Walker Brothers on the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
In the background, you can see the headquarters behind the organic corn

After checking out an organic corn field being grown for silage for a local dairy, our guests enjoyed sandwiches in the shade of the trees at the Running Y Headquarters while a reporter from the Herald and News, Kevin Hume, interviewed Gold Dust’s partners and knowledgeable guests such as Duane “Sarge” Preston and Paul Sproule about the finer points of potato farming for his article “New potato variety highlight of field tour“.

Tricia Hill from Gold Dust and Destiny Huffman of MD Huffman Farms visit during the lunch break at the 16th Annual Open House Field Day.
Tricia Hill and Destiny Huffman talking shop during lunch at the Running Y
Gold Dust Potatoes' guests line up for lunch during the Open House Field Day at Gold Dust's Running Y Ranch headquarters near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Lunch is served!
Sample potatoes on a table at Gold Dust's Running Y Ranch headquarters during the 16th Annual Open House Field Day.
A little sun and a lot of shade make the Running Y headquarters a great place for lunch

It wouldn’t be an Open House Field Day without the golf scramble, and this year was no different. However, instead of hosting it the Running Y Resort as in the past, this year the golf tournament was held at Reame’s Golf & Country Club just outside of Klamath Falls. With a group photo and shots of Crown, our guests made their way to the course for a shotgun start to the tournament. Thirteen teams made up the field this year, and judging from the stories and the scores, it appeared everyone had a wonderful time.

As our guests made their way from the golf course to Reames’ ballroom, dinner was served. With the option of steak and chicken as well as an open bar, the conversation was lively. And of course, this was when we had to give out the awards for the golf tournament!

First Place Team: John Walker, Mike Henard, Duane “Sarge” Preston and Jared Marshall

Second Place Team: Weston Walker, Aaron Karp, Greg Addington and Charles McElligott

Last Place Team: Tricia Hill, Dianne Spires, Tammie Staunton and Suzi Frederickson

Women’s Longest Drive: Sunny Kang

Men’s Longest Drive: Matt Thompsom

Women’s KP: Dianne Spires

Men’s KP: Matt Huffman

Sunny Kang won the Women's Longest Drive at the Gold Dust Potatoes 16th Annual Open House Field Day golf scramble.
Women’s Longest Drive: Sunny Kang
Matt Thompson won men's longest drive at Gold Dust Potatoes' 16th Annual Open House Field Day Golf Tournament.
Men’s Longest Drive: Matt Thompson
Dianne Spires won Women's KP at Gold Dust Potatoes' 16 Annual Open House Field Day Golf Tournament.
Women’s KP: Dianne Spires
Matt Huffman won the Men's KP at the Gold Dust Open House Field Day Golf Tournament.
Men’s KP: Matt Huffman
Tricia Hill, Suzy Frederickson, Dianne Spires & Tammie Staunton's team was last place at the 2016 Gold Dust Open House Field Day Golf Tournament.
Last Place Team: Tricia Hill, Suzy Frederickson, Dianne Spires & Tammie Staunton
Charles McElligott, Greg Addington, Weston Walker & Aaron Karp's team was second place at Gold Dust's 2016 Open House Field Day Golf Tournament.
Second Place Team: Charles McElligott, Greg Addington, Weston Walker & Aaron Karp
Duane "Sarge" Preston, Mike Henard, John Walker & Jared Marshall took home first place at the 16th Annual Gold Dust Open House Field Day Golf Tournament.
First Place Team: Duane “Sarge” Preston, Mike Henard, John Walker & Jared Marshall

Another tradition that has been taking place since 2013 was the fundraising held for Make-A-Wish. If you’ve visited this blog before, then you’re likely aware of Jan Walker and Katie Walker’s involvement in the local Make-A-Wish. For the last few years, there’s been a “Fireball Hole” dedicated to donations for Make-A-Wish, and at dinner Katie gives a presentation about some of the wishes that had been granted. Over the years our guests have generously opened their wallets and helped local kids get their wishes granted.

