The Halverson family has been growing potatoes since 1928, beginning in the Red River Valley of the North. Initially, Certified Seed potatoes were grown followed by a change to table stock potatoes in 1949. 1959 was the first year the Halverson’s grew potatoes for the chip potato industry. The first 10-acre plot in Forest River, North Dakota planted in 1928 had now expanded into 600 acres there, and over 30,000 acres throughout the United States.

Out Of State Chip Potato Production

The very first out-of-state expansion occurred in 1986. Charleston, Missouri was the chosen area. 270 acres worth of chip-stock potatoes were grown and successfully delivered to chipping facilities throughout the Midwest that very first summer. Below, is Gregg Halverson, hauling a planter in February of 1986 1,033 miles away to Charleston.

Customers were requesting additional fresh dug chip-stock potato during the Spring time-frame. This came to fruition in 1992 when Black Gold Farms expanded to the Pearsall, Texas area. A state-of-the-art facility was built West of Pearsall in 1998.

Growth Beyond Texas and Missouri

In 1994 the Winamac, Indiana farm was added to supply the late summer and fall demand for chip potatoes. A modern grading facility was built in the Summer of 2000 including on-scale loading and hydro-cooling. Production in Arbyrd, Missouri began in 1999 with a harvest start-up time of early June bridged the harvest schedule between Pearsall and Charleston.

A new Black Gold Farms production area began in 2000 in Sturgis, Michigan. It complements and adds flexibility to our Winamac farm as harvest in Sturgis begins in mid-July through October.

East Coast

In 2004 Black Gold Farms purchased the very respected and well known Durwood Cooper Farm near the village of Gum Neck, North Carolina south of Columbia. This was Black Gold Farm's first venture into the highly populated East Coast shipping lanes.

To fill the very important mid-May through June, pre 4th of July potato chip season production in Live Oak, Florida was put into place in 2006. To further ingrain ourselves and produce chip potatoes closer to our customers to help with sustainability for East Coast shipping lanes, production in Rhodesdale, Maryland was added in 2009.

Located on the eastern shore of North Carolina the George Wood Farm in Camden was acquired in 2015. This complements and adds flexibility to the Columbia farm.

Contract Growers

There are time-frames, and geographies however, that Black Gold Farms does not have fresh chip potatoes available. When and where that is the case, we partner with other outstanding potato growers to ensure that our customers have potatoes available on a year round basis.

Chip-stock Harvest & Storage Shipping Time-Frames:

South Florida & South Texas*    April 1 - May 1

North Florida & Pearsall, Texas    May 1 - June 15

Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina    June 1 - July 25

Oklahoma*    June 20 - July 10

Iowa*    July 10 - August 10

Maryland    July 25 - September 1

Indiana & Michigan    July 15 - November 1

Storage Areas*    October 20 - May 1

- ND, MN, WI, MI, OH, NY

* Non Black Gold Farms production