Demand for winter vegetables is growing as more consumers seek to buy local food during the pandemic.
Consumer interest in winter vegetables — such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic and winter squash — has typically been far outpaced by demand for imported warm-season vegetables such as tomatoes. But this year, experts say, the winter vegetable market is gaining traction.
“Winter vegetables are the fastest growing greens segment. The market for these crops, especially radicchio, chicory, spinach and purple sprouting broccoli, is expanding faster than any of us can keep up with," John Navazio, a national plant breeder for Johnny’s Selected Seeds, said in a statement.
Sheri Sirkin, executive director of Friends of Family Farmers, said the pandemic has prompted record produce sales for many of Oregon's small-scale farmers, a trend she anticipates will continue through the cold seasons.
Kelly Crane, executive director of the Oregon Farmers Markets Association, told the Capital Press shoppers appear eager for farmers markets to continue running during fall and winter.
Jessica Land, market manager for the Oregon City Farmers Market, told the Capital Press there is "definitely" an increase in winter vegetable interest among market shoppers. Months into COVID-19, Land said shoppers want to support local farms and avoid longer supply chains.
The challenge, Land said, is that in normal years, shoppers are more likely to try unfamiliar winter vegetables, like radicchios, at the suggestion of farmers while they walk the market. With social distancing measures in place this and many shoppers opting to order online this year, Land said it may be harder to encourage shoppers to try new things.
But the good news, she said, is that farmers are creating descriptions for their produce on the Oregon City Farmers Market's app. Descriptions include statements like: "This vegetable tastes similar to" or "This pairs well with."
Holly Hutchason, executive director of the Portland Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition, or PACSAC, said small farms that run CSA programs are also showing more interest in learning how to winter farm. Last year, she said, her coalition of 85 farms had seven farms offering winter shares; this year, she said, that has leapt to 23.
Researchers at Oregon State University have also picked up on the trend. With funding from the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, OSU researchers, in partnership with the Culinary Breeding Network, are launching a project called "Eat Winter Vegetables" this fall.
Heidi Noordjik, a small farms coordinator at OSU's Extension Service, told the Capital Press the goal of the project is to increase production and consumption of winter vegetables in Oregon.
The project will host field days and events, including the 2020-21 Variety Showcase and Winter Vegetable Sagra, a virtual series of events featuring TED-style talks, interactive Q&A sessions, cooking demos and virtual field tours.
Friends of Family Farmers and similar groups will also be hosting "Fill Your Pantry" events this fall to encourage consumers to stock up on shelf-stable winter farm foods.
October 01, 2020 at 07:00AM
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Demand for winter vegetables takes root during pandemic - Capital Press
Anne Jancic, Marketing & Business Development High Tech, and Martin Voorberg, R&D Capital Investment Venture Manager at BASF Vegetable Seeds
BASF Vegetable Seeds is making progress in its application of autonomous growing concepts. The company has already applied the concept to seed production, cultivation of a tomato variety, and the screening of hydroponic lettuce varieties. A new project for cucumbers is also underway.
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“At BASF Vegetable Seeds, we want to make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable,” says Anne Jancic, Marketing & Business Development High Tech at BASF Vegetable Seeds. “We strongly believe in the development of a connected, data-driven, automated, and sustainable production system with consumers’ needs in mind.”
In autonomous growing, sensors, cameras, data collection, and analysis are used to predefine growing settings with the help of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI). These integrated technologies can optimize inputs such as energy, water, and the balance of nutritional elements to create the most optimal conditions for growth. They can recognize environmental conditions that will impact yield, the predictability of yield, better handling of crop diseases as well as future fruit quality, flavor or nutritional content of vegetables and take actions in real time.
“Computers can make complex decisions much faster and learn based on outcomes much faster than we can,” Jancic says. “That does not mean that specialized growers are not needed anymore. It simply means that they will be able to do a better job using the opportunities offered by this technology.”
The goal is to provide a growing recipe for each variety BASF commercializes, Jancic says.
“The grower can visualize the performance of the variety during growth from a simple dashboard and get real-time digital feedback, enhancing the performance of our genetics and thus the profit of our customers.”
Progress in Partnerships
As integrated concepts like these require an integrated approach, BASF is working together with industry suppliers, research institutes, growers, and consultants.
Since May 2020, BASF Vegetable Seeds has been part of the AGROS program, a collaboration between Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands and 26 private partners, looking into autonomous growing. The program focuses on optimized growing methods based on sensors, plant physiology, and artificial intelligence for cucumbers.
“By better understanding how plants react to their environment, we will develop genetics that are fully adapted to new growing systems,” says Peter Kraan, R&D Crop Coordinator for cucumbers at BASF. “In our new high-tech greenhouses, we digitally collect data on each individual fruit harvested. The ultimate goal is to develop better varieties.”
Last year, BASF partnered with Hoogendoorn Growth Management to gain experiences with various autonomous growing software and hardware for hydroponic lettuce and tomato. The modular software ensures that the available resources such as natural gas, fertilizers and water are used as efficiently as possible, helping to minimize costs and CO² emissions and to maximize crop profitability.
