North Dakota's Carl Hoverson Presented with NPC's 2013 Environmental Stewardship Award
 
Carl Hoverson of Hoverson Farms in Larimore, N.D., was named the recipient of the prestigious 2013 Environmental Stewardship Award presented at NPC's 2014 Annual Meeting.
 
The annual award is a component of the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program, a partnership between NPC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to protect the environment and promote the safe and effective use of pesticides.
 
Hoverson Farms is a family farm and an example of large-scale, capital-intensive farming that is both economically and environmentally sustainable - enhancing the environment, protecting the resource base, and producing high-quality potatoes.  The farm was recognized for its outstanding achievement in reducing the risk of pesticides on the farm without compromising potato yield or quality. The tools of precision agriculture - such as GPS - make it possible for the farm to be more efficient with fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. Additionally, pesticides are used sparingly, sometimes just on the edges of fields, chemistries are rotated to avoid pest resistance, and the farm is transitioning to slow-release encapsulated fertilizer.    
 
The fifth-generation family farm started raising potatoes in 1982 in response to the farm crisis in the early 1980s that depressed other commodity prices. In addition to Carl, the family operation is managed by his sons Mike, who handles the farm's agronomy, and Casey, who manages its irrigation.
 
A video of Hoverson Farms' sustainability practices was created through the generous sponsorship of DuPont Crop Protection. Each year, videos of Environmental Stewardship Award winners are used by schools, agricultural organizations, and civic groups to demonstrate the potato industry's commitment to sound environmental stewardship. The video is available online at http://z.umn.edu/j13. Complimentary DVD copies are available by emailing  spudinfo@nationalpotatocouncil.org. (From NPC Inside Report January 17, 2014)