It’s often been said that farmers are the original environmentalists. As we celebrate Earth Day, we couldn’t agree more.
When our founder Ron Offutt planted his first seed potato in 1964, his vision was to farm “sustainably” – long before that phrase was popular. Much like other farmers and ranchers, Mr. Offutt invested in soil health and conserved water, protecting the environment to ensure the farm’s productivity.
Today, his vision is still being carried out by our dedicated team. Every year, we’ve made improvements in our operations to grow potatoes in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way that produces a great yield, including:
- Reducing our tillage by more than 30 percent in the last 10 years, protecting the soil surface.
- Tripling our organic fertilizer usage in the last six years, increasing water-holding capacity and adding organic matter back into the soil.
- Increasing our average crop rotation to four years, increasing soil fertility.
- Investing in low-emission tractors and building energy efficient facilities, reducing CO2 emissions.
- Planting as many cover crops as possible each year, reducing soil loss.
- Developing nearly 600 acres of pollinator habitat, improving biodiversity.
- Planting 300,000 trees since 1990 and managing more than 3,500 acres of forested land, creating natural barriers to reduce wind and soil erosion.
In 2022, we are planting 30,000 additional trees and will continue our dedication to protecting the environment, sustainably farming for today and for the future.
This Earth Day, we celebrate the work of all farmers and ranchers to conserve natural resources while producing food, fiber, and fuel for people in their communities and around the world.