“We’ve seen massive opportunities to improve our own processes and to add value to our genetics. Using the principles of Growing by Plant Empowerment (GPE) to control the plant balances and optimize photosynthetic activity, we were able to significantly increase the growth speed of hydroponic lettuce while improving crop quality at the same time,” says Martin Voorberg, R&D Capital Investment Venture Manager at BASF Vegetable Seeds.
015How BASF is Investing in Autonomous Growing in Vegetables
Brian Sparks is senior editor of Greenhouse Grower and editor of Greenhouse Grower Technology. See all author stories here.
October 01, 2020 at 04:21AM
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How BASF is Investing in Autonomous Growing in Vegetables - Greenhouse Grower
This large, colorful lasagna shows off the bounty of garden vegetables! Although it is a bit of a project, it is rewarding to make for a large party or potluck or even for a week’s worth of meals. It can also be cut up into sections after baking and cooling, wrapped tightly, and frozen for future use.
3½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for lasagna dish and pans
3 red bell peppers
3 yellow bell peppers
3½ teaspoons salt
3¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound), cut into ½-inch cubes
2 medium yellow summer squash (about 1 pound), cut into ½-inch cubes
2 Italian eggplants (about 1½ pounds) cut into ½-inch cubes
16 ounces lasagna pasta sheets (can use no-boil)
1 pound spinach
1 pound Rawson Brook chèvre or other soft goat cheese
3 pounds ricotta
1 to 2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 ounces fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced (about 1 cup firmly packed)
2 ounces fresh basil, minced (about 1 cup firmly packed)
2½ cups grated Asiago (about 7½ ounces)
Tomato or pasta sauce, to ladle over finished lasagna (optional)
Move a rack to the top of the oven and preheat the broiler. Lightly oil a deep 10-by-15-inch or similarly sized baking dish and set aside. Lightly oil or line with foil two or three rimmed half sheet pans and set aside.
Core and seed the bell peppers and cut into quarters. Toss them in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the pepper pieces, skin side down, on one prepared half sheet pan and sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon of the salt, and ½ teaspoon of the black pepper. Turn the pepper pieces over so that they are skin side up and slide the baking sheet into the oven near the top, as close to the broiler as possible. Crack the oven door to watch as they roast. Allow the skins of the peppers to blacken and crack, but do not let the flesh burn. Move the peppers around on the baking sheet, if necessary, to provide exposure to the heat. This should take 15 to 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the peppers to a brown paper bag, and close the top of the bag to allow the peppers to steam inside while the other vegetables are roasting. (Be sure to place the bag on something to catch any juices that soak through.)
Move the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Place the zucchini and yellow squash cubes in the same large bowl as for the peppers and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and ½ teaspoon of the black pepper. Spread onto a separate (or first, if using only 2 pans) prepared half sheet pan.
Place the cubes of eggplant into the same large bowl and toss with 1½ teaspoons of the olive oil, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper. Spread on a separate prepared rimmed half sheet pan. Roast both sheets of vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets.
To skin the peppers, transfer from the paper bag to a cutting board, and using your fingers and a small sharp knife, peel the skins off of the flesh. Discard the skins. Cut the peeled peppers into ½-inch dice and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse, and set aside. Be sure to place a clean dish towel or parchment paper between the layers of lasagna noodles so they do not stick together. (If using no-boil pasta, skip this step.)
Meanwhile, wilt the spinach. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering and fragrant. Working in batches if necessary, add the spinach to the skillet and toss gently with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Turn frequently with tongs until the spinach is uniformly wilted. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. Wrap the spinach in paper towels and squeeze out any excess moisture. Chop coarsely.
Combine the goat cheese, ricotta, garlic, parsley, basil, and 2 teaspoons of black pepper in a large bowl and beat until smooth with an electric mixer, or use a countertop blender on a low speed. Fold in the chopped spinach until the mixture is fully combined. Set aside.
Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Divide the lasagna sheets equally to make 3 layers. Begin assembling the lasagna in the oiled baking dish by starting with a layer of pasta on the bottom, overlapping each piece of pasta slightly and trimming away any excess to fit neatly in the pan. Spread about a third of the ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta, with ½ cup of the Asiago on top.
Spread the zucchini and yellow squash evenly over the top of the cheeses. Layer more pasta sheets over the zucchini and yellow squash, overlapping the pasta slightly and trimming away any excess so it fits neatly over the previous layer. At this point, press gently down on the lasagna to compress the layers evenly together. Spread another third of the ricotta mixture over the pasta and top with an even sprinkling of ½ cup of the Asiago.
Scatter the eggplant evenly on top of the cheese. Add another layer of pasta, followed by another gentle compression. Some pieces of pasta may remain unused, depending on the exact size of the baking dish. Spread a final layer of ricotta over the pasta, followed by an even sprinkling of ½ cup of Asiago. Spread the roasted peppers over the top, mixing the reds and yellows together like confetti. Top with the final cup of Asiago sprinkled evenly over the top.
Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Depending on the depth of your pan, you may want to place a rimmed sheet pan underneath to catch any dripping. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese on top becomes slightly golden, the vegetables are soft, and the pasta is sufficiently cooked (if using no-boil). Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. Offer tomato or pasta sauce alongside the lasagna, if desired, to add tomato flavor and moisture.
