Story and photos by Dave Alexander, Publisher
If you have been in the potato industry any length of time at all, you know Spudnik is committed to the industry. But the Blackfoot, Idaho, company doesn’t stop there. Spudnik is invested and committed to its local community, as well, providing jobs, events and donations that make a positive impact.
The annual Spudnik Ag Summit debuted as a success last January and will become an annual event. On June 20, Spudnik launched Bingham Ag Days to an event-hungry eastern Idaho, and based on the accomplishment this year, this event will also become a yearly happening.
Bingham Ag Days is named for the county that calls Blackfoot its county seat and largest city. The event featured a tractor, car and motorcycle show, and in typical Spudnik fashion, tours of its facility. Food vendors were brought in, along with over 20 ag-related partners who set up displays.
A constant flow of people trekked onto the Spudnik grounds, spread out over the full day, with a final headcount over 900. Attendees were glad that organizers made the effort because it was the first car show in the area after the COVID-19 shutdown.
Two new paint booths apply Spudnik’s signature red. All components are hung on carts, prepared for paint and then rolled through the booths. Parts are baked at 45 minutes at 145 – 165 degrees to set the paint.
Duane and Montie Nafus brought three classic cars to the event. Duane said he was “definitely happy” he came and was impressed with the turnout for a first-year show.
Nic Christensen is a tractor collector and fifth-generation Blackfoot potato farmer who grows between 1,000 and 1,200 acres per year for the fresh market and another 800 acres that go to Simplot for processing. He said he got involved in antique tractors because his grandfather collected them.
“They are fun to play with and see the history of where farming has come from,” Christensen said.
Spudnik employees led hourly, in-depth tours, which gave attendees a chance to get out of the sun and check out the company’s layout. The tour included the indoor material storage area, one of the largest machine shops in the area, welding and assembly stations and new paint booths.
The real focus of the event, however, was charity, and specifically, Spudnik’s Digging for Hunger campaign. A total of 5,500 pounds of food was collected to stock four local food pantries.
Marketing specialist Emma Forrey and members of the Spudnik crew collect donations for local food pantries.
An on-site raffle was held, also for charity. Companies including Agri-Stor, Northwest Farm Credit Services, Double M Ag and Irrigation and E-Z Tarp donated raffle prizes. Over $7,000 was raised as a result, the funds split between the Bingham Crisis Center and Meals on Wheels.
Emma Forrey, Spudnik marketing specialist, said planners were intent on “supporting their community and giving back, especially after all the challenging times we have been through.”
“We didn’t want this to be a Spudnik event,” she continued. “We wanted to get all of our ag industry partners to come together. We have all worked together as a committee to set up this awesome car show, food drive and the raffle.”
“We love supporting our community and showing off our companies and show what we can all do when we come together as an industry,” Forrey said.