Katie Walker, Weston's wife, talks to Gold Dust's guests about Make-A-Wish at Reames Golf and Country Club.
Katie told Gold Dust’s guests about the good their past generosity has done for local Make-A-Wish kids
At the 2016 Open House Field Day dinner, Pape' Machinery was recognized by the Make-A-Wish Foundation for their generosity.
Make-A-Wish recognized the generosity of Pape’ Machinery. Well done, fellas!
Gold Dust Potatoes' guests pledged over $20,000 at the 16th Annual Open House Field Day dinner held at Reames Golf and Country Club near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
All of those raised hands helped push this year’s giving to Make-A-Wish to over $20,000. Well done, folks!

Back in 2013, we were thrilled that our guests along with Gold Dust raised $3,800.  2014 was even more exciting with $10,060 raised for area kids.  And we thought last year was even more incredible – $18,381 was raised between the Fireball Hole and the dinner presentation.  However, this year we broke another fundraising record for Make-A-Wish.  Between our guests and Gold Dust, $21,814 was pledged along with 150,000 airline miles!  We cannot thank our guests enough for their generosity in helping an organization that has become very important to Gold Dust.

Mike Carpenter, Lexi Crawford, Destiny Huffman, Drew Huffman, Matt Thompson, Sachin Rawat and Chance McAuliffe enjoy dinner at Reames Golf and Country Club during Gold Dust's 2016 Open House Field Day.
Smile! You too, Mike Carpenter!
Duane "Sarge" Preston thanking Bill Walker and John Walker for the memories at the 2016 Open House Field Day dinner.
Sarge, please say you’re coming back next year!
Bill Walker and John Walker thank their guests for attending Gold Dust Potatoes' 2016 Open House Field Day.
Bill and John saying thank you to our guests
Gold Dust's guests visit after dinner at the 2016 Open House Field Day.
A little after-dinner mingling at Reames

While the evening was filled with laughter and happy conversation, one chapter came to a close. Duane “Sarge” Preston, mentor to the farm on all things potato, announced this was his last trip for the Open House Field Day. For nearly 20 years, Sarge has helped John, Weston and the farm crews get a better understanding of what it takes to grow a great potato. From looking at plants to getting rid of pests, Sarge and John spent a lot of time out in the fields, and through those years he developed friendships with the Walker family. We will all miss his visits, advice and warm personality at our annual event. We do hope he makes it west again for a few more rounds of Crown and laughs!

Bill Walker, Sarge Preston, Paul Sproule and John Walker at the Reames Golf and Country Club for Gold Dust Potatoes' 2016 Open House Field Day.
Sarge, thank you for everything!

And as Sarge says, “Enjoy a potato product every day!”

Gold Dust Potato Processors' guests gather at Reames Golf & Country Club in Klamath Falls for the 16th annual Open House Field Day golf tournament.
Thank you to everyone who made our 2016 Open House Field Day memorable!

We’d like to thank everyone who was able to make it to our annual Open House Field Day. It’s a long ways to travel for field tours and golf, but to all who make it out, thank you not only for coming, but for helping Walker Brothers and Gold Dust continue to grow and thrive.

Filed Under: farm, Gold Dust Potato Processors, Make-A-Wish Oregon, open house field day, Organic Potatoes, potato customers, potato shed, Running Y Ranch, walker brothers

15th Annual Open House Field Day

September 8, 2015 By Gold Dust Farms 1 Comment

A sign at the Running Y Lodge welcomes Gold Dust Potato Processors and their guests for the 15th Annual Open House Field Day and Golf Scramble.
We had a great time at Gold Dust’s 15th Annual Open House Field Day and Golf Scramble!

Yes, Gold Dust did hold it’s annual Open House Field Day this year!

Despite an on-going drought and smoke being blown into the Basin from fires in California and from the other side of the hill near Grants Pass, Gold Dust’s 15th Annual Open House Field Day went off without a hitch.

