Picture the last time you went to the grocery store for farm-fresh potatoes. The beautiful display of colorful varieties we’ve come to expect didn’t happen by chance. You may not know it, but whether you picked up Russets, reds, or petite creamers, you purchased a masterpiece of nature over a decade in the making. Why? Relentless dedication to the lofty standards that define Wisconsin potatoes.
Wisconsin potato growers collaborate closely with the University of Wisconsin (UW) to achieve and sustain these standards for quality. Their commitment to research, innovation, and quality assurance is exemplified in two hardworking public-private partnerships. Those partnerships are the UW-Madison potato breeding program and the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification program.
UW-Madison Potato Breeding Program
Though there are countless potato varieties in the world, potatoes grown in the US fit into a few major categories. Categories include Russet, yellow, red, white, blue and purple, and fingerling.
Multiple varieties in each category are grown locally in Wisconsin. In fact, Wisconsin is a center of innovation and home to top researchers who develop and test new potato varieties.
The UW potato breeding program selects new varieties for soil, climate, growing season, and crop pressures specific to Wisconsin. Here, new varieties are developed by cross-pollination to identify improved combinations of desired characteristics. It can take over a decade to develop a new variety with commercial potential. However, improving environmental sustainability has long been the primary goal for breeders. Varieties that require fewer crop protectants and less nitrogen to thrive are already under development.
Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program
What are “seed potatoes,” and why do they need to be certified?
If you’ve ever planted a backyard crop, you likely made your own seed potatoes by cutting a whole potato into pieces, each having an eye that would later sprout and grow into a producing plant. This method (using a piece of the parent plant to produce a new plant) creates a clone, ensuring that desirable traits are consistently passed along. Potato growers use this method – called vegetative propagation – to plant their crops each year.
This results in consistent qualities and characteristics we’ve come to know and love in our favorite potato varieties. To keep these potatoes free of pathogens, growers purchase certified pathogen-free seed potatoes each year.
Certification of seed potatoes in Wisconsin began in 1914 with the establishment of the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program (WSPCP). It was patterned after earlier certification programs developed in Europe to control plant pathogens with the potential to harm potato crops (think blight and the Irish potato famine of the 1840s).
Today, the WSPCP continues to support Wisconsin growers, ensuring a high-quality, consistent supply of locally grown Wisconsin seed potatoes. To be certified in Wisconsin, seed potatoes must be healthy and virtually free of plant pathogens known to affect crop size and quality. (These have no impact on human or animal health.) Certified seed potatoes grow stronger, healthier plants that are more resilient to common plant pathogens and higher yielding. Seed potatoes must also be true to type, meaning farmers can expect to harvest the intended variety. By law, any farmer in the state planting five or more acres of potatoes is required to use seed potatoes certified under the program.
Where do certified seed potatoes come from?
The potatoes we see at the grocery store likely trace their lineage several generations back to the Lelah Starks Elite Foundation Seed Potato Farm in Rhinelander. There, high-quality early generation seed are produced in a controlled greenhouse environment to ensure they meet the highest health and quality standards.
The harvested minitubers have been carefully monitored and tested through one to two field generations at the Starks Farm. After that, they are sold to seed potato farmers. These farmers play a critical role in producing certified seed potatoes by adhering to strict standards that ensure quality and health. The certified seed potatoes produced by these growers are then made available to industry partners, supporting the Wisconsin potato industry and contributing to the supply of healthy, high-quality potatoes nationwide.
How do these programs benefit farmers?
- Environmental stewardship: Controlling pathogens reduces the need for crop
protectants. - Economic strength: Strong, pathogen-resistant plants allow farmers to harvest
what they plant in a world of weather and climate uncertainty.
How do these programs benefit consumers?
- Affordable and abundant supply: Good crop yields result in an abundant supply of
locally-grown healthy food at a lower retail cost. - Quality: What we see at retail is a curated collection of the best-of-the-best
potatoes within each category. - Consistent sensory and culinary characteristics: Trusted, healthy potatoes
provide consistent varietal characteristics consumers look for and stay fresh and
healthy longer in storage. - Peace of mind: Choosing Wisconsin-grown potatoes means putting high-quality,
sustainably-sourced produce from local farms on your table.
