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Gold Dust At The Mazama Career Fair

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Students from around the Klamath Basin filled Valhalla Court at Mazama High School for the 2017 Mazam College and Career Fair held in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
About 1,100 high school students from across the Klamath Basin attended the Mazama College and Career Fair on Wednesday, April 12.

One of the challenges every small rural community in America faces is the loss of great talent to cities and areas with more opportunities. The Klamath Basin is no different. Being located in a place that’s as beautiful as our little corner of Southern Oregon and Northern California isn’t enough to keep young people interested in staying if there aren’t any opportunities. A career fair is the perfect opportunity to reach out to our community’s young people to show them the possibilities that are available in their backyard.

As you read in our blog post from last week about spring farming, two of our top hands, Lexi Crawford and Toby Turner, were at the first annual Mazama College and Career day that took place on April 12th. Around 1,100 students from Mazama, Henley, Bonanza, Lost River, Falcon Heights Academy, Great Basin Home School, Klamath Union and Brixner Junior High showed up to Valhalla Court to see the various options available to them after High School. From schools such as Klamath Community College, Oregon Institute of Technology and Northwest College of Cosmetology to  businesses such as Diamond Home Improvement, Pacific Crest Credit Union and of course, Gold Dust and Walker Farms, there were plenty of options for everyone to explore and consider.

Lexi Crawford and Toby Turner representing Gold Dust and Walker Brothers at the Mazama Career Fair in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Lexi Crawford and Toby Turner at the Mazama High School Career Fair looking for some fresh recruits

Our booth was located by the front door, which posed a challenge as students made their way into Mazama’s gym to check out the other booths while bypassing Gold Dust’s. Thanks to Lexi’s quick thinking, she and Toby were able to wrangle students with something every teenager desires – food. Not only was providing chips from Kettle and Lay a great way to get the kids’ attention, it also provided a conversation starter about where our potatoes go. We also shared a booth with the Klamath Water User’s Association (KWUA), and with Chelsea Shearer’s help, our team was able to give the students a better idea of the opportunities available in local ag.

Snack chips are laid out on top of an agricultural drone at Gold Dust Potato Processors' booth at the 2017 Mazama College & Career Fair.
A sure fire way into students’ hearts, er, bellies and minds – a drone and potato chips!

KWUA was also handing out information for an intern program they have available this year. Called Generation h2.o, according to KWUA’s flier, they’re looking for “8 students from around the Basin to participate in a 5 week program complete with tours, presentations and actual work experience.” Not only will Generation h2.o give students a great education on water policy and hands-on experience, it also fulfills senior project requirements. If you’re a student interested in this program or know a Basin student in the class of 2018 that would be interested, please check out KWUA’s site for more information about the requirements and download an application. The deadline to apply is May 26th – so do so quickly!

Lexi and Toby had a good time at Mazama’s College and Career Day. It was a great experience to show local high school students how many opportunities our community has available in Southern Oregon, as well as hopefully see some of these kids working in our offices, shed or fields. For Toby, it also offered a chance to go back to his old stomping grounds as a Mazama Viking as well as meet a current Viking that was born the year he graduated!

Gold Dust and Walker Brothers employee Toby Turner standing in Mazama High School for the 2017 Mazama College & Career Fair.
This young man was born the year Toby graduated from Mazama High School – 2001!

Thank again to Mazama High School for putting the event on!

Spring Is . . . Here?

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A shot of Gold Dust's potato cellars with Turkey Hill in the background.
Yes, that’s snow on the hillside

April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but here in the Klamath Basin, those showers this April have been snow showers. Though spring has officially sprung, we still have snow in our forecast, and this morning a light, white layer of the stuff coated the Basin floor and fields as well as the surrounding hills. Despite the snow and the moisture (which we’re thankful for!), it’s time to get farming underway. However, the wet weather doesn’t make it easy to get out in the fields. If you’re perused past blog posts, spring is the season of sunk equipment, stuck tractors and the ground pretty much swallowing anything that passes over it. With the nice, white winter we had followed by a nice, wet spring, you can imagine our farm crews aren’t eager to start sacrificing equipment to the dirt gods.

