• We ♥ Idaho Potato Farmers

We ♥ Idaho Potato Farmers

As we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC), it's only fitting that we recognize the families, who for generations, have cultivated and protected the land that grows the best potatoes in the world.

Family is the Heart of the Business at Walters Produce

Warren Walters (center), with sons Jeffrey and Shawn Walters, at the company farm last summer.
(Photo courtesy of the Walters family)

Shawn Walters shares his thoughts on growing up on potato farm and raising his family on one:

ÒAt age 8, I was a little too young to do much, but I worked full days during the harvest season unloading

trucks for the lady drivers,Ó he said. By the time he reached age 10 or 11, Mr. Walters was running a cellar operation. The value of hard work was instilled at a young age, and Mr. Walters said, ÒI think one

of the best things you can do for your family and your children is to instill a strong work ethic. No matter how much knowledge you have, itÕs hard to get ahead if you do not know how to work.Ó

ÒI always knew I would return to farming after college,Ó he said. ÒI had opportunities to work in other industries, but the pull of farming was too great for me to ignore.Ó

The pride in the family business and in producing Idaho potatoes is ingrained in Mr. Walters and his family. ÒAs my kids get older, they have scattered to different parts of the country,Ó said Mr. Walters, who has a son and four daughters, the youngest of which lives at home. ÒYet they always keep Idaho in mind.

When they go to a store, they are always looking for Idaho potatoes, whether in a store in Boise or Pennsylvania or wherever. They always look for the Idaho potato seal, and they even challenge their friends and neighbors about the taste difference of Idaho potatoes vs. other potatoes. They have made believers out of a lot of people.Ó

Part of that pride has come from being involved in the family business, said Mr. Walters. ÒMy three older daughters grew up sorting potatoes and driving trucks,Ó he said. ÒOne of them was applying for a job back in Pennsylvania, and when she was putting together her resume, I told her to include the fact that she could

drive a 25-ton truck. I thought it would be a good way for her to stand out. After all, everyone has a business degree these days. So she went into her interview, and she was competing against about a half-dozen other applicants for a business position, and toward the end of the interview one of the interviewers rolled up his sleeves and said, ÔOK, what is this about driving a 25-ton truck?Õ Well, she got the job. I think there is the belief that working on a farm means that you understand the value of hard work. And that is something that is not always available in the work environment.

Working together on the farm has fostered strong bonds among the Walters family, according to Mr. Walters. ÒI have had kids working in harvest for 17 years running,Ó he said, Òand that is something we enjoy together. They all have dreaded it at some point, but they all love it. I mean, to have teenage girls willing to get up at 2:30 in the morning to dig potatoes or drive trucks, that is pretty good.Ó