Maverick going into second harvest with good yields, excellent quality
Maverick going into second harvest with good yields, excellent quality
CENTER, CO — On the heels of what Roger Christensen, co-owner of Maverick Potato Co., called “a great start,” 2014 looks to be a repeat of the firm’s inaugural year.
Christensen, a longtime San Luis Valley potato grower and salesman, founded the company in 2013 with Michael Kruse, and the operation saw good movement in its season, one with multiple weather setbacks and natural challenges.
“We have about the same acreage that we had last year,” Christensen said Aug. 21. “We did add another 120 acres of organic yellows, and we expect our total volume to be 200,000 hundredweight this year.”
Roger Christensen, co-owner of Maverick Potato Co. in Center, CO. (Photo by Kathleen Thomas Gaspar)The vertically integrated Maverick grows, packs and ships organic and conventional russet Canelas and Norkotahs as well as conventional Rio Grandes and Centennials. The company works closely with a major retailer and packs export loads in addition to its domestic sales.
In preparation for harvest, which Christensen expected to kick off between Sept. 4 and 8, upgrades were being made to the packingshed.
“We’re in the process of replacing some of the machines with new equipment,” he said. “We upgraded our bagger to a Volm and can run three-, five -, 10- and 20-pound bags. We also installed an auto baler, and we have rebuilt our sizing machine to be more efficient so we can give our customers more consistent packs.”
While the upgrades are being made, Christensen and Kruse have worked to maintain existing and forge new relationships in the domestic and Mexican markets.
“Mexico is a major focal point for us,” he said. “We are anticipating the reopening of the country again soon, but in the meantime we are very thankful that we can go back into the 26-kilometer barrier area.”
Christensen said, “Our quality is looking very good in the fields, and we look for another good year. At Maverick we grow our own potatoes and don’t buy any from outside growers. This is what we intended when we bought the facility, to run our own and do an excellent job.”
Although he wears the grower hat, Christensen also works in sales and in the warehouse, and he oversees food-safety measures, which he said are “is of utmost importance to us.” The company is SCS GlobalGAP-certified at both farm and shed level.
Maverick has used drip irrigation as well as green manure rotation, practices Christensen said have worked well in the water-short San Luis Valley.
