About Our Operation
Located in Langlade County, Wisconsin.
Wirz Inc. began growing 40 acres of potatoes in 1960, joining the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification program in 1964. Today, Wirz Inc. grows approximately 300 acres of foundation and certified seed potatoes and 600 acres of rotational crops.
The farm’s sole location is outside the small town of Antigo, Wisconsin. This precise area is favorable for producing seed potatoes because of its cooler climate and isolated placement meaning fewer threats from pest and disease. The farm fields are all within a 15 mile radius and contain the state soil, the Antigo Silt Loam; the most productive agricultural soil in central Wisconsin.
On the Homefront
Potato storage warehouses make up the bulk of the infrastructure footprint on the farm, holding 120,000 hundred-weight across 13 bins, and plumbed by two humi-cell air plenums. These large, passive humidification systems push fresh winter air throughout the bins to ensure optimal potato storage conditions. The seed potatoes are monitored and stored from harvest time in September, all the way until shipping time in February through April.
Three grain bin storage units are also conveniently located on property. They hold a portion of the yearly rotational crop harvest, typically oats and soybeans.
The farm’s shop is active year round, kept busy with all machine, implement, and truck maintenance, in addition to custom fabrication. The farm’s office and house are also located on the premises.
In the Field
Potato planting typically begins in May, as soon as the weather forecast and ground conditions are favorable. Foundation seed lots are planted first, followed by the 5 larger commercial seed lots. Learn more about the commercial seed potatoes Wirz Inc. grows by visiting the varieties page.
Crop management during the summer months consists of irrigation, hilling, fertilizing, spraying, and monitoring. Around mid summer the potato plants will bloom. During the bloom is when the first potato tubers are starting to form below the soil.
Toward fall, row samples are dug up to check potato size and determine when to end the growing season. Once they are to-size, green vines are killed off and the potatoes rest in the ground, adding their protective skins. Both of these processes help ensure a smooth harvest with less vines to tangle up and stronger spuds to survive transport and storage.
Harvest time is always the most exciting time of the year as dwindling daylight hours and oncoming cooler weather creates an unknown deadline. The entire crew from the equipment operators, to the truck drivers, to the warehouse team, must work together and all be up and running at the same time for the process to work.
It takes a team to get the potatoes out of the ground and back to the farm for storage. If you’re interested in joining this crew, visit the careers page to learn about available seasonal or full time jobs.
Wirz Inc. currently digs 12 rows at a time in the field, filling a fleet of 7 bulk trucks, and all piled in the warehouse bins using 1 elevator.
Badger Common'Tater
November 2016
Don Wirz was interviewed by Joe Kertzman, Managing Editor of the Badger Common’Tater in November of 2016. The full interview and images of Wirz Inc’s digging operation can be found on pages 4, 8-10 and 12-13.
Click here to flip through the digital edition.
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