Western Farmer-Stockman Logo

For Don Brown, potatoes his thing, despite the many challenges his crop faces.

July 20, 2016

5 Min Read
Potatoes are 'in my blood'

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series exploring opportunities and issues facing potato growers across the region. This month we're featuring this story in two parts, check out part one.

Don Brown, who runs a diversified farming and cattle operation in southeast Wyoming, says certified seed potatoes year-in, year-out are his most important crop.

But with this comes a lot of risk because seed potatoes are, by far, his most expensive crop to grow.

“You can easily invest a couple thousand dollars per acre. It’s nothing to have $500 to $700 per acre just in seed costs alone,” Brown says. “Then you have lots of fertilizer, fungicides, insecticides, weed control, storage and shipping. But when things are going right, a profit of $1,000 per acre is not out of range.”

For Brown, who’s been raising potatoes since the early 1950s, most years have treated him and his wife, Ellen, pretty well.

“A lot of what I do is based on many years of experience, but that doesn’t always mean you do the right thing,” he says.

One of the great advantages to raising seed potatoes in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska is because of the isolation from major production areas including Idaho, Washington, Oregon and south-central Colorado, which can help keep disease and insect pressure down.

But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.

“In 2010, we had a pretty good influx of psyllids, but by the time we knew they were here, they had already done a number on our crop,” Brown says. “In fact, they did a big number. Our production that year was cut by two-thirds. It was a disaster.”

Since then, he emphasizes, “We rely heavily on preventative spraying other than waiting and seeing if you’re going to have a problem. That has worked for us, but it adds yet another expense.”

Despite the isolation, Brown notes that they also deal with aphids on a fairly regular basis.

Most of his farm ground is deeded, but Brown says in recent years he has used more and more leased land for potatoes.

“Most of this ground has been in alfalfa for a number of years, and the potential for growing a better seed potato crop is much higher,” he says. “Alfalfa is a good crop to follow with potatoes because there is typically a lot of nitrogen in the ground, and the number of pests that affect potatoes is usually pretty low.”

Brown relies heavily on soil testing to determine how much nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulfur and other nutrients to apply.

He farms about 3,000 acres of deeded and leased land. About half is dryland winter wheat and pasture for cattle. The other half is irrigated by center pivots and used to grow alfalfa, pinto beans, corn for cattle feed and certified oats for seed, the latter of which is sold to farmers in Colorado, Montana and other Western states.

He only has about 100 to 150 acres in seed potato production, but that acreage takes a high percentage of his time.

Fortunately for Brown, he still loves nurturing his potato crop.

“I should be out of this, should have retired by now, but I enjoy a little bit of challenge that goes with growing potatoes. In fact, it’s a big challenge.”

Brown has shared this passion with others, including active involvement in potato associations, including serving on the United States Potato Board.

“I’ve met growers all over the country. Every time a potato magazine comes out, I recognize somebody and know somebody,” he says. “For me, this all started with watching Dad cultivating potatoes with a team of horses.”

Pushing up the ag graph

It’s passionate farmers like Don Brown who keep pushing the USDA Census of Agriculture’s “average age” graph in a northerly direction.

The median age for farmers and ranchers across the country is just shy of 56 years, second only to those who operate motor vehicles for a living.

In the past 30 years, the average age of agricultural producers in the U.S. has climbed by eight years, which has some people a little worried about agriculture’s future.

Brown, who turns 82 next February, is the only member of his family currently running Brown Enterprises, a diversified crop and cattle operation in southeast Wyoming.

“I have a very good full-time hired hand who prepares the ground, plants and does other farming duties,” Brown says. “He understands mechanics. He understands getting things done. He’s a good worker.”

Brown hopes employees like that can help keep Brown Enterprises in the family for many years to come. But this will hinge on some important family decisions.

He and his wife, Ellen, have two sons. Both have non-farm jobs elsewhere, but both have expressed a desire in wanting to keep the business going.

“They want to hang onto the farm, and I hope that happens,” says Brown, who notes the farm has been in his family since the 1910s.

Brown Enterprises is known across the West, Southwest and Midwest for the seed potatoes it produces, and Brown would like to see that aspect of the farm continue despite the high labor requirements and input costs.

“My family started shipping seed potatoes around the region in the 1920s,” Brown says. “I remember following Dad around when I was 7 or 8. We would go out and irrigate potatoes by hand. I would watch Dad and pick up on things as we went. Farming has been my whole life.”

Psyllid control secret? Judicious use of insecticides

Southeast Wyoming farmer Don Brown, along with other commercial and seed potato growers across the region and country, each year face a variety of problems posed by diseases and insects, including the potato psyllid.

Scientists agree that judicious use of insecticides throughout the growing season remains the best way to control psyllids and the potentially devastating disease they pass, zebra chip. These include at-plant and foliar insecticides.

Following are a list of resources that can help:

Integrated pest management (this website has links to potato psyllid information, zebra chip and integrated pest management guidelines): nwpotatoresearch.com

Potato psyllid and zebra chip, Kimberly Research and Extension Center: extension.uidaho.edu/kimberly/tag/potato-psyllid-and-zebra-chip/

Potato psyllid vector of zebra chip disease in the Pacific Northwest: ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/30058/pnw633.pdf

SCRI zebra chip: zebrachipscri.tamu.edu/

Understanding zebra chip disease & potato psyllid control: colostate.edu/Depts/SLVRC/disease/SRMAC2011/MunyanezaSRMAC2011.pdf

University of California IPM program, potatoes: ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/selectnewpest.potatoes.html

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like