6 October 2014
Common’Tater Interview
with:
Rod Beggs
by Tamas Houlihan, Managing Editor
Name: Rod Beggs
Title: Plant Manager
Organization: Midwestern Potatoes, LLC
Location: Plainfield, WI
Hometown: Plainfield, WI
Current Residence: Plainfield, WI
Years in Present Position: Two
Previous Employment: Midwestern Potatoes,
Inc. – Assistant Manager; Midwestern Farms,
Inc. – Shipping Manager, Maintenance
Supervisor, Spudnik Operator, etc.
Schooling: 1989 Graduate of Tri-County
High School, Plainfield.
Activities/Organizations: Member of
Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers
Association.
Awards/Honors: Primus GFS Certification.
Family: Wife, Candace; Three children,
Mason and Makayla (15) and Jackson (12).
Hobbies: Hunting, boating, snowmobiling.
M
idwestern Farms was
established by a group of
central Wisconsin potato
growers back in 1977.
Formerly owned by Godfrey Erickson,
the operation was primarily a packing
shed for growers/shareholders such as
Fred Reid, L.P. Johnson, Bob and Jim
Johnson, Howard Williams, Larry and
Randy Bacon, Gayle Bacon and Jay
Erickson, as well as some others over
the years. Bob Berard of Paramount
Farms has been a primary owner along
with Denzel Beggs, who served as the
Plant Manager for over 35 years.
In October of 2013, Denzel’s son, Rod,
along with Bob Berard, bought out the
ownership group which at that time
consisted of Denzel and Dave Beggs,
Jay Erickson and Berard. In July of
this year, Bob and Rod sold one-third
of the operation to Bushmans’, Inc.,
headquartered in Rosholt.
Focusing strictly on russet potatoes for
the fresh market, Rod Beggs works an
average of 70 hours a week making
sure the entire operation runs smoothly.
Over the years, Rod has done every
job there is to do at the packing facility,
from Spudnik operator to maintenance,
Shipping Manager to Plant Manager.
A 1989 graduate of Tri-County High
School in Plainfield, Rod joined the
Army Reserves, but began working
at Midwestern Farms right out of high
school. He left the operation in 2004
and was self-employed in Janesville,
Wisconsin for eight years before
Traceability is a big change that has happened just
in the last three years. We have to be able to trace
every bag back to the field and know what happens
to that potato every step in the process. It’s very
time-consuming and costly; and the return is just
that you get to stay in business!
THE BADGER COMMON’TATER 7
The sign at the corner of Hwy. B and
Aspen Avenue in Plainfield.
40-count up to 140-count); 30-pound
boxes; and 2,000-pound totes. We
package in poly and poly-mesh bags, as
well as paper master bales along with
mesh and poly master bales. We handle
hundreds of different brands and labels.
Rod Beggs is shown with pallets full of cartons ready for shipping.
returning to Midwestern as the Assistant
Manager.
In the following interview, Rod
comments on a number of issues related
to the potato bagging and packaging
industry.
What is the potato packing capacity of
your facility?
We have storage capacity of 440,000
cwt. of potatoes. We are capable of
running well over 1 million cwt. of
potatoes a year, but the last two years
we have packed closer to 600,000
cwt. We are expecting to pack about
800,000 cwt. this season.
How many growers do you work with
and about how many acres of potatoes
do you pack?
Before we sold one-third of the business
to Bushmans’, Inc., we only worked with
four main growers (Paramount Farms,
Paul Miller Farms, H&J Williams Farms
and Weekly Farms). Now we work with
What is the most popular potato
package size and type of potato for
your business?
eight or nine main growers. Our main
supplier is Paramount Farms. All told, I
would say we pack potatoes from about
1,600 acres.
A 10-pound poly bag of russets is the
most popular. Goldrush and Russet
Norkotah are the main varieties. We
handle some Russet Burbank potatoes
and we have also packed Silvertons.
What range of potato packaging do
you offer (bags/cartons, sizes and
materials)?
What does your operation use for
packing equipment?