October 01, 2020 at 05:00AM
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Confetti Vegetable and Goat Cheese Lasagna - Forward
A discussion of what potatoes and their cellars have meant to the Roaring Fork Valley normally doesn’t begin with the story of a train robbery.
The 1904 robbery, sometimes called “The Great Potato Train Heist,” is a fascinating tale, but let’s first see how the Carbondale spud story began, and how potatoes became the crop of choice for Western Slope farmers.
Since 1909, Carbondale has annually celebrated Potato Day in late September or early October. This year, the event will featureCarbondale’s history through the eyes of its women from five different eras. The theme of this year’s agricultural based festival is “Spuds and Suffragists – Women Voting Proudly for 100 Years,” as noted on the website.
Carbondale Historical Society’s John Williams explained both the history and present day importance of potatoes.
The Thompson House, built in 1887, was a good place for him to start. Its root cellar has an outside entry that allowed easy access to the storage area. The inside of the home has direct access via a narrow staircase to retrieve produce. “Potatoes, carrots, beets and other food could be good for close to a year,” Williams reported.
Carbondale has a number of “retired” potato cellars. One is on the Strang Ranch, where Kit Strang remembered being told their cellar was built in the 1920s but is just used now for extra storage. Her daughter Bridget added it’s starting to deteriorate and is no longer safe.
Bonfire coffee has an indoor vintage elevator which goes down to the former basement root cellar. Although public access is not allowed, it’s worthwhile to take a look at the lift’s wooden door.
New Castle Gardens owners Steve and Michelle Cox also have gathered information on the history of the potato and sells organic seed potatoes.
Michelle referred to the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1849 as the impetus for people to leave that island nation, explaining, “More than 1,000,000 Irish were forced to leave their homeland and fled primarily to the United State, Canada and Australia”
She also said Colorado is now the second largest producer of potatoes in the United States. One of the earliest books about Colorado potato farming is “The Potato,” written in 1912 by E.H. Grubble and W.S. Guilford. It explains how the influx of people to the Roaring Fork Valley was spurred first when gold and silver were discovered near Aspen.
By 1881, farming families came to the valley “to start cattle and sheep ranching and began growing potatoes, which became the mainstay crop of the local economy.”
Carbondale potatoes became highly prized for taste and quality. Farmers needed a place to store them over the harsh winters., so potato cellars became necessary to store a variety of root crops.
Specific directions on how to construct the cellars were included in the book, with the key factor being able to keep a consistent temperature in the 50s fahrenheit.
Before long, railroad dining cars and hotels were interested in the vegetable, and it grew in popularity.
Today, many local gardeners have their own root cellars, usually much smaller than those constructed a century ago. Storage options include basements, holes-in-the-ground, garbage cans and even an old refrigerator or freezer. The Old Farmer’s Almanac at almanac.com describes root cellars as “As any storage location that uses the natural cooling, insulating, and humidifying properties of the earth. They are traditionally used by farmers and gardeners to store raw and pickled or canned vegetables.”
“They Came from Missouri” was published in 1998 by the late Anita Witt who owned a ranch in the Missouri Heights portion of unincorporated Garfield County.
She explained, “I got to wondering about Missouri Heights. What was the history of this place, how did it get its name? I knew there were wonderful stories that needed to be told.”
“And, yes, they came from Missouri,” she said, “People there were starving, there wasn’t enough water or workable land.”
On one infamous occasion, Kid Curry of the Wild Bunch and some other outlaws planned to rob a train near Parachute , thinking it carried gold bullion to the Philadelphia Mint. But they were mistaken and instead attacked a train loaded only with potatoes, getting away with just $10. The notorious heist is commemorated on a plaque placed in Parachute by the Garfield County Historical Society. Check out wayamarking.com for details.
Carbondale potatoes have a special place in Garfield County folklore. And, as the historical book “The Potato” determined, “No part of the world is better suited for growing potatoes than the mountain districts in Colorado.”
October 01, 2020 at 05:58AM
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Bonedale has always loved its potatoes – The Sopris Sun - soprissun.com
Sweet potatoes don’t get all the autumn attention that pumpkins get but they’re even more useful in the kitchen.
Fall is officially here and that means pumpkins are in the spotlight. However, the humble sweet potato, the state vegetable of North Carolina, can also be a means to create a comforting meal and delicious dessert.
Fall produce may not be as glamorous as summer produce such as luscious home-grown tomatoes, but it can be good and good for you. Sweet potatoes are far more nutrient-rich than white potatoes. They are an excellent source of vitamin A, a good source of iron and are claimed to have anti-inflammatory benefits. Sweet potatoes are much lower on the glycemic index than white potatoes. An Irish potato baked and peeled is 83 on the index but a boiled sweet potato is only 44 which means that it causes less fluctuation in blood sugar. Good news for diabetics.
Sweet potatoes aren’t just for Thanksgiving casseroles. Try them mashed, baked, stuffed, fried or used any way that you would prepare white potatoes. Also useful in desserts, sweet potato pies, breads and cupcakes are every bit as good as their pumpkin equivalents.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Place sweet potatoes in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Add onion; stir well. Bake an additional 30 minutes; remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Drizzle sweet potato mixture with butter; stir to coat. Broil 10 minutes or until browned.
