Center, CO — In the face of a continuing drought and the additional cost of metered wells for irrigation in the San Luis Valley, Skyline Potato Co. in Center, CO, is considering drip irrigation for some of its fields in 2013.

Skyline General Manager Randy Bache and his son, Rob, who works as part of the sales team in both conventional and organic potatoes as well as overseeing food-safety operations at Skyline’s Colorado facilities, drip is not only a physical possibility but could also be a money-saver in the end.

Rob Bache and Roger Christensen, sales agents for Skyline Potato Co.One product being looked at is the Typhoon Series from Netafim. The drip tape, which is buried, costs approximately $300 per acre and must be replaced annually. Another option from the company is a multi-year product, but the cost is six times that of the annual tape placement.

“What we’ve found is that this method of irrigation takes less electricity and lower fuel prices for the pump. Also, evaporation would be decreased, and the cost of chemigation and fertigation would also be lessened,” Randy Bache said.

“It would cut water use immensely,” he added, and the two men said the irrigation method is also being considered for the company’s romaine fields in the San Luis Valley.

“We’re doing a trial lot of potatoes,” Randy Bache said. “We’ll have to look at it and how exactly it will work in this area. But we’re going to try it for sure. I don’t think we have a choice. We as an industry are being squeezed, and all of our costs have gone up.”

Among added costs in the coming years is health care, which Randy Bache said “will be a challenge.”

“We will have to really look at how many people we’re able to employ,” he said. “We’ll still use people to sort, but everyone is going to have to evaluate how big they want to be. With the present situation, a definite financial commitment has to be made by all employees. The delivered price of this product can only go to a certain point. Growers have employees and mounting costs, and consumers will only pay so much. Price point is everything.”

The father-son team said that 2012 supplies will carry Skyline through the season, and Randy Bache said, “We don’t have an overabundance of potatoes, but we will meet our obligations.”

He added that Skyline is ahead of last year’s shipments by 5 to 6 percent due to increased demand in October, and that holiday movement was strong.

“Early 2013 depends on what other areas do for promotions,” he said of the market.

Rob Bache said that larger spuds are more plentiful than middle sizes, noting that 60 percent of Skyline’s crop is packed in poly bags.

“People are struggling to meet poly orders because there aren’t enough 110s,” he said.

Randy Bache said, “We could see an uptick in shipments in June and July, depending on movement and storage. We had a very warm fall, and how it affected quality is unknown until we get into it.”

But, he added, other Western growing areas suffered from summer heat as well.