Just because the mud and rain have kept us out of the fields doesn’t mean we’re not getting ready for spring farming. Around the shop, we’ve been getting our equipment prepped for when the fields dry out. We’re also making sure our irrigation equipment is ready, which is incredibly important this year as the Bureau of Reclamation has stated all irrigation districts in our area should expect full water deliveries. And while we’re not ready for our field crews to start laying out pipe in our potato fields, the very important process of hauling in chipping potato seed and cutting it began earlier this week. Once things dry out, we’ll be ready to plant our chipping potatoes and grain crops as well as harrow our alfalfa fields for the growing season.

The rain and mud doesn’t stop what happens in the shed. Trucks are still lined up to haul chipping potatoes to our customers, which means our potato processing plant is still running at full capacity. Upstairs in the office, budgeting and planning for the upcoming crop year is taking place alongside getting taxes wrapped up. Plus, we’ve been out in the community recruiting for the job opportunities we have open. When you combine what’s happening in the shed and the offices with preparing for spring farming, this is the beginning of one of the busiest times of year!

 

Eventually, we will be able to get out in the fields. But until then, as you can see, we still have plenty to do!

Lexi Crawford and Toby Turner representing Gold Dust and Walker Brothers at the Mazama Career Fair in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Lexi Crawford and Toby Turner at the Mazama High School Career Fair looking for some fresh recruits

It’s Holiday Time Again at Gold Dust and Walker Brothers!

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There isn’t much snow on the ground – yet. We’re crossing our fingers for a white Christmas, but whether or not our wish comes true it doesn’t change the fact that it’s the holidays at Gold Dust and Walker Brothers!

Between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, the holiday season kicks off while the farm quiets down a little and the packing shed goes in to full swing. Trucks line the driveway, waiting to be loaded with chipping potatoes. Inside our offices, though the din of the processing plant hums in the background, in some of the offices Christmas music can be heard playing in the background.

A photo taken by Christa Moore of the Misfit Tree donated to the Malin Library by Bill Walker and Gold Dust Potato Processors.
What a perfect tree for a library! Thanks to Christa Moore for the photo!

This year, Bill, Jan, Tricia and Tricia’s husband, Darcy, attended the Klamath Basin Assistance League’s Christmas Tree Jubilee at the Running Y Resort. This organization does a lot of good work in the Klamath Basin, and one of their primary campaigns is raising money for Operation School Bell which allows poor children to go shopping for school clothes. Bill, who was caught in the Christmas spirit, had one tree in particular he wanted. After the bidding ended, he won the upside down tree he was after! Instead of having it set up at his house or at Gold Dust’s headquarters, the tree and the goodies that came with it were donated to the Malin Library, where it is on display. Bill also managed to get another smaller tree for the shed!

This time of year is also when Gold Dust and Walker Brothers hold the annual Holiday Leadership Meeting. This year the meeting was held at Italianna’s Ristorante and Gelateria, located just off of Shasta Way in Klamath Falls. While our guests enjoyed drinks, dinner and dessert, Tricia, Lexi, Bart, Matt, John and Weston gave presentations. The main topic of the evening was how the shed and the farm could save money. Though Gold Dust and Walker Brothers are in a good position, the situation for agriculture in general is looking down. To preemptively beat the downturn, our managers turned to our businesses’ employees for their thoughts on how, as John put it, “we can pick up the pennies”. Ideas ranged from having a different time clock system to moving pay day. Along with making the businesses leaner and meaner, Tricia and Lexi asked the group for keywords to describe the ideal Gold Dust and Walker Brothers co-worker. The results? Ownership of tasks and duties, strong work ethic, and a positive outlook. Honorable mention attributes included honesty, “no drama” and the ability to not only work well with others but to also work independently.