Tex-Mex stuffed sweet potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 small red onions, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red chile pepper, minced (or jalapeno)
1 ear corn, kernels removed
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 cups baby spinach
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 scallion, finely sliced
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for about an hour and 20 minutes, or until potato is cooked through and can be pierced with a fork (check at the 60 minute mark). Set aside to cool while you prepare the filling. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high. Add the onions and sauté 3 minutes. Add the chile and garlic; sauté another minute. Add the corn and sauté another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the seasonings and sauté 1 minute. Add the baby spinach and sauté to wilt, 2 minutes. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, and scoop out the innards with a spoon. Place the innards in a large bowl. Add the corn mixture to the bowl, as well as the beans and yogurt. Give a good stir to combine until smooth. Evenly spoon the filling back into the sweet potato boats and top with shredded cheese. Switch the oven to broil, slide the potatoes back in until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Garnish with sliced scallions and serve immediately.
Sweet potato cupcakes
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup cooked sweet potatoes
1/3 cup bourbon
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake trays with 24 baking cups. Whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl. In another large mixing bowl, mix brown sugar, butter and eggs until fluffy. Add sweet potatoes and vanilla. Mix well. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to sugar mixture until combined. Add bourbon. Add second 1/3 of flour mixture. Add milk. Add final 1/3 flour mixture. Mix well with each addition. Fill baking cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done. Cool completely.
Classic sweet potato casserole
4 cups sweet potato, cubed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Topping:
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 325°F. Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with mini marshmallows. In medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the marshmallows. Bake 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.
Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Blue Cheese Dressing
5 pounds sweet potatoes (about 7), cut into 1/2-inch matchsticks
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp. salt
For the Blue Cheese Dressing:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 pound blue cheese, divided
2 tbsp. minced yellow onion
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. hot sauce
Preheat oven to 450º F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil; spray with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, oil, flour and salt; toss until well-coated. In a single layer, spread sweet potatoes on foil without overcrowding. Bake until cooked and crisp, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Repeat with remaining sweet potatoes.
To make Blue Cheese Dressing: In a blender, place sour cream, buttermilk, half of the blue cheese, onion, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic, salt and hot sauce; whirl until smooth. Remove to bowl. Add remaining cheese; mix with spoon.
Ginger Orange Sweet Potato Smoothie
1 medium baked sweet potato, cooled and peeled
1/2 tsp. orange zest
1 medium navel orange, peeled after zesting
1 medium apple, cored
1 banana, peeled
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. If desired, add a little water.
Nominate your favorite cook or send your favorite recipes to be featured to kburns@yadkinripple.com.
October 01, 2020 at 03:19AM
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GRACE — Gage Stoddard woke up around 5 a.m. on Thursday morning. He hopped out of bed, laced his new shoes, got into his 1995 Chevy Silverado and drove into the darkness of rural Caribou County.
There were only a few street lights lit when he rolled into the nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, opening the gym doors with a key his uncle had given him. There was a long day ahead for the Grace High School student athlete and no time to waste.
Grace School District — which includes two elementary schools and Grace Junior/Senior High — is one of a handful of districts in the Gem State that annually receives two weeks off so that parents, faculty and students can all work the potato harvest. For students like Stoddard who participate in harvest, the "break" means hard labor from sunup until sundown.
Stoddard grabbed his basketball and began an early morning shooting routine, putting up a few hundred shots in an hour before returning home at 6:30 a.m. for a quick shower and a brief nap until a text woke him up. Stoddard again hopped in his Silverado, this time sporting a red Grace High basketball hoodie, blue jeans that he tucked into cowboy boots and a black and white fitted hat bearing the logo of his destination: Stoddard Farms.
The family farm was already buzzing at 7:16 a.m. when Stoddard arrived. There was a semi-truck parked out front, and it wouldn’t leave until 800 50-pound bags of potatoes were deposited in the back. Right now, along with a gang of kids of all ages, filling it was Stoddard’s job.
The littlest kids could vanish under the size of the bags, struggling to lug sacks of starch that tipped the scales at a little more than half of their body weight. The older kids with more mature bodies used strength and technique that made it obvious this wasn’t their first time slinging spuds. Stoddard eventually joined them, hauling sack after sack until the truck drove off.
Like Stoddard, most of the others play sports, as well.
“All 33 of my athletes, all of them work in potatoes,” said Brandon Sanchez, Grace High’s football coach.
“They’re all out at a farm working,” added Stoddard, a football and basketball standout at Grace who’s hoping for a college hoops scholarship.
It’s not fun work. They all know that. But, then again, is the alternative really much better?
Stoddard, like most of the kids lugging potatoes, knows he’ll be back in school in a week’s time. And, suddenly, in the midst of the sweat pouring down his neck, or his back tensing up like an icicle, or his tired eye
“And then I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I could be listening to my English teacher talking about syllables or something,'" Stoddard said. “I’d rather be playing with potatoes than playing with words.”
****
Travis Draper leans against the padded wall on the south side of Grace High’s gym. The first-year Grace athletic director is still in the same outfit — shorts and a black Under Armour polo — he donned more than 12 hours earlier, when the temperature was 20 degrees cooler, the sun was still on the horizon and more than 2,000 bags of potatoes at Stoddard Farms still had to be moved into cars.
