Bancroft, Wis. — RPE, Inc. has announced its partnership with Lynn and Jeffery McCullough, the father-son team who own Lynn McCullough Farms, LLC, Spud Grower Farms, LLC and The Spud Seller, LLC in the San Luis Valley of Colo. RPE will serve as the exclusive marketer for Spud Grower Farms and The Spud Seller.
This season, Spud Grower Farms grew Russet Norkotahs, Rio Grandes and Canelas, totaling just over 1,500 acres. After performing a $4 million expansion to the grading line, The Spud Seller has one of the most modern potato packaging facilities in the San Luis Valley. The partnership will provide RPE with more than two million 50-pound units of potatoes to sell each year from Spud Grower Farms and other Colorado-based growers.
McCulloughs’ facility grades year-round, giving RPE a constant supply of Colorado potatoes, and is capable of packing 10 million pounds of potatoes per month. The Spud Seller packs cartons, packages in all sizes, packs and ranges. The facility is third-party certified by Scientific Certification Systems.
“RPE is a good partner for our operations,” says Lynn McCullough. “Both RPE and our farms and packaging facilities are family-owned and operated and have many of the same goals in common, including the desire to pass our family-owned businesses on to future generations. We share the same values and integrity; have similar family connections and have a strong focus on the future of the potato industry.”
McCullough is no stranger to Colorado agriculture. Lynn McCullough’s family has been farming in the San Luis Valley since the 1930s, and Lynn joined the operation in 1974, farming with his father until 1987 when he and his wife, Shirley, purchased The Spud Seller. Lynn has been growing and packing potatoes since then. In 2009 Lynn’s son, Jeffery, and his wife, Holly joined the operation, creating the fourth generation of the family-owned operations.
“As growers first, we can identify with Lynn and Jeffery, while also focusing on the goals of our customers,” says Russell Wysocki, CEO of RPE. “We believe that the additional volume and packaging operations will yield greater options for our customers, while delivering on our corporate initiatives for quality execution through category leadership.”
RPE, a second generation family farm, is a category leader and key grower/shipper of year-round potatoes and onions. RPE prides itself on maintaining a high level of business integrity that includes commitments to environmental sustainability, as well as category innovation and retail solutions.
Source: RPE, Inc.