This meeting is also when our most outstanding employees are recognized for their contributions. The first person recognized represented many of the traits that were mentioned that make an ideal co-worker – he takes ownership, has a strong work ethic and displays dedication. And when presenting Kelly Cole with his award, Weston also pointed out his strong, positive attitude.

The next award was presented by Lexi for an employee who “took on a project no one conquered”. Not only did he take over our ag drone program, he handled the GAP audit, the food safety audit and the organic audit. And, according to Matt, Jeremy Turner was the model for ownership.

The last employee was recognized by John, and this fellow started off with us as a spud truck driver. Weston loves to tell the story of how his truck got stuck in a field his first harvest with Walker Brothers, and when he was told the only way to get out was to dig it out, he found a shovel and proceeded to do just that. Through his tireless dedication and work ethic, he’s now in charge of many of Walker Brothers’ important processes, from training potato truck drivers to taking care of the seed potato. Not only does this man go above the call of duty, our agronomist, Sachin Rawat, says Dan Pappe is a good teacher.  Thank you Dan for your years of dedication, and thank you to Kelly and Jeremy for stepping up and exemplifying the virtues that help Gold Dust and Walker Brothers thrive!

It wouldn’t be a holiday blog post without mentioning our favorite way to give back to the community – our company toy drive. This year, our employees contributed $166.15, which Gold Dust matched, and gave 25 gifts. In the end, this resulted in 66 gifts donated to our local Toys for Tots drive! Well done!

Tricia (Walker) Hill and Lexi Crawford delivering toys to the Toys for Tots program.
That’s quite a haul from Gold Dust and Walker Brothers’ employees! Well done!

But the toy drive wasn’t the only event in our offices. The Gold Dust office staff held their annual ugly sweater contest and had a Secret Santa gift exchange to help celebrate the season. Weston took home the dubious honor of having the ugliest sweater, followed by Lexi. All in all, though a little more low-key than year’s past, it was a wonderful way for our staff to get together before Christmas.

Before we wrap this up, to our employees who make our businesses great to the folks we do business with that have helped us grow, we would like to wish all of you the merriest of Christmases and happiest of New Years. We hope that everyone is able to get together with the ones they love, and that 2017 is bright and prosperous.

Happy Holidays!

16th Annual Open House Field Day

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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“.

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

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.

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.

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.

It’s The 4th of July!

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Two bald eagles fly above Walker Brothers' farm at the Running Y Ranch outside Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Happy Independence Day from Gold Dust Potatoes and Walker Brothers!

As Independence Day approaches, we think of our forefathers and the battles they fought to create this great nation and those wars that came after to keep it whole and free.  Without the sacrifices of the men and women who built the United States and the continued sacrifices of those who serve today, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the freedoms we have.  While we celebrate the day with our friends and families with barbecues and parades and fireworks, don’t forget it was brave people leaving their homes and farms to answer the call.

In the Klamath Basin, the Fourth of July also has us turning our heads to the potato fields to see if the rows have grown in.  Aside from celebrating freedom, this day also represents a good way to mark how well the potatoes are doing.  As John explains it, “We just had the summer solstice, and since we’re going to get less sun here on out, it’s important to see where the fields are at and what we need to do.”

So, how are the potato fields doing?

Out at the Running Y, the rows haven’t closed yet.  Under the blue skies and eagles and pelicans riding the thermals, the potatoes and fields look beautiful, and some are getting close, but they rows are still open.  We had a nice, wet winter and have received plenty of sun.  But when the late spring showers came through the Basin, the little valley this farm sits in was all but missed by the rain.  While Malin, Merrill and other areas around Klamath County received over an inch of rain, the Running Y received only a tenth of an inch.  Though this isn’t ideal, there’s still time to for the potato plants to reach their full potential before harvest.

