Potatoes!

While browsing my Facebook homepage today, I couldn't help but notice that "French Fries with former MythBuster" was a trending topic. I mean, how cool is that, a potato product and a member of my favorite childhood show, all in one and garnering the attention of Facebookers nationwide.

The video, shown below, goes through the steps McDonald's takes to turn a potato from the field into the golden french fries that consumers around the nation have grown to love.

Post by McDonald's.

This attempt by McDonald's to tell the story of how their food is made comes in response to the ever increasing demand of consumers wanting to know where their food is made, how it's grown, and how it's processed into its end product. As more people move from farms that are directly involved in food production to urban areas, the disconnect between consumers and their food becomes greater and greater. It is therefore no surprise that more consumers have the desire to learn about their food.

Idaho may be the only state thought of to grow potatoes in the United States (thanks to their incredible marketing and large portion of U.S. potato production), but, they are not alone. Our humble state, North Dakota, is the fourth largest potato producing state behind Idaho, Washington, and Wisconsin, according to the USDA's most recent Potato Summary.

Luckily for me, I have two amazing friends who contribute to North Dakota's potato production. This past August I had the opportunity to tour their farm and get a feel for an operation that grows processing potatoes, like the ones used by McDonald's for their french fries.

Processing potatoes are bigger and longer
than potatoes consumers can find at the
 grocery store (termed fresh pack potatoes)

Potato production is highly specialized meaning that unique equipment is required to plant, maintain and harvest the tubers. A lot of potatoes are grown under irrigation to mitigate risk of quality loss due to variance in weather, to meet potatoes' high water demand and for the opportunity to distribute nutrients through irrigation.

Potato flower.

In conclusion, potatoes are delicious, beautiful, and a part of North Dakota's agriculture output.