This year the events kicked off on August 10th with dinner held at Bill and Jan’s home overlooking the Malin area.  Ken Hibbard, of RaboBank, treated their guests to an appetizer of fresh, grilled ahi along with a variety of cevechi, chips and other snacks provided by Jan to hold everyone’s appetites until Walker Brothers’ very own Bart Crawford got the steak fingers going.  The dinner before the Open House Field Day has become a low-key way to welcome our guests, and is as much a part of the tradition as shots of Crown on the golf course.

Ken Hibbard and Jan Walker at the Walker House in Malin, Oregon, before the 2015 Open House Field Day.
Thanks for the tasty treats, Ken and Jan!
Guests Ed Staunton and Mike Curoe visiting at Bill and Jan Walker's home the night before the 15th Annual Gold Dust Open House Field Day.
Guests visited and enjoyed a drinks at the Wecome Dinner at Bill and Jan’s house.
Weston Walker entertains Destiney and Drew Huffman and Aaron Karp at the Welcome Dinner before the Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day.
We don’t know what Weston said, but it must have been good!

The next morning, Walker Brothers’ and Gold Dust’s guests were treated to breakfast at Mike & Wanda’s in Tulelake, California.  Greg Addington, Klamath Water Users Association, updated the group about the Klamath Basin’s water situation and how the drought is affecting area farmers.  Following Greg was Paul Sproule, who talked about agriculture, food safety and how much ag ground is getting swallowed up by urbanization.  While everyone enjoyed breakfast, Katie Walker, gave a presentation about the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  As you recall, last year Gold Dust and our guests raised $9,000 and 150,000 airline miles.  That granted quite a few wishes!

After breakfast was over, our guests made their way to our Malin potato packing shed where they could investigate the chipping potatoes we had on display for the field trials as well as tour the shed.  Just outside the shed, John Faus of HoneyComb put on a demonstration with one of the lastest AgDrone systems.  As the drone flew the alfalfa field, our guests could visit with Walker Brothers’ and Gold Dust’s managers while grabbing a new ball cap with our new logo for Gold Dust Organics.

Tricia Hill of Gold Dust and Walker Brothers talking business with Kira Bousquet during the packing shed tour at the 15th Annual Open House Field Day.
Tricia and Kira Bousquet discussing how the processing plant operates.
Gold Dust's chipping potato varieties on display in their packing shed during the 2015 Open House Field Day.
Those are some nice spuds!
Caleb Sundahl and Paul Sproule discussing potatoes at Gold Dust's Malin packing shed during the 2015 Open House Field Day.
Caleb and Paul talking potatoes.
John Walker and Matt Huffman talking in Gold Dust's packing shed during the 2015 Open House Field Day shed tour.
John and Matt checking out how well the chipping potatoes are frying up.
Weston Walker talking to guests from Nong Shim during the 2015 Open House Field Day.
There’s always time to talk business!
John Faus of Honeycomb Corp. launching a drone outside of Malin, Oregon, during Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day. Photo by Chelsea Shearer.
John Faus of Honeycomb gave our group a drone demonstration.
Paul Sproule watches a drone make it's rounds over Gold Dust's alfalfa field during the 15th Annual Open House Field Day.
Can you still see it, Paul?
Honeycomb's drone lands in an alfalfa field during Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day.
Incoming!

Then we were off to our farm at the Running Y Ranch for field tours.  Though the drought has affected many farms throughout the Klamath Basin, we’ve been fortunate enough to secure most of the Running Y and it’s rich, dark soil.  Between the soil, the sun, the favorable rain storms and good irrigation, the spuds John, Caleb and Sachin pulled from the ground were excellent examples of the quality of potato we’re able to grow.  Following the field tours, everybody stopped for lunch at the Running Y Ranch headquarters.

