Wisconsin Potatoes – A Tradition of Innovation

ANTIGO, WI - Picture the last time you went to the grocery store for farm-fresh potatoes. The beautiful display of colorful varieties we’ve come to expect didn’t happen by chance. You may not know it, but whether you picked up hearty Russets, robust reds, or colorful petite creamers, you purchased a masterpiece of nature over a decade in the making. Why? Relentless dedication to the lofty standards that define Wisconsin potatoes.

Wisconsin potato growers collaborate closely with the University of Wisconsin (UW) to achieve and sustain these standards for quality. Their commitment to research, innovation, and quality assurance is exemplified in two hardworking public-private partnerships: the UW-Madison potato breeding program and the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification program.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Potato Breeding Program

Though there are countless potato varieties in the world (the International Potato Center’s estimate exceeds 4500), potatoes grown in the US fit into a few major categories: Russet, yellow, red, white, blue and purple, and fingerling.

Multiple varieties in each category are grown locally in Wisconsin. In fact, when it comes to potato cultivation and research, Wisconsin is a center of innovation and home to top researchers who develop and test new potato varieties.

The University of Wisconsin potato breeding program selects new varieties for soil, climate, growing season, and crop pressures specific to Wisconsin. Here, new varieties are developed by cross-pollination to identify improved combinations of desired characteristics. It can take over a decade to develop a new variety with commercial potential, but improving environmental sustainability has long been the primary goal for breeders, and promising varieties that require fewer crop protectants and less nitrogen to thrive are already under development.

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