208-425-3337
601 Hwy 34, PO BOX 241
Grace, ID 83241
Potato Varieties
Gibbs Farms currently raises seven different potato varieties. We have always been willing to try a potato variety that our customer base can use. The Gibbs’ are true believers in only growing a product that you have a market for. Virtually, all of the potatoes we produce have a home before we plant them. We realize how fortunate we are to be in this situation. Contracts are a great thing, but it’s the people behind those contacts that really mater. Below, is a list of our current varieties with a brief explanation of what they are used for within the potato industry. Warning, this is a “farmerized” definition. There is a lot of information on Idaho Potato Commission website. It can be found by clicking here.
Shepody
This is long white potato used mostly in the process market. They are widely used in the French fry industry, because of their color. Shepodys have the desired light color for the French fry market. One down side is their storability. They are rarely harvested and stored, except in the seed industry. They usually are dug green and processed that day. Yield is another poor characteristic. Shepodys are known for being a low yielding variety. They size up nice, a little too nice for the seed grower. Spring sorting always involves paying close attention to tuber size. They are a challenging variety for the seed grower. Being a white potato, they have thin skins, making them more prone to bruising and just more temperamental in general.
Ranger Russets
Rangers are a long russet potato used primarily in the Process market. Since they do have a russet skin, they do store ok. They will size up and yield is better than a Shepody.
Alturas Russet
This is a great potato; the Gibbs’ take a lot of pride in this variety. Years ago, back in 1995, Marc was presented with a 50 lb. bag of seed known as A82360-7. Marc was asked to grow it and propagate it for a couple of seasons. Where upon, there would be enough to send to this company enough to try them on a larger scale in the commercial environment. This was just when Josh was returning to the farm, and together they were able to spend some time to take the project on. Meanwhile, the JR Simplot CO. decided to scrap this variety and offered their young seed stock to the Gibbs’. Marc and Josh decided to take some more A82360-7’s to add to the project. As time went on, Gibbs Farms had the only real quantity of this variety in the entire potato industry. It was later named, Alturas. This is actually a name of a small mountain lake located in the middle of Idaho. One of the early proponents of the variety enjoyed backpacking into Alturas Lake and suggested the name. It stuck, and Alturas was officially in the potato world. Alturas is known for its high specific gravities, and high yield. Because of its low fertilization need, there was a steep learning curve in learning to grow them. They are prone to growth cracks and have a shorter width to length ratio. Alturas are mainly raised for the dehydration market. In farmer jargon, “you just get a lot more flakes from a truck load of Alturas, than you get from other varieties”.
Umatilla Russet
Umatilla is a dual purpose russet potato. Used mostly in the process market and occasionally used for fresh market needs. It’s a good looking potato with a strong russet skin.
Russet Burbank
This is the classic Idaho russet potato. The state of Idaho has had the right climate for this variety to become the standard. Every other variety has been compared to Russet Burbank. Burbank are friendly to the grower. They store extremely well, their tough skin helps them out in all aspects.
Yukon Gold
Dark Red Norland
Potato Varieties
Gibbs Farms currently raises seven different potato varieties. We have always been willing to try a potato variety that our customer base can use. The Gibbs’ are true believers in only growing a product that you have a market for. Virtually, all of the potatoes we produce have a home before we plant them. We realize how fortunate we are to be in this situation. Contracts are a great thing, but it’s the people behind those contacts that really mater. Below, is a list of our current varieties with a brief explanation of what they are used for within the potato industry. Warning, this is a “farmerized” definition. There is a lot of information on Idaho Potato Commission website. It can be found by clicking here.
Shepody
This is long white potato used mostly in the process market. They are widely used in the French fry industry, because of their color. Shepodys have the desired light color for the French fry market. One down side is their storability. They are rarely harvested and stored, except in the seed industry. They usually are dug green and processed that day. Yield is another poor characteristic. Shepodys are known for being a low yielding variety. They size up nice, a little too nice for the seed grower. Spring sorting always involves paying close attention to tuber size. They are a challenging variety for the seed grower. Being a white potato, they have thin skins, making them more prone to bruising and just more temperamental in general.
Ranger Russets
Rangers are a long russet potato used primarily in the Process market. Since they do have a russet skin, they do store ok. They will size up and yield is better than a Shepody.
Alturas Russet
This is a great potato; the Gibbs’ take a lot of pride in this variety. Years ago, back in 1995, Marc was presented with a 50 lb. bag of seed known as A82360-7. Marc was asked to grow it and propagate it for a couple of seasons. Where upon, there would be enough to send to this company enough to try them on a larger scale in the commercial environment. This was just when Josh was returning to the farm, and together they were able to spend some time to take the project on. Meanwhile, the JR Simplot CO. decided to scrap this variety and offered their young seed stock to the Gibbs’. Marc and Josh decided to take some more A82360-7’s to add to the project. As time went on, Gibbs Farms had the only real quantity of this variety in the entire potato industry. It was later named, Alturas. This is actually a name of a small mountain lake located in the middle of Idaho. One of the early proponents of the variety enjoyed backpacking into Alturas Lake and suggested the name. It stuck, and Alturas was officially in the potato world. Alturas is known for its high specific gravities, and high yield. Because of its low fertilization need, there was a steep learning curve in learning to grow them. They are prone to growth cracks and have a shorter width to length ratio. Alturas are mainly raised for the dehydration market. In farmer jargon, “you just get a lot more flakes from a truck load of Alturas, than you get from other varieties”.
Umatilla Russet
Umatilla is a dual purpose russet potato. Used mostly in the process market and occasionally used for fresh market needs. It’s a good looking potato with a strong russet skin.
Russet Burbank
This is the classic Idaho russet potato. The state of Idaho has had the right climate for this variety to become the standard. Every other variety has been compared to Russet Burbank. Burbank are friendly to the grower. They store extremely well, their tough skin helps them out in all aspects.
Yukon Gold
Dark Red Norland