Potatoes

The Illinois Farm Family Who Inspired Lay’s ‘Last Harvest’ Super Bowl Commercial

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 19:51:34 GMT

It was a one-minute spot that captured hearts on Super Bowl Sunday. Lay’s “Last Harvest” commercial told the story of a farm family passing the torch from one generation to the next, rooted in memories, hard work and the bond between parent and child.

While the story in the Super Bowl ad was fictional, it was inspired by the real-life experiences of third-generation potato producer Tom Neumiller and his daughter Katie Floming, the fourth generation working alongside him at Neumiller Farms in Savanna, Ill.

A Story That Hits Home

Floming, operations manager at Neumiller Farms, recalls watching the commercial for the first time.

“I was so touched. It really hit home for me,” she says. “Growing up, if I wanted to see my parents, I had to go to the farm because they were always working. That’s where we spent our family time, quick meals, then back to work. I loved it. There are no complaints there. Being present at the farm was everything.”

The commercial’s depiction of a young girl chasing her parents through potato fields and learning the ropes mirrored Katie’s own childhood experiences. She laughs as she recalls one particular scene.

“When she came outside wearing white tennis shoes to work, that hit home. I remember showing up in sandals, and my dad would just shake his head. I had to go home and change,” Floming says..

For Neumiller, seeing their family’s life portrayed on such a massive stage was humbling.

“Farmers don’t usually end up in Super Bowl commercials, but this is very nice,” he says. “For that one-minute ad, they captured a farm family and our legacy all in one. It was just amazing.”

Floming adds that the story resonated with many viewers beyond their family.

“It’s very relatable. People would come up at the Super Bowl and say, ‘My grandfather was in that situation’ or ‘My family didn’t have the option to pass it on.’ It’s a story that connects with most people,” she says.

Farming in Northern Illinois: Unique Challenges

Neumiller Farms isn’t a typical potato operation. Neumiller explains growing potatoes in northern Illinois requires creativity, considering they are the lone family growing potatoes in northern Illinois.

“We’re the only ones in the area,” Neumiller says. “You need good water and light, sandy soil. Illinois has pockets of sand, so we’ve become a very mobile farm. We have one farm 150 miles away, another 30 miles south and another 15 miles north. It allows us to manage the light soils and adequate water we need.”

Floming now manages daily operations, but Neumiller remains deeply involved.

“I’m old school. I want to be involved in everything,” he says. “I talk to the managers every day. I get here early and stay around, maybe too long, but I stay involved in everything.”

The family works side by side, literally.

Floming says: “Our desks are right next to each other. We’re constantly feeding off each other, and we always know what’s going on.”

Neumiller smiles, adding: “My wife’s on the other side, and we’ve been married 54 years. She’s been involved in the business from way back.”

“He doesn’t get a break,” Floming quips.

Passing the Torch

Though Neumiller hopes for a few more harvests, Floming embraces the responsibility of continuing the family legacy.

“I’m very thankful to still be farming alongside my dad,” she says. “He’s grown the farm, but it’s my responsibility to keep it going, for our family, our employees and our community. I want to do the best I can to preserve our foundation while building for the future.”

A plaque on the wall of Neumiller Farms signifies seven decades of producing potatoes for Frito-Lay, a partnership that made their story perfect for Lay’s Super Bowl spotlight.

Neumiller reflects on the broader significance: “All of us farmers, we’re not usually in the spotlight. But it’s an honor to show the connection between soil, farming and the food we produce. Sustainability, passing on the farm, doing the job right — it all matters. Our story continues, and that’s what I hope to pass on.”

A Last Harvest That Connected Us All

As Lay’s “Last Harvest” reminded viewers on Super Bowl Sunday, the foods we enjoy come from real families working the land, generation after generation. For the Neumillers, that legacy is alive and thriving, one potato at a time, creating a story that connected us all.

If you thought the 60-second commercial was memorable, watch the full three-minute version on Lay’s YouTube page .

2026 Top Producer of the Year: Alsum Farms and Produce

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:35:33 GMT

The work never stops at Alsum Farms and Produce in Friesland, Wis., as the team packs potatoes of all sorts and sizes, preparing to ship them to grocers across the country.

“The company is 52 years old, and we’re very proud of that history,” says Larry Alsum, owner and CEO. “We started out repacking potatoes and onions as a small business that was literally a pickup truck and garage startup.”

Today, the company moves millions of pounds of produce a year.