Turning an eye to our fields around Malin, you can tell the difference.  The plants are tall and strong, and as you can see, the rows are closing in and able to hide small children!  The sun, rich soil and spring showers have helped these plants grow to their full potential, plus these fields were planted almost a month earlier than the potato fields at the Running Y.  While there’s still a ways to go before harvest and anything can happen, we’re pleased with how well these potato fields are coming along.

Before we wrap up this post, we’d like to wish the families of our Gold Dust and Walker Brothers teams a very happy and safe Independence Day.  We hope everyone here has a bit of fun checking out the fun events around the Klamath Basin, and to those outside the area, Happy Fourth of July!

Mari and Rory Hill with Madison Walker on piggy back running through a chipping potato field outside of Malin, Oregon.
That’s all for now – gotta’ run!

Holiday Time At Gold Dust & Walker Brothers

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An icy road surrounded by snow in rural Klamath County, December, 2015.
There’s snow in the Klamath Basin!

In time for the holidays, snow has covered the Basin.  Aside from the peacefulness created by the white blanket, hopes of a good water-year are filling everyone who lives here with optimism.  After the years of drought, a true white Christmas with fresh snow brings with it the anticipation of a bright – and wet – 2016.

This time of year brings with it office parties and celebrations of all sorts, and it’s the same for Gold Dust and Walker Brothers. For the past four years, some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the companies’ partners invite the managers and most important employees to dinner to discuss the current state of the businesses, where they see things going and to recognize three people who are doing an outstanding job.  This year, the Leadership Dinner was held December 5th at Mr. B’s in Klamath Falls.  After appetizers and mingling over drinks, Bill and John welcomed the guests and discussed how building relationships is helping Walker Brothers and Gold Dust succeed.  Tricia and Weston followed them with the changes the company made over the past year, some of the challenges the farm and businesses faced, discussed what had been successfully implemented from last year’s Leadership Dinner and welcomed ideas for the upcoming year.

Following dinner, the Top 3 Leaders of 2015 were presented by Weston and Tricia. Though she was home with a sick child that night, Nayeli Pena was recognized for her leadership in the office. For those not familiar with Nayeli’s history with Gold Dust, she started off on the packing shed floor sorting potatoes and worked her way into the front office.  Showing an incredible work ethic and attention to detail, Tricia and Bill constantly asked her to come work upstairs until she finally said yes, where she continues to shine.  Weston and Lexi presented Toby Turner with an award for Outstanding Farm Manager.  Toby started with Walker Brothers as an equipment operator and over the last few summers has stepped up and helped Weston grow the hay farm.  Not only does he help with growing and haying the alfalfa, he helps with loading trucks, keeping an eye on the hay inventory with the Gold Dust office staff – earning him the role of Hay Farm Manager.  The final leader recognized was Matt Thompson.  Bill and John talked about when Matt started with the company, unsure if he’d make it through a summer of farm work.  But he made it through that summer, and with Salvador, puts in the long hours during shipping season to manage the packing shed and it’s crew, earning him the nick-name “Little Bill”.

Since Christmas is a major part of the season, this time of year also brings with the annual Gold Dust toy drive.  From November through December, Gold Dust sets up a jar for donations and encourages employees to donate toys for the local Toys for Tots program.  For every toy donated, Gold Dust matches the gift.  This year, Gold Dust and its employees raised $216 and as a group donated over 60 toys!

Keeping in the Christmas spirit, Gold Dust’s office staff upheld their annual ugly sweater contest, desk decorating contest and secret Santa exchange.  This year, Santos Flores took home, ahem, “top” honors for his sweater of choice while Rich and Jeanne teamed up for the best decorated office!

Another annual holiday tradition is the Holiday Luncheon held at our packing shed.  For lunch, Santos arranged for Gold Dust and Walker Brothers employees to gather on the packing shed floor for a catered lunch from Tacos Ala Mexicana of Merrill.  Among the Christmas trees made from old pallets, our crews visited while munching on enchiladas and tacos.  After Bill, Tricia and Weston thanked everyone for their hard work – and their generosity for the toy drive! – cake was served.

