Many farmers have their roots in the very dirt where they have farmed for generations, but to survive and prosper in today’s agricultural environment, success often requires innovating far beyond traditional practices. The folks at Pieper Farms in Lake of the Woods, Minnesota, have always been about growth and innovation. Since 1946 Pieper Farms has expanded from a mostly regional seed provider to shipping seed potatoes worldwide. Now they are undertaking the necessary steps for even further growth, including new partners, a new management team, and new shipping, packing, and storage facilities.
Natural Growth
“As things changed, we had to continue to look for markets,” says Scott Pieper, the family’s third generation on the farm.
Pieper says the farm’s growth has come naturally as opportunities have presented themselves. “Customer relations is probably the single biggest key in any of the variable commodities, especially potatoes,” he says. “Just being able to handle it is huge.”
And while it’s often difficult to keep up with the warp-speed changes in the seed sector, those relationships, built up over the decades, have proven vital for Pieper Farms. “With the end of the foundation system, it looked at the time like it was just going to eliminate a lot of seed guys,” Pieper says. “At that point in time I really looked for other end user markets. We literally built from shipping seed locally and regionally into all corners of the USA and Canada.”
In 2013, taking another opportunity to expand, Pieper Farms was acquired by B. Zaitz & Sons, an agricultural development and operations company that specializes in vertically integrated farming operations. Pieper has stayed on and continues to be a key decision maker along with Ben and David Zaitz. The stated goal, toward which the farm is well on its way, is to more than double its production. This year a new storage facility and state-of-the art packing facility are being completed to better serve customers.
“Scott has always had his set of customers and people that he’s done a lifetime’s worth of business with, and those people are comfortable with Scott,” says David Zaitz. “We’re working to move beyond that, and we’ve made a significant time investment in finding new customers.” “Scott, over the years, has been working on creating overseas markets and has developed a certain amount of expertise in that,” says Ben Zaitz. “We got to talking about what his goals in the seed potato business were, and they were very much aligned to make a deal for the acquisition of the business.”
A Unique Environment
Lake of the Woods County, where Pieper Farms is located, enjoys a unique microclimate that has proven to be an ideal setting for growing seed potatoes. It offers an extended growing season compared to surrounding areas, leading to its designation as a seed quarantine area.
“In the broad stroke of things, a lot of our success has to do with the microclimate that we have here,” says Pieper. “We like to take credit for most of it, but a lot of it is God-given; it’s just the type of soil we have. There’s a niche because of the microclimate, but it still has to be managed well.” Pieper reiterates that customer service is the most important part of that management. As a seed producer, the Pieper Farms crew knows they have to keep their seed clean, early-generation, and high-quality. They’ve incorporated a tiled ground system that has allowed them to maintain optimal soil moisture—thus supplying better seed—while producing the same amount on 350 acres that used to require nearly 1,000 acres.
Don’t Jump the Gun
Pieper believes that one of the biggest challenges facing seed potato growers is the all-too-human tendency to jump on the bandwagon of the newest advances without conducting the proper research. “I can’t tell you how many meetings I’ve been to where new varieties are announced, it all sounds good in the winter,” he says. “You’re all hyped up about the next variety.”
“But you’ve got to walk before you run because you’ve got to have somebody to pay for proving that variety out,” he continues. “So it comes back to customers’ real needs. If we know what their market is and understand their soil and climate, Pieper Farms can deliver the right seed. We try to know as much about their farm as they do, and then we can produce seed that has value for them.” This year the farm is growing 12 varieties, but most of the acreage is devoted to the old standby lines.
Building a Team
All of that requires a great management team, says Ben Zaitz. He gives particular credit to farm manager Greg Cole, crop specialist Cheryl Schmitz, and office manager Christine Nestegard. “We’ve tried to create an environment where we have people in the company who are helping to actively manage it and take responsibility,” says Ben. “We try to have an environment where everybody’s aligned to do that. It’s pretty hard to keep the kids on the farm if you’re not growing and creating opportunity. And it’s hard to attract good employees if you’re not creating opportunities.”
Pieper Farms understands that those opportunities for their own lead to great opportunities for their customers and business partners, and vice versa. Summing up the company’s vision, Ben Zaitz concludes that “it’s all based on creating opportunities and having a great management team in place in order to take advantage of our unique location and provide the best seed possible. That’s the goal here.”