Waiting on Thursday night’s varsity volleyball game to begin, he tries to contextualize how important the harvest is to the community. What it means to Grace’s economy and to its people and to its reputation.
Then he stops.
“There’s our principal over there in the red shirt,” Draper says, pointing. “He has to run the scoreboard tonight because the person who usually does it is still working in the fields.”
For two weeks every September, that’s Principal Stephen Brady’s only job.
“Probably 60 percent of our student body will either be working in potatoes or babysitting for somebody who’s working in potatoes,” said Brady, who for the 23rd straight harvest drove potato trucks for nearby Christensen Farms.
The logistics of a two-week school hiatus are fairly simple. The school board sets a tentative date each year, guessing when the harvest will start. By September, the Grace Seed Growers Association has given the school board a firm start date. This year, because of the hot summer, the tentative date moved up and school let out on Sept. 16 for a Sept. 30 return.
The city's youth and adults alike spend two weeks on potato farms making money. Stoddard Farms usually starts hiring kids around age 14 and pays them $9.50 an hour, which — if they work the normal 65 to 70 hours a week during the harvest break — could net them more than a grand in no time.
“Harvest is really important for a lot of the families and kids around here,” said Jeremy Stoddard, co-owner of Stoddard Farms and Gage Stoddard’s father. “There’s not a lot of jobs (for kids), so this is their best opportunity to make money to pay for school clothes or school fees (to play sports).”
****
Gage Stoddard’s brown boots dip into the tin of water that sits just outside cellar No. 2 at Stoddard Farms, a precaution to keep the potatoes clean and disease-free. He’s flanked by his dad and uncles Jason and Jordan, and the quartet is chuckling as they bask in the sight of, really, their own naivety.
They forgot how crazy their operation is.
Their whole life has been this farm, ever since Gage Stoddard’s great-grandfather, Frank, rented 160 acres of land in 1957. Since then, it’s grown to nearly 4,600 acres with 40 different fields and six of those cellars, each of which holds 8 million pounds of spuds. The vastness of the operation isn’t shocking anymore. The conveyor belts that whisk millions of pounds of potatoes past grabby hands and ping-ponging eyes seem like the only rational way to move potatoes.
Inside their potato cellar, a machine that resembles a wood-chipper spits out tubers, creating a potato Mt. Everest. Panchito Cortez controls the rapid-fire conveyor belt with a joystick, displaying the concentration of a gamer on level 20 of Pac Man.
For a second, Stoddard tells Cortez he’ll take over. He takes a few steps left and gets his hands on the joystick that’s attached to the red conveyor belts. He explains how all the pieces work, tries to plateau the tower of dirt-laden potatoes and inadvertently shows how normal this all is to him.
And that’s what outsiders have a tough time fathoming. Really, they get two weeks off school for, what, a potato harvest? Is that really necessary?
“It’s really important and, luckily, our school board and school administrators understand how important it is. We couldn't get it done in the time we need to without the community’s help,” Jeremy Stoddard said. “If we didn’t have those people to do it, it would take us — I don’t even know how long. A couple months?”
****
Perhaps the “Famous Potatoes” tagline on the bottom of every Idaho license plate should sufficiently explain the cachet potatoes hold in the Gem State. But when Sara Anderson tries to explain the harvest to her club volleyball teammates from Logan, Utah, it’s like she’s reading line-by-line from the U.S. tax code.
“They’re always like, ‘What!? You’re off school?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, for two weeks. I just work,’” Anderson, a senior libero on the Grace volleyball team, said. “They’re like, ‘Do you go pick potatoes out of the field?’” I’m like, ‘Not quite.’”
Instead, Anderson, like most of the women working on the farm, stands up on a metal platform seven to 10 hours a day, one of the first sets of eyes to watch the potato truck dump a new batch onto the conveyor belt. And with her headphones in — usually playing music, podcasts or books — Anderson picks rocks and dirt clods out of the river of potatoes.
That’s one of four main jobs that the kids working at Stoddard Farms take up. During harvest, the farm boosts its employee count from 18 to about 45. The additional help like Anderson is crucial in picking out dirt clods, loading and unloading potatoes at the market, bagging the potatoes off the conveyor belt and separating the seed potatoes. The small spuds the Stoddards store in the cellar are sold to commercial farms, which use them as seed. Potatoes that are over 12 ounces, which are too big for seed, are bagged and sold in bulk.
Separating potatoes and picking out dirt isn’t exactly a physically demanding job, but it’s not an ideal gig for the queasy. It’s shocking those doing it don’t keep Dramamine handy or set an empty bucket nearby just in case. Five minutes of watching potatoes whiz by and you’ll feel like you just log-rolled down a grass hill.
The experienced members of Stoddard Farms are easy to spot. The efficient ones don’t keep their eyes upstream, instead focusing on the few inches in front of them, spotting dirt clods or massive potatoes like they’re gold. Secondly, they’re wearing some sort of face covering. Grace volleyball player Jillian Smith wore a cloth mask with plastic goggles that may as well have been taken from biology class. This isn’t a COVID precaution but, rather, an innovation against the constant stream of dirt and dust that inevitably finds uncovered crevices.