For its success in the business of agriculture, Alsum Farms and Produce was named the 2026 Top Producer of the Year. Recognized at the 2026 Top Producer Summit , the award, sponsored by BASF and Fendt, is based on entrepreneurial originality, business progress and leadership. Congratulations to the Alsum family as well as the 2026 Top Producer of the Year award finalists, Dalton Farms and Splitter Farms .

Building the Business

Alsum has been part of the operation for 45 years after leaving a public accounting job to take the reins following the death of his cousin, who died in a small plane crash.

“It took me about a month, a lot of prayer, a lot of soul searching about what my future was going to look like and searching for what God wanted me to do,” Alsum remembers.

Ultimately, he and his family moved home, near the dairy farm he grew up on, to try his hand at something new. His new job meant running a business that bought 100 lb. bags of potatoes and onions and repacked them into smaller bags for grocery stores.

“The first couple of years were rough, and I had a lot to learn,” Alsum says. “We survived, and as we grew, I saw opportunities to do things differently.”

Larry Alsum grew up on a nearby dairy farm but got a degree in accounting before returning to the operation.

(Clinton Griffiths)

Always willing to learn and try something new, the business continues to evolve today. The operation not only packs, but it also washes, sorts and sells to a number of grocers like Costco Wholesale. They also farm and grow their own produce, including several hundred acres of pumpkins.

“In 2020, some land became available for sale, and so as part of that we were able to purchase a pumpkin packing shed,” Heidi Alsum-Randall says. “Diversification is key for any business.”

Randall and her sister, Wendy Alsum-Dykstra, help run this business with their father. Together, they share the chief operating officer role.

“My siblings and I all grew up working in the family business,” Dykstra adds. “We all held a variety of jobs. My brothers did some of the lawn mowing. We all did some potato grading.”

It’s been a lifetime of experience they’re now putting to use, working alongside their father to build toward the future.

“We are growing, but we’re a relatively small business in a very small community,” Dykstra says. “We employ many people we know, many people in our local communities, some relatives and friends. It’s a great place to work.”

“Without the 200-plus employees, we wouldn’t be in business,” Randall echoes. “That piece of making sure that we’re treating our people right and fairly, that we are caring about their overall health and wellness, is a big thing for us as an organization.”

Harnessing AI and High-Tech Innovation

More recently, that workforce is getting help from high-tech hands. Artificial intelligence is now sizing and sorting produce, which is improving both speed and efficiency.

“A lot of the jobs that we need today weren’t even in existence five or 10 years ago,” Randall says. “So, it is really changing how we operate and do things.”

Alsum Farms and Produce has recently installed AI-powered sorting to help with speed and efficiency.

(Clinton Griffiths)

“Technology can be challenging,” Dykstra adds. “Change can be a challenge. I think getting our team on board, embracing the newest technology, embracing change, embracing new software that helps us process information in a better way, has been both a challenge and an opportunity.”

Even as technology grabs a seat at the table, the picture of this business to consumers is its heartfelt connection to the farm. Alsum continues to be the face of the brand.

“The average consumer doesn’t really know where their food comes from, and so we wanted to show there’s a farmer, there’s land and fields involved in the process,” he explains. “It’s very important for the consumer to understand that their food is grown in a very safe, very high-quality way.”

As they drive forward, this focused family hasn’t forgotten the years of tough times and tight margins.

“If I can help a farmer, if I could help a customer and add value to the whole process, that’s what I’ve always felt was our opportunity to grow the business,” Alsum says.

Alsum Farms and Produce washes and sorts millions of pounds of potatoes in a year.

(Clinton Griffiths)

"The Little Farmer": The Super Bowl Commercial that Captured Hearts and Put the Spotlight on Agriculture

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 17:05:40 GMT

It was a Super Bowl commercial with a story, and one that sprouted from a real potato grower in Wisconsin. Frito Lay and PepsiCo helped put the spotlight on agriculture Super Bowl Sunday, while also celebrating real farmers.

“There’s a lot of pride that goes into growing anything in agriculture, says Jeremie Pavelski, a farmer in Hancock, Wis. , which is located in the central part of the state.

Pavelski is a fifth-generation farmer. The potatoes Pavelski produces go to Lay’s, and it’s something his family has done for 71 years.

“Most of our potatoes are going there specialized for going into potato chips, which is fairly unique,” he says.