Grower Matt Huffman and John Walker dig up sample potatoes for Gold Dust's guests during the 2015 Open House Field Day farm tour. Photo by Chelsea Shearer.
Nice chippers, Matt and John!
Gold Dust's guests gather in a field at the Running Y Ranch to see chipping potatoes during the 15th Annual Open House Field Day.
Gold Dust’s guests gather to check out a field during the farm tour.
John Walker cuts open a chipping potato for Gold Dust's guests during the 2015 Open House Field Day farm tour.
John, that DOES look nice!
Gold Dust and Walker Brothers' agronomist Sachin Rawat brings more chipping potatoes for guests to see during the 2015 Open House Field Day farm tour.
Agronomist Sachin Rawat brings more samples to our guests.
Bill Walker, Gold Dust's CEO, talking to guests in a potato field on the Running Y Ranch during the 15th Annual Open House Field Day.
Bill talking to our guests about the soil quality on the Running Y Ranch.
Gold Dust's guests were treated to a sack lunch at the Running Y Ranch Headquarters during the 2015 Open House Field Day.
Lunch time at the Running Y Ranch Headquarters.
Aaron Karp of In-N-Out Burger and Hyosang Park of Nong Shim enjoying lunch at the Running Y Ranch during the 2015 Open House Field Day.
These gentlemen look happy!
Bill Walker, Tricia (Walker) Hill, Katie Walker and Lexi Crawford pose with a bag of Lay's potato chips at the Running Y Ranch headquarters.
Nice product placement, Tricia!

Of course it wouldn’t be a proper Open House Field Day without a round of golf!  Since we were already in that neck of the woods, everybody headed to the Running Y Resort to see which team could best the others in our annual golf scramble.  In the spirit of last year’s giving, one hole was dedicated for fundraising efforts to benefit Make-A-Wish.  Golfers could elect to buy a shot of Fireball, or, if they landed on the green, they’d get shot for free!

A bottle of Crown Royal nestled in a pile of chipping potatoes at Gold Dust's 15th Annual Open House Field Day Golf Scramble at the Running Y Lodge.
Methinks Crown Royal should pay us for advertising . . . .
Lexi Crawford, Brenda Walker, Destiney Huffman and Kathy Poppe enjoy a shot of Fireball on the Make-A-Wish hole during the 2015 Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
These ladies know how to golf! No, seriously.
Billy Conrad, Vern Frederickson and Phil Browning at the Running Y Lodge golf course during Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Easy there, Phil!

Toward 6 pm that evening, Gold Dust’s guests began to trickle in from the green where they were treated to dinner and drinks.  Bill and John thanked everybody who could make it, as well as recognized Lexi Crawford for her efforts in putting the day together.  Weston took the opportunity of having everyone gathered to make another pitch for Make-A-Wish, and again, our guests were generous.  Then Tricia and Lexi stepped up for the most anticipated part of the evening – to find out which team won and who took home the trophies!

Gold Dust's guests enjoying dinner at the Ranch House at the Running Y Resort after the Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Everyone having a nice time visiting during dinner.
Matt Thompson won the Longest Drive award during Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Matt Thompson took home the honors for Men’s Long Drive.
Dianne Spires won Women's Long Drive and Jan Walker won Women's KP at Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Dianne Spires won Women’s Long Drive while Jan Walker won Women’s KP.
Charlie McElligott, winner of Men's KP, poses with Megan Finney who came closer at Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Charlie McElligott took home Men’s KP, though Megan Finney came closer!
Bill Schmeck, Bill Walker, Charlie McElligott and Ryan Pape won first place at Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Here’s our first place team – Bill Schmeck, Bill Walker, Charlie McElligott and Ryan Pape!
Lexi Crawford and Brenda Walker toast their second place award at Gold Dust's 2015 Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Lexi Crawford and Brenda Walker’s team took second!
Dianne Spires, Suzi Frederickson and Jan Walker ended up in last place at Gold Dust's 15th Annual Open House Field Day Golf Scramble.
Still don’t see how Dianne Spires, Suzi Frederickson and Jan Walker came in last!
Danny Lopez, John Walker and Bart Crawford gather for a group photo at Gold Dust's Open House Field Day dinner.
You fellas look like you’re having a good time!

