Hurd Secures $1M Appropriation to Rebuild Potato Research Station Storage
February 4, 2026
CENTER, CO., – Most of Colorado’s 60,000 acres of potatoes are grown in the San Luis Valley and Colorado State University led research has long been a part of the community supporting growers and consumers. This week, an exciting announcement they’ve been waiting on has come to fruition.
In 2018, the San Luis Valley Research Center, located in Center, Colorado, experienced high winds, ending in severe damage to a potato storage unit. This week staff learned that nearly a decade later, a $1 million appropriation to rebuild the facility has been secured by Rep. Jeff Hurd. Dr. Amy Charkowski, Colorado State University Associate Dean for Research said the funds to rebuild will bolster the center’s work to support growers within the Valley’s nearly $500 million potato industry.
“Potatoes are living things, the tubers we eat are swollen stems and farmers need to be able to store them and for potato research and breeding, we need to be able to store them over the winter in a way that keeps them healthy and alive,” Charkowski said.
“It’s hard to find money for facilities, and Rep. Hurd came through for us in a great big way,” she said. “He found the funding that will allow us to start putting the facility back and that’s going to help our potato improvement efforts, plant breeding, research, and being able to store over the winter so that we have something to plant the next spring.”
Since 2018, staff has rented space in a warehouse and Charkowski said while they were grateful to be able to do so, being offsite presented a number of challenges, including keeping staff safe while hauling large loads of potatoes back and forth.
Area potato grower Bob Mattive of Worley Family Farms in Monte Vista, Colo., who is the immediate past president of the National Potato Council was also influential in identifying and securing funding.
Following the 2018 storm, the staff of the site reacted quickly to minimize additional damage and to keep everyone in the area safe. Fallen roofing material was picked up and secured to prevent more damage to the Potato Certification Lab next door and to prevent it from blowing into the greenhouse across the parking lot, where important potato breeding research is conducted.
The damage came at an inopportune time while staff was preparing for planting season, which after much clean up, began the following afternoon.
The research center works in cooperation with programs across the Western U.S. to support San Luis Valley growers and communities with research, educational programs, and work toward optimizing agricultural productivity in current and future markets.
Source: Western Ag Network
