Today
Today, the farm is managed by Andrew, Kent, and Duane. They have continued to expand the farm and purchased four more circles since 2014. The farm is comprised of 3,200 acres, 2,040 which are farmable. The farm has been selling certified seed for over two decades. The production and quality of the certified seed, and the satisfaction of their business partners, is an area where the Price’s take extreme pride.
Kent and his wife Lorena have been married over 37 years and have four married children and 9 grandchildren. Scott is a practicing lawyer while his wife is a doctor. They plan on settling down to work and raise their two boys in Durango, CO. Chad and his wife along with their three children live in the San Luis Valley where he works at the COOP and she is the elementary counselor. Hannah and her husband reside in Phoenix where her husband is a nurse and she is able to stay at home and raise their two children.
Duane and his wife Mary have been married 14 years and have a blended family of six children and two grandchildren. Chelsea is married with two boys. Justin works at a local potato warehouse. Aiden just graduated high school and is looking to pursue aviation. Aaron is attending high school and enjoys cross country. Their twins, Jacob and Corwyn, are in middle school and play football.
Andrew and his wife Amber have been married for ten years and have two children. He has been working and managing the farm for ten years while she does the bookkeeping for the farm. Mason loves sports and school while Cameron loves being outside. Both enjoy all the perks of living on the family farm. They also attend the same school as Chad and Duane’s children.
History
Price Farms was started By James Truman Price in 1966. Truman started out his farming career in Texas during the year 1955. In 1965 he discovered 280 acres of farm land for sale in Colorado which he purchased. He moved to the San Luis Valley in 1966 to start Price Farms. When he arrived in Colorado he was the only employee he could afford and his available equipment was: 1 tractor, 1 harvester, 1 piler, 1 truck, and 2 old planters.
In 1972 Truman was able to buy a new 4 row planter that allowed him to greatly improve his production. Due to the successful year he was able to expand the farm by purchasing his own storage space and new plots of land.
In 1973 Truman started Price Farms first certified seed program. The Program was only able to last until 1976 due to the fact that Truman did not have the proper storage facilities to produce the quality of seed that he desired.
In 1987 Truman's Oldest son Kent took an active role in the operation of the farms daily activities. Kent was a graduate from Adams State with a major in Industrial Arts.
In 1993 Duane, Truman's other son, began assisting his father and brother in running the farm. He was also a graduate from Adams State College with a degree in business.Following the additions of both Kent and Duane, Price Farms began to take a drastic turn towards the positive. Several new plots of land were purchased, New and improved equipment was acquired, tactics and science began to greatly improve the quality of the crops, and Storage facilities were greatly improved and their numbers increased.
In the year 2000 Truman, Kent and Duane made the decision to restart the certified seed program within the farm. They reached this conclusion based on the facts that their storage facilities, new equipment, and ability to properly produce a quality product, had greatly improved since the attempt in 1973. In the year 2008 Truman retired. When Truman left, the farm it consisted of 2,240 acres of land had, 6 tractors, 8 trucks, several other equipment for seed, planting, and harvesting.
The San Luis Valley
The San Luis Valley has been a large potato producing economy for many years now. They first started growing potatoes in the 1880’s and have continued to produce today. They have become one of the largest production areas producing over 50,000 acres of potatoes. A large portion of these acres are used to produce certified seed. The San Luis Valley provides the majority of Colorado with seed potatoes. The Valley has been extremely vital in the growth of the potato industry and will continue to do so.
Potato Farming
The Potato was first discovered in about 8000 and 5000 BC in southern Peru. Since then it quickly spread throughout the world and has become one of the most valued crops in the world. The top potato producers in the world are currently China and India. Although the United States produces approximately 19.4 million metric tons a year they are still only the fifth largest producer in the world. Potatoes are one of the staple crops in the world and are believed to be staying there.
