Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association

While at the Potato Expo last week in Las Vegas, I stopped by the Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association booth and visited with Manager Preston Stanley and asked him what is unique about Colorado's seed potatoes.

Stanley: "We have some of the better quality seed for people to purchase due to the high altitude advantage and due to the isolation that other people don' have. That is what we are here to do — is to education people and sell potato seed."

Stanley continues with the feedback he receives from customers of Colorado certified potato seed.

Stanley: "They are very happy with what they have and what they purchase from our growers. They are very pleased with it. The exports have really started good for us into Canada. At this particular show, I've probably seen about half Canadian growers as well as U.S. growers."

He shares where the state's certified seed potatoes go.

Stanley: "We have three or four different countries and probably about 25 different states that we ship seed out to."

According to the CCPGA's website, recently emphasis has been placed on developing specific traits in new cultivars including better flavor, high vitamin and antioxidant content, and great horticultural characteristics.