While this time of year always brings out the charity in everyone, Gold Dust would like to encourage giving year-round.  One of the ways we try to help is by getting food to our local food bank.  Aside from donating potatoes, with the help of Rich Wright, our trucking dispatcher and broker, we also facilitate the moving of food items for the Southern Oregon Outreach Foundation and the Klamath Lake County Food Bank.  While we have trucks and someone with a big heart to help us help these organizations throughout the year, we all can find ways to help out in our community so the holiday spirit lasts throughout the year.  Even if you don’t want to give money or donate food, there are a lot of creative ways to give back, and even giving your time to these organizations helps make a difference.

It’s been quite a year, and we couldn’t have had as good of one if it weren’t for our amazing employees.  Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to our companies.  We hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas with their families.  And here’s to a fantastic 2016!

Harvest Season Has Arrived!

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Two bulkers load potato trucks in a chipping potato field at the Running Y Ranch, Klamath Falls, OR.
It’s harvest time!

Standing on the red-cinder road that runs the edges of the fields of the Running Y Ranch, you can feel the ground moving under your feet as though you’re standing on a hollow drum that someone has began slowly beating.  The only grumble is from a passing potato truck, loaded down with chipping potatoes.  It’s not a storm or an earthquake, but the rumble of harvest.

If you talk to one of our lead hay-guys, Toby Turner, he’ll tell you harvest began for him back in June with the first cutting of alfalfa.  While the people in the swathers and bailers and hay trucks feel harvest is a summer-long endeavor, outside of the hay operations fall harvest has arrived in the Klamath Basin.  The roads and highways are full of bulk beds hauling grain, potatoes, onions, garlic and many of the other crops grown here.  Hay sheds, grain bins and potato cellars are getting fuller around Gold Dust while the fields are getting barer.  While we worried what the drought would do to our part of the world, the long days of digging potatoes are proof that we’ve made it through another hard summer filled with stress over whether or not we’d have enough water to farm.

Gold Dust and Walker Brothers’ potato harvest kicked off on August 31st this year, making it one of the earliest times we’ve ever been in the fields.  And by the time the first day of fall finally rolled around (September 23rd), we were cutting out last grain field, an organic rye field just outside of Malin.  The rainy spring helped us make it through the summer, and the beautiful, sunny days of September have made grain and potato harvest nice.  As long as we can keep our equipment running, our trucks on the road and everyone safe, there’s a good chance we’ll have potato harvest wrapped up the first full week of October, making it one of the earliest ends to potato harvest we’ve ever had.

Before we get to more photos of harvest, please keep an eye out for all trucks on the road.  Remember, these vehicles are loaded down with tons of crops, making it hard for them to stop quickly for cars that pull out in front of them.  We try to make sure our drivers are safe, but they can only be as safe as the car in front or behind them.

Here’s to a great harvest!

15th Annual Open House Field Day

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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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

It’s “Do Us A Flavor” Time Again!

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Gold Dust tested Lays' 2015 Do Us A Flavor suggestions.
Which would you pick – West Coast Truffle Fries, Southern Biscuits & Gravy, Greektown Gyro or New York Reuben?

If you haven’t been to a store, been watching TV or messing around online, then you probably haven’t noticed that Lays’ “Do Us A Flavor” contest is back for 2015.  And honestly, we couldn’t be happier!

What appears to now be an annual tradition, “Do Us A Flavor” asks people from all over to submit flavors they think would make a tasty tater chip.  In years past, we’ve seen Asian influenced flavors such as Sriracha and Wasabi Ginger as well as flavors more familiar to the American palate like Cheesy Garlic Bread and Chicken and Waffles.  This year, Lays picked four flavors to battle it out  – West Coast Truffle Fries, Greektown Gyro, Southern Biscuits and Gravy, and New York Reuben.

