Although Colorado’s ongoing water shortage has resulted in fewer acres of potatoes in the San Luis Valley this year, Jed Ellithorpe, farm and operations manager for Aspen Produce’s sister company, Ponderosa Partnership, said he was optimistic going into the 2013 harvest.

“Our acreage is down,” Ellithorpe said in late August, confirming what he had predicted in early 2013. “We have had to cut back because of water.”

At the Aspen Produce packingshed are Dwayne Weyers, Ryan Haynie, Michele Peterson and Jed Ellithorpe.Snow pack for the past several years has fallen short in recharging the area’s aquifer sources, he noted, and although late rain helped the planted crop, it fell on fewer acres throughout the San Luis Valley.

But quality is reported as very good, and Ellithorpe was particularly upbeat about new russet varieties being brought in.

“They look great,” he said. “And I am really excited about the prospects of some of the new varieties. It appears they just perform better in the marketplace, specifically with their taste and cooking characteristics. They also look nicer. Most of the non-Norkotah varieties are not big as the Norkotahs, but this is really not a problem because we like to target for retail packs.”

In addition to addressing the water issue, Ellithorpe discussed the West Fork Complex fire, a conflagration that grew to more than 125,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains west of the San Luis Valley.

Triggered by lightning strikes in June, the West Fork was actually three separate wildland blazes that ultimately combined into one enormous burn.

As it roared through national forests and private land, the fire threatened entire towns, forcing evacuations and blanketing hundreds of square miles with smoke and ash. In late August, smoke plumes were still being reported, although the active fire was out.

In June and July, while some residents were dealing with respiratory hazards, the smoke was also affecting the spuds, Ellithorpe said.

“The fire had an impact on size and put the crop behind,” he said. “The spuds that were under the layer of smoke are about five days behind the acreage that was not under that layer.”

And he said late-summer rains also brought signs of the fire.

“We had some rains late this summer that were a blessing, but all the ditches and canals filled up with black water [from ash and cinders],” Ellithorpe said. “It was odd to see that.”

The company has fully implemented its traceability program, including last year’s addition of Kwik Lok technology that allows for all trace-back information to be printed directly on the bag locks, along with a precaution note to wash and cook the potatoes thoroughly before consuming. Ellithorpe said the labeling upgrades are complete, and he added, “We are ready for PTI.”

Growers are also up-to-date on certification, Ellithorpe noted.

“I talked to a grower the other day who said he had every certification known to man on his crop,” said Ellithorpe. “My answer to him was, ‘Whoa, dude. I don’t want to run your spuds.’ Shocked, he asked me why, and I replied, ‘Well, if we have a trace-back issue, it sounds like I won’t be able to blame you for anything.’“