Hall’s continues strong family legacy

Hall’s, located in Hoople, ND, is a fourth-generation family farm with a rich tradition of potato cultivation in the Red River Valley. Specializing in fresh potatoes for both retail and foodservice, the company packages its products in various sizes, including poly bags, cartons, 50-pound bags and totes for repackagers.

The farm traces its origins back to J.G. Hall, who, along with his five sons — Joe, Bill, Edward, Bjorn and John — began operations by washing and packing potatoes in 1950. Currently, the operation is run by TJ, Taylor and Jackson Hall, who have embraced their family’s legacy.

“Having the background behind us always helps and has taught us how to do things,” TJ Hall said. “We learned from our parents and grandparents before us. We grew up doing this and none of us know any different.”

With the calendar having flipped to February, Hall’s is already enjoying a good start to 2025.

“We have been busy, and things have been going strong, so all is going well up here in the valley,” Hall said. “We are somewhat centrally located from east to west, and the cold weather is good for storage, so there are a lot of positives of working in the Red River Valley. We are always optimistic about the year ahead.”

Hall’s has a customer base that is spread out along the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast, and many of the relationships have been ongoing for decades.

“For us, successful relationships come down to doing the best job you can and trying to deliver a nice product that our customers are expecting for us,” Hall said. “We aim to provide a reliable, high-quality product that our customers trust and can depend on year after year.”

While red potatoes dominate the company’s acreage, Hall’s has expanded its yellow potato production in response to growing consumer demand in recent years.

“We’ve definitely seen a trend of the yellow demand trending upwards,” Hall said. “Our supplies are starting to catch up with that demand, and you’re seeing that even more this year. With less red acres under way, there’s a stronger value in red potatoes right now.”

And it’s not just potatoes that Hall’s grows; it also grows sugar beets, edible beans and wheat; however, more than a quarter of overall business is in the potato segment.

At Hall’s, the focus remains on enhancing efficiency while ensuring the highest quality of its products.

“We just try to maintain a balance of what we’ve been doing in the past and staying on par with that,” Hall said.

The company is always looking for new innovation and ideas to help the company grow. For instance, Hall said there has been an increased interest in different storage opportunities, which has been a new development in the Red River Valley.

Last year, Hall’s teamed with O.C. Schulz & Sons to launch H&S Marketing LLC, a brokerage and marketing company designed to further bolster its offerings in the marketplace.

“That has been staying strong and has worked out really well for us,” Hall said.