On Thursday, Stoddard’s little brother, Boston, stood near his mom and brother, separating potatoes for about 10 seconds before drawing ire for picking spuds smaller than his hand.
“What are we making? Stoddard asked his little brother, pausing a second while trying to think of a good punch line. “Tater tots?”
Boston shrugged it off and went back to bagging potatoes. He taped up a full 50-pound paper sack and bent down. The bag was to be placed on a trailer just a few feet off the ground, where a young man stood egging on the 9-year-old, reminding everyone within shouting distance that, just a day prior, Boston got the bag on his shoulder before he tipped over. This time he hucked it on his shoulder and stumbled a few steps before someone held him upright. He threw it on the trailer and bragged like he just knocked out Mike Tyson.
“Kids find ways to have fun in everything they do,” Gage said. “But with 800 potato sacks, there’s not much you can do to make that fun.”
****
Draper is walking away from the varsity volleyball game late Thursday, sneaking out the back door to check up on the junior high football game that he quickly realizes has already concluded. A stream of parents and kids still in uniform are walking to their cars, and the athletic director starts pointing out faces he recognizes.
“He worked with us this morning.”
“He worked with us.”
He walks down to the empty football field, folds his arms on the chain-linked fence and stares off into the lights of Grace’s football field. The dew-laden grass is lit by the moon and moving lights off in the distance, produced by the tractors still going.
Travis looks past the metal bleachers and out to the darkened fields that sprawl like the ocean, his eyes deadpan staring at Grace’s lifeblood. He has just walked past nearly a half-dozen sullen junior high football players — and he knows the football game they just played wasn’t the toughest part of their day.
It reminds him of the movie, “Remember the Titans.”
“When they’re like, ‘Those other schools don’t have to do what we’re doing,’” Draper said. “Someone should come up with a speech about potato harvest like that.”
Back inside, Grace’s volleyball coach Heidi Stoddard (Gage’s mom and Jeremy’s wife) is sitting on the bleachers, looking through the stats of a 3-0 loss to Bear Lake, her alma mater. The loss isn't sitting well but, after all, it’s harvest.
“Sometimes our win-loss record during the potato harvest isn’t the best,” Brady said.
Added Sanchez: “Historically, the games during harvest are typically our toughest games … We have 6 a.m. practices every day and then at 8 a.m. I turn them loose and they work all day long.”
Two Fridays ago, Grace played Challis, which meant pulling the football players off the farm early for a five-hour bus ride to what would become a 46-6 victory. Some think the five hours of sleep helped.
Last week, the junior varsity volleyball team lost. Draper asked what happened. Turns out, most of the team was up until 2 a.m. picking potatoes. Sanchez remembered a player who suffered a concussion during harvest. How’d he get it? A buddy chucked a 50-pound bag of potatoes at him.
There are downsides, of course. Fatigue has consequences. But these kids are helping their town. And, without potatoes, there’s no Grace.
But, more than that, there’s the bigger picture every parent, student and farmer believes in — that the early mornings, the exhaustive repetition of their jobs and the balancing act of spending 12 hours a day working on a potato farm before playing in a game will be beneficial at some point.
That when life gets tough, they’ll remember working harvest and, suddenly, it won’t be as tough.
“It just helps the kids,” Jeremy Stoddard said. “When they get through it and when they look back, they can say, ‘Hey, I did that,’ and it can give them some confidence and some mental strength to know they can get through stuff.”
“When you’re out moving pipe in the heat for hours and the pipes are burning your hands,” Gage Stoddard added, “sitting in a gym, running back and forth shooting a basketball sounds pretty easy.”
October 01, 2020 at 04:15AM
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HARVEST MVPS: High school athletes on potato harvest break help E. Idaho farmers bring in crop - Idaho State Journal
You probably know them for their vision-protecting reputation, but carrots have a lot more to offer. The (usually) orange vegetable boosts immunity, promotes vibrant skin, reduces cholesterol, boosts oral health, protects the heart, improves digestion, increases cardiovascular health, and detoxifies the body, thanks to a plethora of vitamins and minerals. This is why we had to list out a few of our favorite carrot recipes so we could reap some of those amazing health benefits!
If your diet is a little slim on carrots—or even void of 'em—it's time to reconsider this underrated root vegetable. From breakfast to dessert, you're guaranteed to find something from our list of carrot recipes that tickle your taste buds while slimming you down! And for more healthy cooking tips, be sure to check out our list of 21 Best Healthy Cooking Hacks of All Time.
1
Honey Roasted Carrots
Vegetarian honey roasted carrots
Roasted carrots, in particular, go well with so very many different meals: salads, butternut squash soup, to scoop up some homemade hummus instead of using greasy chips, or even better yet, you can have your roasted carrots as a side to your equally roasted beef. Or keep it vegetarian and pair it with your favorite tofu recipe. The possibilities are endless!
Crock pot chicken noodle soup with bread on a table.
