CENTER, CO — Despite not shipping into the interior of Mexico, Skyline Potato Co. continues to see brisk movement with its customers within the 26 kilometers that remain open for potatoes from the United States.

Skyline General Manager Les Alderete told The Produce News in mid-August, “Mexico is still a good market, and we’re shipping mostly conventional russets to buyers there.”

As Skyline prepared for the 2014 crop to come in the first week of September, the industry veteran said all signs point to good quality and increased volume.

Les Alderete, general manager of Skyline Potato Co. in Center, CO, said 2014’s growing season was a marked improvement over the previous year’s. (Photo by Kathleen Thomas Gaspar)“This year’s crop looks very good,” he said. “The growing season was much better that last year, and we’ll have more normal yields.”

Alderete said that acreage remains steady, as does the core base of a dozen growers, and he said that 2014’s favorable conditions could well mean “we’ll have a lot of potatoes in the pipeline.”

He said Colorado should have very good quality, but more spuds translates to, “It could be a challenging year.”

Skyline’s production runs heavy to russet varieties, although red and yellow organics have seen an uptick.

“We are still about 50 percent russets with our organic line, with the balance split between reds and yellows,” he said. “But we’re getting more demand all the time, and we’re increasing our yellows some this year.”

The organics are packed at the Purely Organic shed, and Alderete said volume this year is anticipated to run 100,000 to 120,000 cwt and are packed in private and corporate labels.

Skyline packs its conventionals at two sheds, Horizon and Skyline, and the GM said Horizon has a new Volm packer this year.

“Optic graders are being looked at for next year at both Horizon and Skyline,” Alderete said.

Food safety is a major priority, and Skyline is Primus GFSI-certified as well as certified through California Certified Organic Farmers and USDA-certified.

“Our growers are also moving toward GlobalGAP,” he said, adding, “Food safety protocol is not going away. It’s here to stay.”

Traceability at the facility program uses a system that follows product from field to pack to store, allowing tracing both forward and backward.

On the domestic front, Skyline’s primary markets remain approximately 70 percent retail and about 30 percent wholesale/foodservice, with Angela Diera handling sales to Mexico and for the “Green Giant” label. Glenn Stewart handles foodservice, and Bob Noffsinger does bulk sales.

Looking to the next five years, Alderete said he sees more consolidation in the industry, and he also predicted increased automation.

“I think Colorado will continue to build its markets in Mexico, and we’ll see more business with Walmart and other major retailers,” he said. Another trend Alderete said will strengthen is local and regional sales.

“I think our niche will be the Front Range and the Rocky Mountain states,” he said.