Two grower-shippers have been elected to the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) Hall of Fame.
Charles Cofer and Robert Guenthner were honored at the association’s annual awards banquet Feb. 3 in Stevens Point, Wis.
Cofer, who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, began his career buying potatoes in Wisconsin and selling them in Wisconsin. In 1953 he joined Antigo, Wis.-based Arrowhead Potato Co. as a salesman. He went on to start several companies and farm 600 acres of potatoes in Adams County, Wis. Farmers Potato Exchange, a brokerage founded by Cofer in 1965, is now owned by his son, Dave Cofer.
Cofer died in 1993.
Robert Guenthner, an Antigo native, owns and operates Guenther Potato Co. Inc. with his wife, Cheri. Guenthner served two terms as a board member of the association, including stints as president in 1979 and 1980. He also has served on the board of the Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association and as president of that group.
Guenthner was the first potato grower in the U.S. to use the Underhaug cup potato planter, which is now common throughout the U.S.
Source: The Packer