Nothing beats a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup on a cold day, does it? Especially if it can be cooked with minimal effort! This Crock-Pot chicken noodle soup recipe is the perfect meal to warm up a crowd on a winter day.
ginger carrot pineapple cake sliced with carrot and pineapple toppings on a white table
Between the juicy pineapple and the bright colored carrot ribbons, this tropical-looking cake will be the hit dessert of any dinner party! Thanks to a few healthy baking swaps in the recipe, this ginger-carrot pineapple cake is lower in calories, making it the perfect dessert for your guests to enjoy—and feel good about it!
carrot cake smoothie in two glasses with carrots and cinnamon
You can think of this plant-based smoothie as a healthy alternative to a slice of carrot cake. Carrots are a delicious, unexpected way to boost nutrition in smoothies. They add a natural sweetness and contain biotin (a B-complex vitamin), potassium, and beta carotene.
Two bowls of copycat Olive Garden pasta fagioli with parsley and parmesan cheese
While there are numerous variations to making a homemade Pasta Fagioli soup recipe, we decided to go directly to the source to see what was in Olive Garden's special recipe. According to the menu on the Olive Garden website, the ingredients in their soup include "white and red beans, ground beef, fresh tomatoes, and tubetti pasta in a savory broth." We added a simple mirepoix (carrots, celery, onion) to it, as well as oregano and thyme for flavor.
Zero proof drinks, or mocktails, have been popping up on bar menus around the country in recent years. Not only do people want to eat healthier, but they want to drink healthier, too. There's also a growing awareness that alcohol doesn't play well with mental health, so it makes sense that more people are opting for booze-less drinks, even if they aren't giving up booze completely.
Crock pot beef ragu recipe with pappardelle pasta and shaved parmesan
Sick of the usual meat sauce and meatballs on a weeknight? Take your Italian cooking up a notch with this delectable beef ragu recipe. Not only is it easy to make, but this dump-and-go Crock-Pot recipe is perfect to prep and freeze for later!
carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts
For this carrot cupcake recipe, we even lightened up the cream cheese frosting. Typically carrot cake (or carrot cupcakes) are served with a cream cheese frosting that has a buttercream base. Instead, we turned to Greek yogurt with some milkfat in it still to give it that fattiness we desperately love in cream cheese frosting—without completely overdoing it on the fat content. This cream cheese frosting is also naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.
They say you can judge a cook by how well they roast a chicken. If that's the case, Boston Market's cooks need a little help. (Surprised?) This roast chicken recipe produces an incomparably moist bird, simple enough to make on a weeknight, but elegant enough to serve to guests.
This healthy minestrone soup recipe is a hodgepodge of veggies that will go a long way in making sure your diet is not lacking in its necessary greenery. Vary the specific vegetables depending on what's in your fridge and what looks good in the market, but be sure to finish with a spoonful of jarred pesto, which helps tie the whole bowl together.
This is meat and potato fare at its finest: a slow-simmered mixture of ground red meat and vegetables blanketed with a warm cover of mashed potatoes in one shepherd's pie recipe. The dish is traditionally made with lamb (you know, because shepherds look after sheep), but sirloin makes a leaner and perfectly tasty pie.
Curry with Cauliflower and Butternut Squash Stir Fry
Vegetarian curry cauliflower with butternut squash
This Indian-style curry takes no more than 25 minutes to prepare, yet it will taste like it's been simmering away all day. The balance of the creamy coconut milk, the sweet cubes of squash, and the subtle heat of the curry powder could make the most dedicated meat eater forget he was eating only vegetables.
This dish, a bistro classic, is a testament to its greatness. While the salmon roasts away in the oven, the lentils are simmered into tender submission. Separately, each makes for fine eating, but together they merge into something truly special.
This delicious recipe for a lunchtime (or anytime) soup couldn't be easier. It's just one of the 150+ belly-flattening recipes in the best-selling new Zero Belly Cookbook!
Seems like braised short ribs adorn every French and Italian menu in the country these days. And why not? It's an inexpensive dish that takes minimal effort from the chef but that can still fetch a $20+ price tag wherever it's served. Why pay the money for something you can do just as well at home, especially if you can cut the calories in half with this short ribs recipe?
Chicken noodle soup is the ultimate comfort food, especially during the cold weather months. We've made our special light version by swapping in zucchini noodles for regular noodles, which makes this recipe gluten-free, paleo, and Whole30-approved. Basically, the healthiest chicken noodle soup you could possibly have.
It certainly is nice to have the time to cook a wonderful meal, but sometimes during those busy weekdays when you only have a few spare moments to prep dinner, you need a few quick and easy dinner recipes to rely on. Thankfully, this beef stir-fry recipe is here to save you. With just under 400 calories a serving, this delectable stir-fry is perfect for paleo people and low-carb followers alike!
cooked tilapia with vegetables on a plate garnished with parsley
Cooking during a busy week can be tough, especially if you're trying to get dinner on the table for two. Which is why the Instant Pot can come in quite handy! If you're looking for a simple low-carb meal that will take under 20 minutes to throw together, this Instant Pot tilapia recipe is exactly what you need.
This dish isn't exactly like your typical cassoulet though. Instead, it falls along the lines of a more soup-like stew. Still, it's a meal that has a lot going on in it that requires not much prep work, yet yields an array of flavors, all for under 325 calories. What could be better than that?
The key to this roasted chicken is seasoning it long before cooking. The salt will penetrate the flesh, seasoning the bird down to the bone and helping create a juicier roast. If you follow no other part of this Sunday roast chicken recipe, at least follow that one trick.
