02/18/08 Governor's Ag Award Winner, Wada

Albert Wada of Pingree has turned a modest family operation into one of the biggest potato growing operations in the nation with 30 thousand acres of irrigated land, some owned, some leased. He took action after watching potato farmers rise and fall with their prices. WADA "We worked ourselves into a chronic over production situation. Supply and demand couldn't accept that volume. That's when United came to be and I just happened to be in the initial group that sort of said 'hey we've had it with this, we've got to change something' and we got together. Bringing on the rest of the major fresh potato producing states in the US through the formation of the United Potato Growers of America we were able to get the acreage turned around the '05 and '06 crop years to where we didn't have that serious overproduction hanging over our heads and we were able to turn our pricing into modestly profitable levels. The cooperative model is the best chance, the best tool that we have to manage our own economics." The Wade Farms color scheme is highlighted with the color red and water says then he gets more assets than debt he'll start painting everything black. Albert Wade, Governor's Ag Award winner for marketing innovation. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott