Black Gold Farms approaches sixth season producing in Texas
Black Gold Farms approaches sixth season producing in Texas
Texas ‘Black Gold’ is no longer only a reference to the oil business.
Black Gold Farms, a potato company based in Grand Forks, ND, approaches its sixth season of producing red potatoes in Texas. The Pearsall, TX-based farm, south of San Antonio, is one of several, nationally, operated by Black Gold.
Keith Groven, Black Gold Farms’ fresh sales manager, said exhibiting at the Viva Fresh Expo in San Antonio this March 31-April 2 is a very natural promotion for the firm.
The harvest season for the Pearsall farm runs roughly six weeks from the first week of May until mid-June.
Over half of this production is sold in-state to capitalize on consumer and retailer interest in “locally grown” produce. “We work with local retailers and vendor-partners in whatever way works for them,” he said. Merchandising options for these materials range from customized “Kwik-Lok”-brand tags to stickers on packaging or specialized packages promoting the locally grown nature of the spuds. Posters and other point-of-sale materials “that tell the Black Gold story” are provided for Texas retailers. The promotion is also being extended to reach consumers through social media.
The Pearsall packinghouse and warehouse is designed to ship potatoes in 24 hours or less after harvest.
The spuds are washed-warm, then packed and placed in the cooler to lower core temperature to 60 degrees before shipping.
Groven acknowledged that Texas is not known for red potato production. But he added that “of all the five or seven places we grow red potatoes, year-in and year-out Texas’ are as nice or the nicest of anywhere.”
He added that in May 2015 the Texas farm endured 18 inches of rain but still managed to have “a very nice crop.”
Texas summertime heat eventually brings the Pearsall deal to an end. Continuing its role as a 12-month red potato shipper, Black Gold then moves to production in southeast Missouri. Production for the firm then moves to North Carolina, Indiana and then the Red River Valley.