Low-calorie braised brisket with horseradish cream
Brisket is a notoriously tough piece of meat. It takes the best pitmasters up to 18 hours of low-temperature smoking to wrestle the beef into a state of acceptable tenderness. But through the miracle of the slow cooker, where moisture and heat combine to turn even the toughest cuts into spoon-tender masterpieces, this braised brisket can be worked into a state of soul-soothing deliciousness with only about 15 minutes of prep work.
Our version is light on the salt, but it's so loaded with chunky vegetables and shredded chicken that it could be dinner on its own. While you're at it, double the recipe and make some to freeze for later. That way, when you're sick in bed, all you need is a microwave to have yourself some nourishing soup.
Remember when you were little and you got to lick the cake batter spoon? Yeah, this is even better. It's actually good for you, won't give you salmonella, and may even boost your fitness goals. Bite into one or two of these pre-workout and you'll be energized, carbed up, and ready to tackle those deadlifts.
Before you have fries with that, consider this: a large fry from McDonald's Menu
contains 510 calories, 24 grams of fat, and 67 grams of carbs. This tasty carrot version contains one-third of the calories, half the fat, and one-fifth of the carbs.
This isn't just your run of the mill OJ. This batch is sky-high in vitamin C, a nutrient that keeps away the sniffles and belly flab, thanks to its ability to counteract the stress hormones that leave you feeling tense and trigger the fat storage.
This soup is made from two vegetable superfoods. Like the almighty carrot, butternut squash packed with potassium, fiber, and carotenoids or fat-soluble pigments that fight heart disease, asthma, and arthritis and promote healthy vision and skin.
Not only are chickpeas loaded with lysine—the amino acid that blasts away cellulite by repairing tissue and collagen—but they're also one of the best high fiber foods, aiding in weight management. A study published in the journal Obesity found people who ate a single serving of chickpeas each day reported feeling 31 percent fuller than their bean-less counterparts. Whether you're looking to shed a few pounds or just maintain a healthy weight, start dipping!
Don't let the fat count get in the way of you and this waist-whittling salad. While consuming the wrong sources of the macronutrient in excess is one of the things making you fatter, this kind isn't one of them.
A study in the journal Diabetes Care found that a diet rich in monounsaturated fat, like the fats in this nutritional profile, may actually prevent abdominal fat by downregulating the expression of certain fat genes.
Shaved Carrot Salad with Pistachio Pomegranate Vinaigrette
moroccan carrot salad
Bored with the same old side dishes? These heirloom carrot ribbons will freshen up any entree. They're bright, colorful, and tasty. And that's not all they liven up. This dish might improve performance in the bedroom. A study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research discovered that pomegranate juice, rich in antioxidants that support blood flow, can help improve erectile dysfunction.
This Paleo-friendly egg dish boasts 35.6 grams of satiating muscle-building protein. Just made sure to opt for grass-fed beef, which naturally leaner and void of harmless chemicals. Wondering what the deal with Paleo is? Check out these 30 Paleo Questions Answered in 5 Words or Less!
Looking detox? Blend this. According to David Colbert, MD, a dermatologist and internist in New York City, "acids in citrus fruits help flush water through your body. And because citrus also contains fiber, they move through your system slowly and flush out toxins that contribute to body odors."
You had us at ice cream sandwiches and carrot cake. But this recipe is stacked with slimming foods including almond milk, coconut oil, cinnamon, and walnuts. In fact, walnuts are one of the best dietary sources of polyunsaturated fats, which activate genes that reduce fat storage and improve insulin metabolism. Plus, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free? This is a health foodie jackpot!
Spaghetti squash, zoodles, and caroodles? Yeah, it's a thing and a good one. Twirl these carrot noodles on your fork and you'll be one step closer to your summer body goals. Just make sure to go light on the sauce and drink lots of water to counterbalance the sodium intake.
This is not your typical carrot ginger soup. It's very rich and creamy but just 107 calories. The secret? A gift from the Greek gods who created a yogurt that's low in sugar, high in protein, and creamy enough to make you think you're committing sin. Not sure which kind to buy? Check out these 25 Best Yogurts for Weight Loss.
Gentlemen, listen up: According to a study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, men who generous amounts of carrots, as opposed to other veggies, saw improved sperm performance (count and motility) by 6.5 to 8 percent! And what better way to sneak them into your diet than to sub them in for the nutrient-void noodle? To look your best naked, check out these 25 Best Foods for a Toned Body.
Whether you make these pancakes for breakfast or dessert, top them off with walnuts for an extra boost of heart-healthy fats and muscle-building protein. Plus, the added healthy fat will help fill you up, without filling you out.
Frequently find yourself in a dinner bind? Pair these Garlic Roasted Carrots with a rotisserie chicken and sweet potatoes, and you've got yourself a wholesome meal with minimal effort! For more recipes you can whip up on the fly check out these 20 Best-Ever Fat Burning Soups.
Capsaicin, the compound that gives sriracha its signature kick, increases body heat, turns up your calorie burning oven, and decreases appetite. In fact, scientists are currently looking at turning capsaicin into an all-natural anti-obesity supplement for its ability to activate our "good," calorie-burning brown fat stores! For more ways to increase caloric burn, check out these 55 Best-Ever Ways to Boost Your Metabolism.