Every year, we have a great time showing potato packing shed and our fields to our customers and the partners who have helped us become the companies we have.  We hope everyone who was able to attend had a good time, and thank you to everybody who traveled from far and near to join us.  We look forward to seeing you next year!

Guests to Gold Dust Potato Processors' 15th annual Open House Field Day gather for a group photo at the Running Y Resort.
Thank you to everybody who made Gold Dust’s 15th Annual Open House Field Day another memorable experience! We hope to see you next year!

Filed Under: Gold Dust Potato Processors, Make-A-Wish Oregon, open house field day, Organic Potatoes, potato customers

Potato Harvest Ends

October 15, 2014 By Gold Dust Farms 1 Comment

Potato trucks and tractor are lined up as a tractor pulling a potato bulker fills a spud truck in the background at the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
What a gorgeous day for harvesting potatoes!

Just a little over a month ago, we announced the “official” beginning of the 2014 potato harvest.  Now, just a little over a month later, we’re announcing it’s officially over.  And what a spud harvest it has been!

As we say every year, every harvest brings it’s own challenges and this one is no different.  With our grain, hay and potato fields all over the Klamath Basin, it’s a dance of moving equipment and trucks over the same highways and roads the public uses.  Not to mention you’re always keeping an eye warily on the weather to see when, and some days if, the crews will get to dig.

This year, for the most part, the weather was beautiful for digging potatoes.  With very little precipitation, the warm, sunny days made you remember why Klamath Falls is called the Sunshine City of Oregon.  The scant bit of rain we did receive barely slowed down potato harvest and helped knock the dust out of the air (not to mention perk up the hay crops all over the Basin!).

While we’ve built a reputation for providing high quality chipping potatoes, this year we also had a few fields planted with organic potatoes and seed potatoes.  The organic red and fingerling potatoes turned out beautifully, just like our chipping potatoes did.  The last field we dug was seed potatoes, and while the constant sterilization of equipment made the last days of harvest drag on, Monday, October 13 saw it all come to an end.  And yes, the potato seed looks great too!

To put our harvest season into perspective, from August through October, we were cutting around 5,000 acres of grain and approximately 1,600 acres of 4th cutting alfalfa hay while digging about 2,300 acres of potatoes.  Some days all three crops were being harvested though towards the end we were only digging potatoes.  But as you can see, it takes a large, dedicated crew to make sure our crops are cut, dug and put into storage.

The photos below are from the last chipping potato field we harvested on October 9th, known around Gold Dust and Walker Brothers as “The Elk Field” on the Running Y.  How’d it get that name?  Earlier in the year, you could see where the elk were coming down from the trees on the hillside to eat a few spuds, wallow in the tilled up dirt and make trails through the field to neighboring hay and grain fields.  Who says wildlife doesn’t like farming?

 

