Fresh potato shipments out of the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota are expected to be the largest volume in possibly a quarter of a century. Also, in Washington state, Henningsen Cold Storage is building a new cold storage.
About five million hundredweight(cwt.) of red as well as yellow potatoes should be shipped this season. During the ’60s and ’70s the Red River Valley actually shipped more spuds. However, there were a lot more wash plants in those days before consolidations took place. There also was not nearly the competition from potato producing regions in other parts of the country.
Another change in the valley has come with production of yellow potatoes. Volume has tripled over the past six year and now accounts for about 18 percent of the tonnage. Most of the balance comes with the more traditional red potato.
The valley has historically had transportation problems with shortages of trucks. Part of the problem was truckers having difficulty getting loads into the sparsely populated region. However, new federal regulations requiring electronic logging devices are making it even more difficult as many drivers are forced to reduce the number of hours they operate.
Red potatoes from Grand Forks, ND to Chicago – grossing about $2000.
Henningsen Cold Storage
by Henningsen Cold Storage Co.
HILLSBORO, Ore. — Henningsen Cold Storage Co. announces plans to build a new 5-million cubic foot temperature controlled warehouse to support the growing demand of customers in the Yakima Valley and Columbian Basin regions of Washington state. Construction will begin immediately with completion in the summer of 2018.
Grandview is located near the eastern border of Yakima County in south-central Washington State, and is equidistant, 40 miles, from the city of Yakima and the Tri-Cities of Richland, Pasco and Kennewick. It is in the heart of a thriving agri-business region and is an excellent distribution point to services customers throughout the entire Pacific Northwest.
The new location will offer over 20,000 pallet positions, with a variety of configurations and temperature ranges. It is designed to accommodate both production support and high-volume distribution business. A flexible racking design and layout will enable Henningsen to meet the needs of a wide variety of customer requirements.
Henningsen Transportation Services will augment the operation by offering local, regional and nationwide transportation services to manufacturers, retail and foodservice distributors, and international customers utilizing the new facility. About Henningsen Cold Storage Co.
Henningsen Cold Storage Co. is one of the largest public refrigerated warehousing companies in the U.S., with 11 facilities in six states providing 60 million cubic feet of temperature controlled storage. Henningsen is a fifth-generation family owned corporation with roots dating to 1923. To learn more about Henningsen, visit www.henningsen.com