Snackable Products Start in Michigan’s Bountiful Fields
In partnership with: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
Michigan’s bounty scoops salsa, tops off juicy hamburgers and keeps the country supplied with plenty of crispy, crunchy products. The state is the nation’s No. 1 producer of the potatoes used to make potato chips and the cucumbers used in pickling.
Getting those products from the field to grocery store shelves initially involves attentive farming and responsive harvesting from farmers. It also requires a sophisticated storage, transportation, infrastructure and processing ecosystem – one that’s been built up within the state over many years.
See more: Iconic Food and Drinks That Make Michigan Unique
From Seed to Chip
Before these products can be processed and packaged, of course, they have to be grown. When it comes to potato chips, one specific variety of potato dominates: round white chipping potatoes. “They’re ideal for chipping because they have a thin skin, plus, they fry consistently due to their lower sugar content and uniform size and shape – it’s everything our processors ask for,” says Nate Chesher, marketing manager for the Michigan Potato Industry Commission.
“Potatoes like sandy soil with a lot of drainage,” he says. While they’re grown all over Michigan, the “chip bowl” is on the western side of the state, north of Grand Rapids in Montcalm County. “Most of our seed potato farms are located in Northern Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.”
According to Chesher, Better Made and Uncle Ray’s are two regional brands that use Michigan potatoes. Additionally, Lay’s has two plants in the region that use the potatoes grown in the state’s fields. “One in four bags of potato chips in the United States is filled with Michigan potatoes,” he says. “It’s a lot!”
See more: Michigan’s Farm-to-Table Movement is Sweeping the State
From Cuke to Pickle
The well-drained, sandy soil in which potatoes thrive is also ideal for growing cucumbers. Add that to the state’s warm summer days and cool nights and you’ve got a perfect environment for cukes. While cucumbers are grown all over Michigan, the state’s Saginaw Valley is a leading production area. This tricky crop is known to require nearly perfect timing in order to be harvested.
“The challenge for growers is to complete a timely harvest that generates the most yield and the highest return,” says Mike Kenny, president of Kenny, Inc., a cucumber grading and shipping company supplying most pickle companies. After harvest, the cucumbers are graded into nine different sizes and then sent to a brine tank or directly to a processing line. Kenny says location is vital: “Proximity to the processors has played a critical role in acreage development,” he says. “It saves on freight and also helps maintain quality. The quicker from field to jar or field to brine tank typically equates to a higher-quality end product.”
In-State Support for Michigan Products
“Having a strong production infrastructure right here is certainly part of what makes us so successful in growing product for potato chips and pickles,” says Mollie Woods, director of the Michigan State University (MSU) Product Center, an entrepreneurial and business development unit of the university supporting innovation and growth throughout the food industry. The product center works with everyone from major manufacturers to in-state artisan startups, including McClure’s Pickles and the Great Lakes Potato Chip Co.
When Ed Girrbach wanted to create retail products coming out of his Traverse City pizza restaurant, he worked with the center. The result was Great Lakes Potato Chip Co., which produces a line of small-batch, kettle-cooked, skin-on chips in five flavors. “The MSU Product Center has been a great partner for us,” Girrbach says in a testimonial on the center’s website. “Their efforts in keeping us in the loop in all food-related opportunities in Michigan has been instrumental in securing thousands of dollars in sales.”