Wisconsin ranks as one of the top five national producers of potatoes, sweet corn, green beans, and many other processed vegetables. One of the issues Wisconsin potato farmers face is when to store and when to send their potatoes to market. Waiting longer usually means a higher price, but only if the potatoes are sound and un-sprouted.
Luckily, University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Hancock Agricultural Research Station is doing the research for them. They have been experimenting with storage times, sugar levels, fried potato chip batches, and other techniques to determine the most effective storage length. Their research aims to help farmers save potatoes from being wasted and support the local potato industry.
“One goal of the breeding and storage programs is to have families eating Wisconsin potatoes at the July Fourth barbecue,” says Amber Gotch, who works alongside Perez in the lab. “That requires 10 months of safe storage.”
The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association has raised $3.2 million for the storage building, which the team has been using in their potato research. To learn more about their discoveries so far and hopes for the potato industry, read more here.
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