The "Elk Field" on the Running Y Ranch before a day of digging chipping potatoes begins.
Everything looks calm before the day’s spud harvest begins
Two spud trucks drive to the Elk Field to join the day's potato harvest on the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, OR.
A few potato trucks are rushing in to join the fray
Walker Brothers' potato trucks park while waiting for potato harvest to begin on the Running Y Ranch.
It takes a lot of spud trucks to keep three potato bulkers going!
Three potato bulkers waitin in a chipping potato field at the Running Y Ranch.
Any time now, they’ll start digging potatoes
The remains of elk tracks in a chipping potato field on the Running Y Ranch.
Can you make out the elk tracks? Hence the name the “Elk Field”
Mark Smith and Bart Crawford checking the temperature of chipping potatoes before allowing the potato harvesters to start digging.
Before they can start digging, Mark and Bart check the temperature of 30 chipping potatoes
A potato bulker digging potatoes in the Elk Field on the Running Y Ranch.
Let the day’s digging commence!
A potato truck joins a bulker and 10-wheeler in a chipping potato field on the Running Y Ranch.
Another potato truck jumps in line to join the harvest
A potato harvester fills a potato bulk bed with chipping potatoes.
That spud truck is almost full!
A spud truck leaves a chipping potato field with its first load of the day.
There’s the first load from this field for the day
A potato truck drives a dirt road along the edge of a potato field on the Running Y Ranch.
This could almost be a scene from the Dukes of Hazzard!
Doug Lewis tarps a loaded potato truck before it leaves the Running Y Ranch.
Before heading to Malin, Doug tarps the load of chipping potatoes
A potato truck has its load of chipping potatoes unloaded into a storage cellar on Gold Dust Potatoes' Malin, OR campus.
Some of the loads are for storage . . .
A spud truck having its load of chipping potatoes offloaded into another truck for shipping to Gold Dust's customers.
. . . And some are for shipping to our customers
A potato truck is unloaded while another is filled with chipping potatoes at Gold Dust Potato Processors in Malin, Oregon.
Fill up that truck!
A spud truck filled with chipping potatoes is weighed at Gold Dust Potato Processors in Malin, Oregon.
Once filled, the truck’s load of chipping potatoes is weighed
A spud truck backs into Gold Dust's packing shed to unload its chipping potatoes for shipping.
The spud truck backs in to unload the chipping potatoes for shipping
Potato trucks follow harvesters in a field on the Running Y Ranch in the Klamath Basin.
And thus ends another chipping potato harvest

Before we wrap up this post, John, Bill, Weston and Tricia would like to thank everyone who worked with us through harvest. It’s takes a lot of people to not only get the crops into storage, but to keep the crews moving, the spuds going to customers and everyone getting paid.  Whether you work in the office, on the packing shed floor, out in the fields, on the storage shed lines, in the spud trucks, in the potato bulkers or are the managers that make it happen, thank you very much.  It’s been another successful harvest, and we know we can’t do it without having the best crews in the Klamath Basin.  Thank you.

Filed Under: chipping potatoes, farm, Gold Dust Potato Processors, Organic Potatoes, potato harvest, Running Y Ranch, walker brothers

It’s Harvest Time!

September 18, 2014 By Gold Dust Farms 3 Comments

Chipping potatoes being unloaded and going into a storage shed at Gold Dust Potatoes' Malin, Oregon facility.
It’s Harvest Time!

Summer is over.  While the roads fill with school buses, around the Klamath Basin they also fill with farm equipment.  The school yards fill with kids at recess while the fields fill with farm crews, swathers, bailers, combines and bulkers.  The warm days, green leaves clinging to the trees and calendar might say we’re all still in summer.  However, if you ask any kid what time of year it is, they’ll likely reply it’s fall.  And if a farmer doesn’t say it’s autumn, they’ll tell you it’s harvest time!

Walker Brothers started harvesting grain in the beginning of August.  Despite the smoky skies all summer long and the drought, the yields have been good.  The only real obstacle to wrapping up grain cutting has been waiting for a few fields to finish ripening.  So far our crews have been doing an excellent job of getting the grain cut and into storage, making it as streamlined a process as possible.

An organic wheat field on the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, OR, needs to finish ripening.
A few test cuts have been done on this organic wheat field
Two combines harvest wheat in a field at the Running Y Ranch outside of Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Ohhhh, the Walker Brothers Claas Lexion is pulling ahead!
Walker Brothers' Claas Lexion 750 cutting a wheat field at the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Gotta’ love seeing a combine at work!
A grain harvester pours wheat into a grain cart on the Running Y Ranch.
Our combine filling one of our grain carts to the brim with wheat
A grain cart loads wheat into grain trucks on the Running Y Ranch, outside of Klamath Falls, Oregon.
And in turn, our grain carts fills our grain trucks!
An un-cut wheat field on the Running Y Ranch in Southern Oregon.
Next!

