Rigby Produce 3

Stephanie Mickelson along with her husband Mark own Rigby Produce in Rigby, Idaho. Rigby Produce started when Mark’s father and his brother and uncle joined together and bought an existing facility just down the road from Stephanie and Mark. It’s still in in operation. Rigby produce started up in 1980 and then in 1997 a new facility was built and a year later after it was in production, it burned to the ground. They built another facility in 1999 and bought an existing facility in Haymer. Between their two operations, Stephanie says they are most likely the biggest fresh pack shipper in the world. Most of the potatoes that are grown and are packed through their shed come through their farm which runs from Bonneville County north to the Montana/Idaho line.

Stephanie observes about government entities… I don't think that they have realized what an economic driver necessarily Nicholsons or the potato industry is in our area. And part of the economic strength of our area has come from the diversity of industries and AG being a third leg of that of that of that economic school that holds up this area. So our our facility across the street, which is where we take our potatoes that aren't good enough to go into consumer packs or into cartons, we process into a refrigerated mash product that people would get when they go to Chili’s or Applebees, that’s their mashed potato selection actually that comes here from Idaho. Up until a few years ago, those potatoes were coming out of the Midwest and out of the East Coast.