Organic Seed Potatoes: Not an Easy Career

John Hoggan is not sure he was the first grower of organic potatoes in Idaho, but he is certain he was the first one to grow organic seed potatoes. “It’s not easy,” he said. “In fact, it’s a pain in the butt. [They have] to be double certified as seed potatoes and also certified organic.”

To make things even more difficult, a couple of years ago, over an unspecified disagreement, he dropped Idaho’s government organic certification process and switched to California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). “They are the toughest certifiers in the country,” he said of CCOF. “It took me a couple of years to get in line with their program. Eventually, I figured it out, but it’s still not easy,” he said, again repeating a phrase that surfaced throughout the interview.

John Hoggan, Owner, Grand Teton Organics

Hogan's company, Grant Teton Organics, based in Idaho Falls, grows 40 different varieties of organic seed potatoes on 80 acres, yielding well over one million pounds of seed potatoes each season. He has literally thousands of customers, ranging from backyard gardeners who can order as little as one pound of product off his website to commercial growers who order thousands of pounds of several varieties. 

At 75, Hoggan has no plans to retire and no succession plan. He runs the business with a hands-on approach, noting that he and a half-dozen laborers do all the work, from planting to harvesting to shipping out thousands of orders. During the season, his oldest son usually helps out, but he has no interest in taking over the business.

“[CCOF] are the toughest certifiers in the country. It took me a couple of years to get in line with their program. Eventually, I figured it out, but it’s still not easy.” - John Hoggan

Hoggan’s knowledge of potatoes began more than 60 years ago, when as a small boy he began hand picking potatoes from the fields owned by his grandfather and uncles. 

His father was a crop inspector for the state of Idaho, which allowed 10-year-old John the opportunity to visit potato packing sheds of all sizes and start building his knowledge base. “I learned many things about potato grades and the diseases that affected the potatoes,” he said. “I started to learn about cultural practices, including irrigation, seed quality, weed control, potato handling, and much more.”

Grand Teton Organics French Fingerlings

He recalls that his love of potatoes really solidified at the age of 15 when he saw his first variety that wasn’t the standard Russet Burbank. “In 1969, together with my father and my brother, I started the first commercial potato roguing business in Idaho,” he said, explaining that roguing is the process of properly identifying plant diseases and removing them from natural potato fields in order to maintain the integrity of the naturally grown seed potatoes. 

The business expanded into farming a couple years later, with John Hoggan producing his first crop of certified seed potatoes in 1971. He has been involved in potato production ever since, with a career that has seen him wear many hats, including consulting, varietal development, and research. He went to the Middle East on a consulting project to teach growers in the United Arab Emirates what he knows about potatoes. Eventually, the project determined that growing strawberries and peas was a better option, allowing Hoggan to add knowledge about those two crops to his portfolio. “During my life, I have been involved in growing more than 300 different varieties of potatoes,” he said. “Currently, I do work reselecting better strains of existing varieties and helping to develop new varieties.” 

Grand Teton Organics Gold Nuggets

He continued, “I do consulting work for both conventional and organic growers. I have been very lucky in my life as I have been able to travel to many places in the world and to see many great things and meet very interesting people. Each new day is great for me as life has always been a learning experience for me. One of the things that I like best in life is to help people learn to grow potatoes; sometimes I get 10 phone calls in one day, and I am always ready for the next one.”

“During my life, I have been involved in growing more than 300 different varieties of potatoes. Currently, I do work reselecting better strains of existing varieties and helping to develop new varieties.” - John Hoggan

In 1996, he produced his first crop of organic seed potatoes as he saw a niche developing in the seed potato sector, which was a low margin business. “Initially, I was growing both organic and conventional seed,” he said. “But if you follow all the rules, you have to jump through a lot more hoops to grow both at the same time, so I eventually switched to 100 percent organic seed.”

He developed that niche and continued to expand his varietal development and grew his business. A big breakthrough was the self-construction of his website (grandtetonorganics.com) in 2011, which has helped him attract literally thousands of customers. He built the site from the ground up, not knowing anything about computers or web design. “I didn’t know [scatological reference] from wild honey,” he said. “I built the site for people who were computer illiterate like me.”

It worked. “My business has expanded 40 times bigger than it was," he said. "Two-thirds of my customers are farm-to-market growers and CSA [Community Supported Agriculture] organizations. I also sell to huge seed potato repackers who repackage my potatoes and sell them to retailers. I also drop ship some of my specialty varieties for some big players [in the seed potato business].”

Grand Teton Organics Purple Majesty

While he typically has about 40 different varieties of organic seed potatoes to sell every year, Hoggan said there are about a half a dozen varieties that everyone knows that make up the majority of his business in terms of volume. In this group, he lists Yukon Gold, Russet Norkotah, as well as some red varieties and Purple Majesty. “Seventy percent of my business is with my top 10 varieties,” he said, adding that his mantra is variety is the spice of life. “Every year I drop varieties that aren’t selling and add some new ones.”

“Initially, I was growing both organic and conventional seed. But if you follow all the rules, you have to jump through a lot more hoops to grow both at the same time, so I eventually switched to 100 percent organic seed.” - John Hoggan

He notes that many of the varieties he has grown and marketed over the years “were way ahead of their time. I’ve lost my butt several times,” he said.

He remarked that when he started developing niche varieties, the market was not receptive. “Back then in Idaho, it was Russet Burbank or Russet Burbank.”

Grand Teton Organic Russet Bakers

He added that the organic potato grower has a much bigger appetite for specialty varieties, noting that he has customers throughout the nation and into Canada. Hoggan has persevered through hard work and plans to continue until he can’t anymore.

“I tell people, when they see my name in the paper [in the obituaries], you will know I’m coming in late that day,” he quipped.