On Monday of last week (September 8th), as grain harvest worked nearer towards  ending, the first official day of potato harvest began.  Due to the nature of chipping potatoes, we often have some of the first potato bulkers in the field.  This year, along with the chippers, we’re also harvesting some beautiful organic table potatoes.  Again, despite the drought, our spuds are looking pretty good so far and with a week under our belt things are going smoothly in the field and at our storage sheds!  And as of the publishing of this post, we’re already a third of the way done.

An open row of chipping potatoes waiting to be harvested on the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge lease lands.
Mmmm . . . chipping potatoes
A potato bulker harvests chipping potatoes and then loads them into a potato truck on the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge near Tulelake, CA.
And that’s how you harvest chipping potatoes!
The Peninsula stands tall in the background while Walker Brothers harvest chipping potatoes near Tulelake, California.
The Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge lease lands are definitely a scenic place to grow potatoes
A potato trucks kicks up dust on a dirt road on the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge near the Oregon-California border.
Go Spuds Go!
Chipping potatoes from the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge leases are unloaded into a potato cellar at Gold Dust Potatoes, Malin, OR.
From field to storage
A photo showing a spud truck being unloaded and the equipment it takes to get the chipping potatoes into storage.
Another potato cellar is being filled with chippers from another field
Chipping potatoes are being sorted at Gold Dust Potatoes' Malin, OR, storage facility.
After being unloaded, the chipping potatoes are sorted
Chipping potatoes going into a storage cellar at Gold Dust Potato Processors' Malin, Oregon campus.
We won’t see these chipping potatoes again until they’re shipped

As if we didn’t have enough going on, if you listen closely, you can hear our potato processing plant running.  Semis with refrigerated trailers are idling outside, waiting for the crews to get potatoes loaded.  While it’s not running at full tilt just yet, the number of loads being shipped and the number of hours our shed crew will only increase from here on out.  And if you ask the office staff, one look at payroll will tell you we’re busy!

A semi-truck with a refrigerated trailer waits to be filled at Gold Dust Potato Processors' packing shed.
It looks fairly calm outside our packing shed . . .
Chipping potatoes being unloaded from a potato truck into Gold Dust Potato Processors' packing shed in Malin, OR.
Field fresh chipping potatoes getting ready for shipping
Four women manually sort chipping potatoes in Gold Dust Potato Processors' Malin, Oregon packing shed.
After the Odenberg sorter, our ladies give the chipping potatoes a manual inspection
An employee pulls potatoes before they're sacked at Gold Dust Potato Processors in Malin, Oregon.
One last chance to grab any spuds our customers don’t want
Chipping potatoes are piled into a large tote before being loaded into a truck at Gold Dust's potato packing shed.
Now THAT is a big sack of spuds!
An employee loads chipping potatoes into a refrigerated trailer in Malin, Oregon.
As you can see, there’s a lot of chipping potatoes in that reefer

Did we forget to mention we’re getting our fourth cutting of alfalfa wrapped up as well as get our straw put away?

A hay squeeze and truck move wheat straw bails on the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
You gotta’ move the straw before you can haul it
A fourth cutting of alfalfa hay waits to be cut and bailed in a hay field near Malin, OR.
That’s a good-lookin’ fourth cutting of alfalfa

Even though harvest is one of our busiest times of year, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a little time for fun.  This year at the Tulelake Butte Valley Fair, some of our employees competed in the Hay Squeeze driving contest and the demolition derby.  Operating our trademark white with a red stripe squeeze was Toby Turner.  Though Toby mostly handles big bales, he did an excellent job managing the small bales and managed to earn 7th place.  In the demolition derby, the white and red theme was carried on to a beat up Lincoln that our farm mechanics, Don Sconce, Mark Smith and Tristen Wilson put together.  Don thrashed around the infield in the white and red beast, taking home 4th place.  Well done, gentlemen!