We handle just about everything, from
3- to 20-pound poly bags; 50-pound
paper bags; 50-pound cartons (from
We have two 12-scale Volmpacks and
two 14-scale AB Manufaktur baggers.
We have a 5-lane Hagan Sizer and three
continued on pg. 8
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8 October 2014
Common’Tater Interview . . .
continued from pg. 7
Left: Rod Beggs is shown at his desk where he admits he doesn’t spend a lot of his time. Center: Potatoes are unloaded off trucks
and head into storage.
lanes have x-ray capability for hollow
heart detection and shape sizing. We
also have a 30-pound Hagan Box Filler.
Have you used any new potato
packaging equipment in recent years?
If so, what?
Yes, the two 14-scale AB packaging
machines are brand new—we just
bought them in July of this year. The
jury is still out on them. The Volmpacks
are 18 years old but they still work
extremely well. We also completely
updated the Hagan Sizer this summer.
We had it stripped down and replaced
all the old parts with updates. It works
very well.
What are your thoughts on the
importance of the potato package
compared to the product inside?
I think the importance should be placed
on the product inside the package
rather than the package itself. But that’s
not always the case with everyone
A Hagan Sizer can be used to fill cartons from 40-count to 140-count.
else. Certain buyers want nice, shiny
packages and they’re more concerned
with that than what’s inside them. At the
consumer level, I would think people
would look closely at the potatoes
that they’re buying—but maybe they
don’t. Some people probably think that
We will continue to see more and
more automation.
Good help is getting harder and
harder to find.
a potato is a potato and they’re more
concerned with the price or what the
bag looks like. From my perspective,
the shiny, flashy packaging costs more
and consumers generally don’t want to
pay more for their potatoes. But if it
helps move product, I’m all for it.
What are some of the trends you’ve
seen with regard to potato packaging
in recent years?
We’re seeing more and more of the
fancy, high graphic packaging in an
effort to “sell the sizzle” rather than
the steak. We’re also seeing a lot more
specialty pack items and specialty sizes,
such as 5-9 ounce potatoes or 10 ounce
THE BADGER COMMON’TATER 9
Above: Midwestern Potatoes expects to grade and package 800,000 cwt. of potatoes this season. Right: Beggs uses two 12-scale
Volmpacks in his operation.
minimum. Back in the day, we packed
baking potatoes in 10-pound bags all
day long all week long. In the last five
to ten years, we’ve been doing a lot
more 5-pound bags than we ever did.
We do a lot of 10-pounders around the
holidays, but the rest of the time there is
strong demand for 5-pound bags.
Another trend is that the industry has
gone to pretty much all private label
bags now. Bak’n Tater was our stock
label throughout the years, but it doesn’t
exist anymore.
How has potato packaging changed in
the last ten years?
Automation is the biggest thing.
Automatic balers, palletizers and
graders are becoming much more
common. We don’t have that yet, but
we’re looking into it.
Another big change is that we used to
have a fairly simple USDA audit each
year, but now we have to be Primus
GFS certified every year. Traceability
is a big change that has happened just
in the last three years. We have to be
able to trace every bag back to the field
and know what happens to that potato
every step in the process. It’s very timeconsuming and costly; and the return is
just that you get to stay in business! We
had to get updated software so we can
scan everything using pallet tags for inhouse inventory purposes. Last January
we used RedLine Solutions to put labels
on all of our bales or bins of potatoes.
These are costs you just have to absorb
as the cost of doing business.
continued on pg. 10
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10 October 2014
Common’Tater Interview . . .
continued from pg. 9
Above: Potatoes ride the conveyors into
storage where they will later be flumed into
the packing facility.
Right: The storage capacity at Midwestern
Potatoes is 440,000 cwt.
What do you see coming in the future
in terms of potato packaging?
may look at getting robots, automatic
balers and automatic grading.
We will continue to see more and more
automation. Good help is getting harder
and harder to find. Down the road we
I think there will also be more specialty
packs of potatoes coming as well.
Another thing we’re seeing is that cross-
docking and value-added services are
now required to keep your customers
happy and keep the business; at the
same time, we have to keep the grower
happy, too.
The storage capacity at Midwestern Potatoes is 440,000 cwt.