Success Stories
Growing a Low-carb Potato
Video Transcript
Farmer Wayne Smith: "U.S. potato consumption has been reduced by about fifteen percent in the last two years related to--in theory--to the low-carb craze that's been going through the country. Potatoes have a reputation for being high in carbohydrates, and people stopped eating as many as they used to.
"A really high-quality, fresh potato is more desirable, yet it's more expensive, and a lot of the time some of the stores do not want to carry them if they can't get them for a year-round supply. One of the problems we've faced in our area is that we weren't able to raise potatoes except during a small market window, and that's one of the problems we addressed with the co-op. In that we've got a national presence now. We're going to be able to raise potatoes all over the country during a wide market window, have fresh potatoes, available hopefully almost the full year.
"This particular variety that there was a seed available for also had had some work done, I guess back in January of '04, that had the nutritional data showing that it was actually very low in carbohydrates. I looked at the information and argued with my fellow co-op members and said this is what we need. This would be a hook.
"We know that this potato has the potential to be as good an eating potato as there has ever been presented to the public. We want to get it out to the people so they can enjoy it, and in doing so, selfishly, we want to make a profit. If people are willing to pay for something that is truly better and they're willing to pay enough for it, then we can continue to produce it, continue to be in business. And as a result of that we can do this in a large enough scale our agriculture community can benefit from it, not just here in Hastings, not just here in Florida, but all across this country. We can actually improve the profitability of U.S. agriculture through this, eventually."
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