 

Hay squeezes from Klamath Basin farms are lined up for the hay squeeze competition for the 2014 Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair.
The competition is looking stiff
Toby Turner, Walker Brothers farm employee, is talking with a competitor at the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair hay squeeze competition.
Toby is chatting up the competition
Toby Turner moves a unit of hay at the 2014 Tulelake Butte Valley Fair hay squeeze competition.
Go Toby Go!
Gold Dust Potato Processors and Walker Brothers farm sponsored a car in the 2014 Tulelake Butte Valley Fair demolition derby.
Ain’t that derby car a beauty?
Don Sconce sits in the driver's seat of a demolition derby car before the 2014 Tulelake Butte Valley Fair.
There’s Don’s game face
Tristen Wilson, TJ Chavez, John Walker, Emma Chavez, Don Sconce and Mark Smith pose with the Gold Dust demolition derby car at the 2014 Tulelake Butte Valley Fair.
Here’s Team Gold Dust! What a good lookin’ crew
Don Sconce drives the #19 derby car into the arena at the 2014 Tulelake Butte Valley Fair demolition derby.
A warrior enters the arena
A photo of Gold Dust car after the 2014 Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair demolition derby.
And this is what 4th place looks like. Good job, Don, Mark and Tristen!

As we’ve said in past posts about potato harvest, every year is a different adventure and this year will be another.  With any luck, it will end as smoothly as it’s started and everyone will finish safely and sanely.  Good luck to our crews in the fields, in the sheds  and in the offices – and thank you for your hard work and dedication during one of our busiest times of year!

And a special thank you to Katie Walker and Lexi Crawford for the additional photos of the Tulelake Fair!  Thanks, ladies!

Filed Under: chipping potatoes, farm, Gold Dust Potato Processors, grain, Organic Potatoes, potato harvest, potato shipping, Running Y Ranch, walker brothers, wheat

Organic Potatoes? Yeah, We Grow ‘Em

July 31, 2013 By Gold Dust Farms Leave a Comment

 

A field of organic potatoes growing on the Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls, OR.
Check out the purple blossoms on our organic potatoes!

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you’ve probably noticed the organic produce section has steadily been increasing its territory.  Consumers are becoming more concerned about what they eat, and more and more they’re dropping organic items in their grocery carts.  As farmers, we’ve noticed this trend for years, hence adding organic hay and grain fields to our crop portfolios.  However, we’ve never tried our hand at organic potatoes.

Until now.

This year we planted our first organic potato fields.  If you’ve checked out our site or read our blog, you know that we’ve been growing organic grain and alfalfa for some time now.  It takes years of planning to get fields ready for organic crops, making it an investment in time as much as it is money.  While we’ve had success with our organic crops, we’ve never tried our hand at organic potatoes.  But this year, down on the Running Y, we’ve planted two different organic potato crops – one red (Modoc) and one yellow (Yukon Gold).  You may have noticed something; neither of those varieties are chipping potatoes.

Why not organic chipping potatoes?  One reason is the current marketplace isn’t asking for them.  Most organic potato chips use non-chipping varieties, such as Russets.  With little want for organic chipping potatoes, and chipping potatoes being rather delicate, at this time we’re not growing any.  But you can bet if we have successful organic potato crops this year, you may find more of our potatoes in the organic section of grocery stores and in your favorite restaurants in coming years!

 

Filed Under: farm, Gold Dust Potato Processors, Organic Potatoes, Running Y Ranch, sustainable farming, walker brothers

From Our Farm Blog

  • 2021 Employee Picnic & BBQ
  • Here You Go – Weston’s Organic Potato Chips!
  • We Need Some Elves!
  • Looking for a job?
  • Klamath Ag Leaders Meet with Secretary Bernhardt and Commissioner Burman

We’re Hiring!

Looking for a job? Check out our current Employment Opportunities!

Our farm keeps growing – and it’s planting season – which means we have a lot of openings. From jobs on our farm to office positions in Malin, we’re looking for dedicated, diligent folks to join our team.

If you’re a truck driver with a CDL, be sure to check out our updated compensation package!

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