The Super Bowl commercial that aired on Sunday was inspired by Pavelski’s story, after he hosted a farm tour for Frito Lay one day.

“They thought that was a great story that needed to be shared, and we weren’t expecting it to be shared on the big stage,” says Pavelski. “But it it was, and it’s a very emotional, very touching commercial. And it’s very rewarding, especially to be working with such great partners.”

The group was especially touched by Pavelski’s 7-year-old daughter, who is passionate abut the potatoes her family produces.

“Seeing my daughter’s eyes light up when she is going out in the middle of the field and teaching her friends where food comes from. And seeing her when she’s got her boots on, splashing around in the mud...and the joy, the delight on her face when she opens a bag of Lay’s and says, ‘I helped grow this’ along with our team, that is one of the most honestly inspirational things,” he says.

Pavelski’s daughter wasn’t the girl who actually appeared in the commercial, but it’s her story that helped the team at Frito Lay dream up an extremely touching commercial, while also helping bring light to the fact those Lay’s potato chips are grown by real farmers on real farms, like Pavelski’s.

“You can see what it took, years of hard work to do and years of learning, whether it’s from the growing side of things or from our daughter and just seeing what ends up becoming of this, and how it can really bring joy to a lot of people. I get a little choked up here, almost brings a tear to my eye,” he says.

One little potato with one big dream was the theme of the commercial. It was also a nod to U.S. family farmers all across the country — families who are the foundation of the food that fuels us all.

Pavelski was named a Top Producer of the Year finalist in 2018. You can read his story here .

Novel Approach Makes Previously Untapped Phosphorus Available To Crops

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:38:02 GMT

With its new enzyme mode of action, Phosforce from Koch Agronomic Services is a novel phosphorus nutrient use efficiency product. It aims to make more phosphorus available to the plant during critical growth periods.

“Phosforce builds on our expertise with enzymes, but our previous work focused on nitrogen enzymes. It’s a new concept to bring to phosphorus,” says Tim Laatsch, director of agronomy for Koch Agronomic Services. “It is novel and differentiated in how it leverages natural biology to unlock the soil phosphorus.”

The enzyme in Phosforce is already in the soil but available in limited supply, and application accelerates the biochemical reactions in the soil to tap an previous unused pool of soil phosphorus.

“Phosforce highlights the untapped resource of organic phosphorus that is already in the soil. Only recently has organic phosphorus come to the forefront and we’ve started to understand how much organic phosphorus is in soils,” Laatsch says. “For example, I saw a study with a wide range of soils across Illinois and the samples ranged from 25 lb to 400 lb of organic phosphorus that we could potentially access.”

While phosphorus is relatively immobile in the soil, it’s even harder for the plant to use in cool and wet soil conditions. Making phosphorus available for plant uptake leads to healthy root development, improved vigor, and nutritional balance to overcome early environmental stress.

“In the early growing season, the plants need phosphorus to set a strong root foundation and grow rapidly,” Laatsch says. “Providing access to soil organic phosphorus is important especially during the window of time when the plant needs it the most.”
Laatsch says this is not to be confused with biological products on the market.

“This is a biochemical solution with concentrated enzymes. The end product works by adding enzymes to the soil, but we aren’t reliant on a microbe to survive in the package and then combine with the native biology,” Laatsch says. “We are starting to learn a lot more to unlock the organic phosphorus and be able to access it. You can think of it like phosphorus in your savings account. You can use the enzyme to unlock the savings account and make a withdrawal.”

The application rate for most row crops is 8 fl. oz per acre. Certain crops have higher recommended rates such as potatoes at 20 fl. oz per acre. Phosforce can be applied in furrow, banded (such as a 2x2 placement), at sidedress, in a broadcast application, or with fertigation. It’s active in the soil for up to eight weeks.

Applying additional amounts of the enzyme found in Phosforce augments a traditional phosphorus fertilizer program rather than replaces other phosphorus application rates.
“It doesn’t have to ride with a phosphorus fertilizer—it can go with UAN, ATS blends, and doesn’t necessarily have to ride with a starter,” Laatsch says. “It’s stable in fertilizer blends for three weeks. And it has a two year shelf life.”

Koch Agronomic Services has 10 years of product research data across 150 trials. Those show an average of 5.2 bu. yield response and an overall 81% numeric win rate.
“This product delivers consistent performance,” Laatsch says.

It’s labeled for all crops: row crops, specialty crops like potatoes, tree nuts, vines, turf, and ornamentals.

