“I do think we’re on the right path,” Rolfstad said. “I think it’s worth pursuing. It would add so much diversity to the economic base of the entire Mon-Dak region.”
Twelve years ago, French fry potato processor JR Simplot looked seriously at the Mon-Dak region as a potential site, but instead went to Canada largely over currency exchange rates. Since then, the company’s heads have retired and have maintained contact with Rolfstad as mentors who believe in the Mon-Dak region and its future in the potato business.
Potatoes began being raised back in the late 1990s and have thrived quite well. Because they pay better than most crops, it seems potatoes make sense to pay off the investments farmers make in irrigation, equipment and inputs.
“We’ve seen in the last 30 to 40 years, plants emerge in the Midwest that provide French fries to the East Coast. This the last best place in the Midwest that could meet the demand for growing potatoes for East Coast delivery,” Rolfstad said. When it comes to French fries, restaurants are looking for something different, something “trendier” to meet the demands of their customers. That’s why researchers at the agricultural research station in Sidney are testing potato varieties to find “niche crops.” These include sweet potatoes and Yukon golds.
Rolfstad has regularly visited national potato and food processing trade shows over the years as he hopes to remind key people in the industry the Mon-Dak region is interested in raising potatoes and is an ideal place to build a processing plant.
Preliminary plans involve a $100 million plant just west of Trenton, where it is centrally located in the region and has easy access to the BNSF Railway to ship finished products. It would be capable of employing a couple hundred people.
Unlike sugar beet factories where they operate the plant seasonally, Rolfstad estimates a French fry plant operates 330-350 days a year, which means steadier employment.
“If we were to get a plant like this going, we could get 20 to 30 farmers to grow potatoes,” said Rolfstad.
Potatoes bring $2,000 to $3,000 per acre, much more than sugar beets. Potatoes could be raised in a 150-mile span from Glendive to Glasgow to the Canadian border and all the way east to Minot.
“No matter where (the plant) would be at, it would impact the entire MonDak region,” he said.
Although there aren’t any plans set in stone, Rolfstad is confident that one day the area is going to see a processing plant as it is “well postured for such a location” and the demand for French fries continues to increase.
“It’s important for us to stay the course,” he said. “It’s a matter of when and not if. We have to keep ourselves visible or we may miss that moment of opportunity.”
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