September 2020
Dear partners in produce,
Can you believe that it is almost time for another potato harvest? At times, this year has gone by fast and at other times it seems as if it’s not going by fast enough. Thank you for taking the time to read my 1st annual harvest update letter. My name is Ryan Schols, and I have recently joined Norm Nelson Inc. to take over for Myron Ayers. In case you have not heard yet Myron retired after 31 years with the company. It’s very clear that Myron will be missed greatly and that I’ve got big shoes to fill.
The weather was cooler and wetter than normal through July and a mixed bag in August, but all reports from the field look like we’re going to have a nice looking crop again this year. We hope to be starting our packing operation on Thursday, September 10th this year. Yellows, reds and whites will all be ready when we start, and purples are looking like they will be ready very close to our start date as well. We will pack all varieties fresh from the field through mid-November, then our reds, yellows and purples will come out of our storage system for the remainder of our packing season. Our white potatoes, which are a beautiful shade of creamy white this year, will be available until sometime in December.
Our product lineup is always headed up by the premium quality “Double N” label. Our “Golden Seal” label is for that cost sensitive portion of the market that still needs US #1 potatoes. Our popular “Pedigree” label is for our US #2 pack. You can always check our consumer pack options and see the Nelson family story on our website www.doublenpotatoes.com.
This year in our packing house we’ve made several investments geared towards advancing automation and efficiency. We’ve installed push back racks throughout our main cooler allowing us to go vertical and get more use out of our existing real estate. LED lighting has been added throughout the packing house making us more energy efficient. We’ve also added some new equipment to our bagging line making us more accurate and automated. In order to have room for this equipment we removed two walls which provides us open space to install future automation as well.
It is very exciting to be announcing another harvest season. We love it when the first fresh potatoes of the season come rolling across the line and we are able to see the quality work our farm has put into growing the crop. We also love it when we get to start working with all the customers we’ve developed relationships with over the last 80+ years, as well as building relationships with new customers as well. Please call Scott Wharton or Jason Garten for all your colored potato needs.
Sincerely,
Ryan Schols, Chief Financial Officer