Alta. potato growers recognized for production prowess

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Published: May 31, 2024

Nakamura Farms agronomist Paige Fletcher, left, Ryland Nakamura, Lyndon Nakamura and Georges Dion, Frito Lay’s potato buyer, celebrate the farm receiving an award that recognizes producers with top growing practices, potato quality and record keeping.  |  Photo supplied by Ryland Nakamura

The Nakamuras say commitment to sustainability and efficient practices gives them an edge in a crowded marketplace

At Nakamura Farms, potatoes are what they do best. In fact, it’s what the family has always done. Now that dedication has been recognized with a major award from Hostess-Frito Lay.

The southern Alberta farm is in its fourth generation, operated by brothers Ryland and Lyndon Nakamura. As they head into the growing season, they’re looking forward to another year of growing spuds and digging a bountiful harvest that will become potato chips and french fries.

Quality spuds recently earned them the North American Grower of the Year award from the processor, only the second time it’s been awarded to a Canadian operation and the first for a western Canadian farm. The husband and wife duo Gabriel Blouin and Marie-Josée Lepage of L’Île-d’Orléans, Que., won in 2022.

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The award recognizes potato quality and also the practices used to grow them. When the Nakamuras travelled to this year’s Frito Lay Potato Expo in Austin, Texas, they intended to meet other farmers and enjoy a few days of professional development. They ended up leaving with heavier suitcases.

As awards were handed out during the banquet evening, they sat at their table enjoying a beer. That’s when the emcee began to speak about the Grower of the Year. As a description of the farm was read, it became evident that Nakamura Farms was the subject.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” says Lyndon, adding it’s not an award solely for the brothers. The farm employs 45 people at high season who are critical to the farm’s success.

“It takes everybody, not just Ryland and myself, to plan, prepare and organize. It also comes down to the hands on deck and the boots on the ground that put it all into action. Everybody’s got a role to play at the end of the day. They play a part to make it all successful.”

The Nakamuras sell to five major processors in southern Alberta, including Frito-Lay. Their records must be precise and include everything from dates and times of field passes, crop protection applications, products and rates, even the number of times a field was scouted and what was found. It’s all logged for quality control purposes.

With huge commitments from potato and fry producers, such as regeneratively grown potatoes and sustainable metrics to market to consumers, the brothers know their farming practices are under a microscope. It doesn’t bother them one bit.

“We’ve been doing it for a long time,” says Lyndon of regenerative practices. “We’ve always cover cropped because we don’t want to lose topsoil.”

They lay down a multi-species blend of cover crops each year and focus heavily on fertility, reducing overall tillage, making space for wildlife habitats and doing what they can to improve biodiversity. They share field records with their processors, which also have high standards they must adhere to, in order to receive certain certifications.

They haul potatoes every two to three weeks year-round.

“You could just haul grain once in a while, but when you’re a potato farmer, you get to supply those plants year-round,” says Ryland. “There are spuds coming out of storage and then sometimes you’re digging fresh for a different plant at the same time.”

Having grown for Frito Lay for many years, the brothers value the relationship with the nearby processor and plan to continue doing business with it and the others indefinitely.

“There’s a lot of pride growing for Frito just based on their branding and their connection back to the farms,” says Lyndon. “There’s pride growing for all of them, but especially Frito Lay.”

He says the company keeps farmers in the loop about its production process, upcoming varieties and what next year will bring for demand and production needs.

The brothers’ biggest challenge this year will be Mother Nature. The last few years have been very dry. A mild winter and minimal snowpack have many in the region asking questions about water availability.

Their current water allocation is eight inches, half of what they’d typically require to produce quality potatoes. If they receive little or no rain, like they did in 2023, they’ll have to make tough decisions.

The priority is always potatoes. Those spuds are already under contract, unlike their other crops.

“We’re going to put grain on a lot of our pivots and then if it’s not looking that good, partway through the year we’ll just stop watering the grain and transfer all the water to potatoes,” says Ryland. “That’s the only backup plan we have as of yet. We’ll keep our head down and keep grinding and hopefully have enough water.”

With so much effort put into producing the vegetable at Nakamura Farms, the brothers have no desire to shift gears.

“We invested a pile (of money) and all our investment is in there,” says Ryland. “To start up potato farming is pretty hard. We’re just lucky to have inherited the farm, which already had investments in the buildings and storage. You kind of have to stick with potatoes and it’s for the best. It’s a lot more work, but it’s worth it in the end.”

The brothers continue to seek land to purchase or rent to expand their potato acres.

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