Since it’s a contest put on by one of our customers, it only makes sense that we have some of the office staff and people around the shed try them out and decide which was Gold Dust’s favorite flavor.  How did the flavors fair?

A photo of a bag of Lays Southern Biscuits & Gravy Potato Chips
Gold Dust’s Pick – Southern Biscuits & Gravy!

In Gold Dust’s voting, Southern Biscuits & Gravy was the winner!  Following Southern Biscuits & Gravy was West Coast Truffle Fries, with Greektown Gyro coming in third and New York Reuben coming in fourth.

What made Southern Biscuits & Gravy so popular?  One comment was they did a great job of catching the essence of sausage gravy with just enough black pepper to make it savory and great for any time of day – from watching an early morning college football game on Saturday morning or wrapping up the evening much later that night after a few beers with friends.  West Coast Truffle Fries had a took a thick-cut chip with ridges so it could stand up to a delicious mix of garlic and cheese (some wished the earthy black truffle flavors would have been more forward).  As for the Greektown Gyro, Lays managed to somehow coax the flavor of lamb into the kettle-style chips with nice herbal notes standing out from the crowd of flavors.  As for the New York Reuben, our tasters could pick up on hints of rye bread and sauerkraut without overpowering the flavor of pastrami they managed to add without actually adding the salty deli meat.

All in all, the flavors were all good, and definitely were faithfully and deliciously recreated.  If you haven’t tried any of them yet, we suggest you get your best friends and family together and have a tasting party.  Surely if they have wine tastings, we can do potato chip tastings, right?

Feel free to let us know which flavor was your fave in our comments!

2016 Winter Wings Festival to Visit The Running Y Ranch!

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Members of the Klamath Basin Audubon Society visited Gold Dust's Running Y Ranch in preparation for a field trip for the 2016 Winter Wings Festival.
Members of the Klamath Basin Audubon Society visited the Running Y Ranch for next year’s Winter Wings Festival

If you’ve spent any time reading our blog or talking to our partners and employees, then you know how proud we are of the Running Y Ranch.  Not only does that farm have amazing soil, terrific water rights and produce some of the best crops in the Basin, but the amount of wildlife around those fields is outstanding.  Elk and deer graze our fields (and raid our hay sheds!), raptors glide through the skies above the ranch while ducks, geese and swans stop by on their migrations along the Pacific Flyway.  If you appreciate wildlife, then you can understand why we feel the Running Y is a more than just another farm to us.

With that in mind, our CEO and partner, Bill, wanted to reach out to the Winter Wings Festival and offer our fields for tours in 2016.  For those unfamiliar with the Winter Wings Festival, it’s a yearly event held by the Klamath Basin Audubon Society (KBAS) over President’s Day holiday weekend that brings birders from all over the world to the Basin to take birding tours, attend workshops about bird behavior and photography, and basically talk birds!  Considering the tundra swan migration is happening that time of year, it’s a great opportunity to show people how agriculture and wildlife can co-exist.

The offer was extended and Diana Samuels, one of the organizers for the Winter Wings Festival, suggested that in preparation for 2016 some members of the KBAS pay the Running Y Ranch a visit. On February 21st, Caleb Sundahl, Mihajlo Matic and Lexi Crawford met the local Audubon Society to take photos, watch birds, look at where to take their birders next year and talk logistics.  Though there was less snow than we’d like for this time of year, it was a beautiful day to watch the swans, answer questions about our farming practices and make plans for next year.

After KBAS’s visit with members of the Gold Dust crew, we’re looking forward to having the birders visit our fields for the 2016 Winter Wings Festival.  Thank you to the Klamath Basin Audubon Society for coming out and seeing what we can share with birders.  We’re looking forward to their tour next year!

 

By the way, before we wrap this up, the photos for this post were taken by Lexi and Bart Crawford’s son, Walker.  Thanks for the snaps, Walker!

Walker Crawford, 6, takes a picture of himself.
Thanks for the photos, Walker!

From Our Farm Blog

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