“All crops need phosphorus when they start growing,” Laatsch says. “So this product unlocks the organic phosphorus using its new mode of action, and it fits well into our nutrient enhancement product lineup.”

The product is available through major U.S. distributors for the 2025 growing season and can be purchased through that channel.

Washington Grower Shares How To Scale Regenerative Farming

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 13:30:00 GMT

By Deborah Huso

Austin Allred’s family has been farming the Royal Slope region of Washington state between Seattle and Spokane for three generations. He and his two brothers, Derek and Tyson, farm a combined 6,000 acres. They grow potatoes, cherry and apple trees and produce honey, while also running 10,000 beef cattle and milking about 6,000 dairy cows. The family also recently added a worm farm and a beef processing facility.

Like many producers with combined operations, Royal Family Farms focuses on finding a purpose for every acre and every byproduct. In fact, the Allreds have been practicing regenerative farming before it really had its own term.

“My dad was no-tilling before it was billed as regenerative,” Allred explains. “He was doing it to reduce diesel usage. He was also very conscientious about planting woodstock in corners of fields.”

Allred and his siblings took the same approach as they expanded the farm operations.

“I accelerated and defined [what Dad was doing] and put some strategy to it,” Allred says, with the goals of building organic matter in the soil, sequestering carbon and cleaning wastewater.

Royal Family Farms

(Royal Family Farms)

Extended Crop Rotations and Grazing
Allred recognizes the kind of stress agricultural production can put on the land, hence the many inputs required in traditional farming. But Royal Family Farms has demonstrated that not only do regenerative practices work, but one can accomplish them at scale.

“Anytime you’re growing a crop that a human can digest, you’re going to put a lot of pressure on soil,” Allred says. “It’s really hard to do a total no-till strategy. You can’t plant weeds with your wheat.”

Allred says potatoes are the least regenerative crop the farm grows, but says they counteract it by working cattle into a long crop rotation for added soil fertilization.

“If 20% of the ground is in potatoes, that land doesn’t come back online for another six to seven years. And during those years, we do a lot of composting,” he says. “Other years we do cover cropping and planting multispecies crops to grow microbial activity.”

Allred grazes his beef cattle on the cover crops, which provides feed while simultaneously adding more soil amendments, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).

Upcycling Everything
Nothing goes to waste at Royal Family Farms. The Allreds work with all the processors who clean and box their apples and turn their potatoes into French fries to retrieve all of the products that don’t qualify for human consumption to be upcycled into protein, as Allred explains it, providing food for their cattle in the form of potato culls or damaged fruit or nutrient-rich compost for their fields. Meanwhile any wood chips produced when the Allreds retire a cherry or apple orchard is either turned into cattle bedding, used for the worm farm or processed into biochar, a carbon-rich byproduct.

The Allreds’ interest in biochar, a charcoal-like substance derived from organic waste, developed out of a desire to bring more carbon into agricultural systems. And for the past few months, Royal Family Farms has used four machines to burn wood chips into charcoal that, when mixed with compost, recharges carbon in the soil.

“As farmers, we are selling off carbon, whether it’s beef, milk or cherries,” Allred says. “Seventy to 80% of retired apple, cherry and pear trees in Washington were getting burned at the end of their effective life. Biochar was a way to bring in more carbon and upcycle and compost it.”

“We try to upcycle every byproduct into something of value,” Allred says. “Eventually it all becomes a soil amendment. It’s only a loss if we let that carbon into the air.”

Reusing Wastewater With Worms
Water is a critical part of any farming operation, and Royal Family Farms sought out a better way to
filter wastewater from their dairy operations and reuse it. What was their regenerative solution? Worms.

“We started investing in what is now the biggest worm farm in the world about eight years ago,” Allred says.

Working with a company called BioFiltro headquartered in Santiago, Chile, the Allreds’ worm farm includes eight acres of what looks like 5'-deep swimming pools. These pools are able to serve as the home for about 50 million worms at any one time.

“Wood chips make up the medium they live in, and that’s also the filter for the dirty water,” Allred explains. “The dairy is designed to flow to a low spot, where we have two 5,000-gallon vacuums that bring the wastewater to the worms.”

The worms digest the wastewater, removing heavy metals and other contaminants. The waste matter the worms produce is rich in microbials, and the Allreds take the worm castings and mix them with compost to produce nutrient-dense soil.

