University of Idaho Students Learn The Ins And Outs Of Potatoes

Ten University of Idaho graduate students recently got a firsthand look at one of the state's most important agricultural industries during a four-day tour of Idaho’s potato sector.

The program, supported by the Idaho Potato Graduate Industry Program Endowment, exposed students to every step of the potato supply chain—from seed production and farming to storage, processing, packing, marketing, and equipment manufacturing. Stops included the Idaho Potato Commission, major farming operations, research centers, processing facilities, fresh-pack warehouses, and seed potato production sites across southern and eastern Idaho.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for learning the whole process from the marketing part, through food processing and the whole production process — it’s just amazing and highly technical,” said Adison Reyes, a doctoral student from Ecuador.

Potato specialist Nora Olsen says the tour helps bridge the gap between classroom research and real-world agriculture, while giving students valuable contacts for future employment in Idaho’s potato industry.

“The tour is an in-person, face-to-face experience,” said potato postharvest physiologist Gustavo Teixeira. “They can talk to growers, they can talk to processors, and they learn a lot during the process. It’s also a good venue for the students to get in contact with the industry so they may be hired in the future.

In 2014, potato farmers Doug Gross, of Wilder, and Jeff Harper, of Mountain Home, established the Idaho Potato Graduate Industry Program Endowment to recognize the important role that the potato industry plays in Idaho agriculture and the ways in which the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) assists the potato industry in teaching, research and Extension.

Every two years, the tour exposes U of I graduate students to all aspects of the Idaho potato industry, including potato production, storage, biotechnology, fresh pack systems, processing, equipment, irrigation, food science, seed certification and production, marketing, and agri-businesses involved in crop research. The goal is to raise their awareness of job opportunities in potato production.