Monte Vista, CO — Production of organic and specialty potatoes in the San Luis Valley has been increased by Farm Fresh Direct this season, and Vice President of Business Development Dave Yeager said the new organic varieties have “higher yields and lower inputs.”

Tim Wall, general manager for specialty and procurement, told The Produce News in mid-August that organic russets in the Hooper-Mosca area were being harvested “a little earlier than normal,” and he added that all other varieties “are coming on real well right now.”

Dave YeagerThe organic specialties and Roosters are packed at the Expo facility in the southern part of the San Luis Valley. Wall said the packing facility has been expanded, and its capacity is 700,000 cwt of “anything that has to do with specialized and organics in all packs.”

Much of the organic and specialty volume is packed in form and fill bags, he said. FFD is also a leader in value-added and specialty potato products, introducing the PotatOH microwavable line of Express Bake PotatOH, Express Bake Sweet PotatOH and Express Bake PotatOH Fingerling Medley several years ago.

Last season FFD launched an ambitious rollout of six new varieties, including the famed Rooster in partnership with Albert Bartlett, one of the larger fresh potato shippers in the United Kingdom.

In the lineup were the Golden Russet, Natural Blush, Crimson Sunset, Petite Merlot and Petite Chardonnay. Yeager said reception of each has been very good, noting, “Each of these varieties has a unique taste so consumers can find what they’re looking for.”

Yeager said the alliance with Albert Bartlett has worked out well for both entities, and he said, “The market really started to respond favorably to the Rooster — and the San Luis Valley is a great place to grow it.”

He added that FFD has increased its acreage for most of last year’s rollouts, and he said, “We’re not introducing anything new to the market now, but we are trialing several new varieties for next year.”

While some of the organics were coming in early, the harvest will start for most of the other varieties on Sept. 8 and finish Oct. 10.

Both Yeager and Wall agreed growing conditions were good in the San Luis Valley this year, with ample rainfall. Yeager commented on the additional cloud cover that delayed bulking by a couple of weeks, but late summer had plenty of sunny, hot days.

“We’re seeing the potatoes really take off the last couple of weeks,” he said. “Quality looks to be excellent this year, and though there were some fields in the area hit hard by hail, we were fortunate to have very little damage.”

In addition to the organics, Yeager said volume gains were made by FFD’s yellows, reds and Roosters, and he said to keep pace the packing facilities make upgrades regularly.

“We continue to fine tune the expansion at Expo,” he said.