Tons of Taters

“You can take pride in being an Idaho potato farmer.”

Justin Wootan, Idaho potato farmer

Potatoes are big business in Idaho. The state produces more potatoes than any other state in the nation, about 11 billion pounds each year. That’s a lot a potatoes—enough to fill 500 NFL football fields. Since Idaho doesn’t have hundreds of NFL football fields lying around, it turns to potato cellars to do the job. And that’s where towns like Glenns Ferry come in. This small town of 1,600 people is home two potato cellars, which store 1.75 million pounds of potatoes. The potatoes are coddled until they go to market, sometimes months later. Oxygen is pumped in through ventilation pipes and temperature sensors keep the potatoes cooled. When the time is right, the potatoes are sent on their way: some destined to become potato chips, others french fries, and still others fresh spuds. Myself, I like my potatoes fried with onions and green peppers. Yum. 

Tater Trivia:

·        First potato planted in Idaho: 1837. Idaho did not become a state until 1890.

·        Biggest potato grower in the world: China, of course.

·        Most extreme location to grow potatoes: Outer space. In 1995, potatoes were the first food to be grown in space.

·        World’s biggest potato: 24.9 pounds in Lebanon. That comes out to around 100 orders of fries.

·        First french fries served: White House dinner hosted by Thomas Jefferson in 1802. At that time the dish was called “potatoes served in the French manner.” Yeah, I can see why it was shortened to "french fries."

Watch the video clip ® Millions of potatoes stored in small Idaho town