Royal Family Farms

(Royal Family Farms)

Eliminating Waste and Need for Inputs
Allred says engaging in regenerative practices large-scale required careful consideration of how everything could work together.

“We started integrating vegetable, fruit, protein and bees to get to the next generation of regeneration,” he explains. Allred points out that the digestive systems of cattle along with biochar create compost. “It’s all about upcycling ‘waste’ products.”

The result of instituting these practices is dramatically reduced reliance on inputs.

“This year we used no phosphorus and potassium and had equal to or greater yields without it,” Allred remarks. “And across the board, we have better quality.”

He adds the farm’s greatest payout is not having to input synthetics.

“The more natural systems we have in play, the more nutrients we keep in the loop, the less we have to go get inputs,” he says.

Allred acknowledges farmers can filter water through mechanical or chemical systems, but says natural systems are typically cheaper to implement.

“Natural investments are always going to have a long-term return on investment,” Allred says. “The problem is producers often don’t have the margin to always be investing in long-term ROI.”

Royal Family Farms’ regenerative farming practices offer payoffs 10 to 15 years out, Allred estimates.

“We’ve bridged that gap with carbon credits and vertically integrating to pick up those margins,” he says.

This year Royal Family Farms is starting to see its regenerative operations pay off in a big way.

“We purchased 90% less phosphorus and potassium [K] than we have in the past and significantly less nitrogen,” Allred says. “We’re working on nitrogen for the next five years because ruminants make P and K.”

“Regenerative farming starts to gobble up the biggest expenses any farm is going to pay — your fertilizer bill and your chemical bill,” he says. “On the cattle side, your feed bill is your biggest expense. Regenerative farming gives you higher-quality, local food.”

No one knows better than you that the future of your farm depends on balancing practices and profits that sustain your land, resources and family . The stakes are evolving based on weather patterns, technology, market demand and more. What actions are you taking to remain resilient?

Farm Management New Year’s Resolutions for 2025

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 14:00:00 GMT

We asked past Top Producer award winners to share what’s new for them in the coming year. Here are some of the responses they shared with us:

“For the first time, we planted all our acres going to corn or soybeans next year to a cover crop. It is not the first time we have planted cover crops, but it is the first time we have done that many acres.” ~Bill Came
“We are hiring more people for the same amount of tractor seats. We are scheduling much better. We do this for two reasons — younger employees don’t want to work as much as they used to. Most used to work six days a week 10 years ago and now they are happy with four days a week. The second reason is ag overtime has passed in Oregon, so in order to manage overtime, we manage hours.” ~Shelly Boshart Davis
“We are continuing to expand the intensity of revenue acres by converting more conventional acres to organic production.” ~Pat Duncanson

“We’re going to reduce our soybean acres and increase our corn, winter wheat and cow-calf operation with these acres. We feel this will increase profitability.” ~Kelly Garrett
“I want to do a better job of promoting the extremely nutritious vegetable (yes, a vegetable) we call a potato, whenever possible. When choices appear relating to the value of spending time at work or with family, personally, I really need to do a better job of prioritizing, and therefore choosing, family time. After all: which one is more important?” ~Gregg Halverson
“For the first time in 39 years, I want to sidedress nitrogen on all of my corn acres.” ~April Hemmes

“Things that we need to do next year are straight out of the Danny Klinefelter playbook. We will focus on controlling cost in a high inflation/low price world. We’ll look for money under rocks — diversify revenue streams. We’ll leverage technology and new practices to become more efficient. It’s time to manage debt carefully in a high-interest environment, and it’s time to plan for the long term. This is a valley, don’t lose focus on the long-term plans of the operation.” ~Jeremy Jack
“I will physically and mentally execute and implement a succession plan for our farm to transition to the next generation.” ~Pam Johnson
“My resolution is that if you want to sell things at my farm, you need to reduce pricing by 15%. For those who say that is too sharp a cut, I say “try on my boots.” Price increases were easy on the way up. Now it’s time to reduce or be replaced.” ~Ben Riensche

“We’re going to buckle down and conserve operating cash and be conservative with inputs in anticipation of Trump tariffs negatively impacting our markets and prices like his last administration. We are considering replacing some aging storage and increasing our capacity. There are no plans to update equipment; just keep what we have operating. We will probably increase our vegetable acres in anticipation of low grain prices.” ~Jennie Schmidt
“We purchased life insurance and invested cash in a flex plan, so we can cover and service the debt if I am not around.” ~Trey Wasserburger