Creating Jobs and Changing Perceptions
By Cathy Bonnstetter
West Virginia University Parkersburg’s (WVUP) Riverhawk Farm is not just growing potatoes—it is growing an agribusiness program while simultaneously creating jobs and inspiring a new mind set about agribusiness in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
The catalyst for this initiative, which began last year, was a partnership with West Virginia Potato Chip Company, the producer of Mister Bee potato chips.
This local partnership between the private and public sectors was the brainchild of WVUP President Chris Gilmer, Ph.D., and Mary Anne Ketelsen, WVUP alumna and president of the West Virginia Potato Chip Company in Parkersburg. These state leaders realized they could join forces to create an alliance with far-reaching implications. As a result, local farmers, WVUP students and community volunteers are now growing potatoes at Riverhawk Farm that are being used in the production of Mister Bee potato chips, thanks to a private donation from Ketelsen.
Ketelsen’s donation was combined with an award from the West Virginia Community and Technical College System to get the farm up and running again, as it was, which was fallow when Gilmer began his tenure three years ago. In fact, the school was considering putting the property up for sale.
The West Virginia Potato Chip Company will pay for the local potatoes, which will reduce the company’s freight costs from shipping potatoes in from other states. According to sales manager Rob Graham, the company uses about 5 million pounds of potatoes per year. Depending on production, the company can use as much as 80,000 to 100,000 pounds in a week.
Even though Gilmer realizes WVUP’s potato crop is miniscule in comparison with what the company needs, both entities are hoping that local farmers, encouraged by the success at Riverhawk Farm, will start growing potatoes for Mister Bee as well, making the potential reach of this program well beyond WVUP’s 25-acre farm.
“When I came here three years ago, my dream was to get the Riverhawk Farm back into production,” Gilmer says. “Mary Anne and I began talking, and this came about through her generosity. Growing all their potatoes at WVUP is not the expectation. However, we saw the value of using West Virginia potatoes for the chips.”
That value goes beyond potatoes and even beyond the partnership. Through the farm and its production, WVUP is encouraging people to rethink how to make a living in the area.
“We want to build a sustainable agribusiness program that provides additional learning opportunities for the Mid-Ohio Valley,” Gilmer says. “Agriculture is waning in higher education, and we see a need to take a leadership role. Our benchmark will be getting this program built and up and running and bringing other farmers into the mix to form a strong coalition. In the process, we will produce as many potatoes as we can.”
According to Senta Goudy, WVUP dean for civic engagement, the school hopes to offer a two-year degree in agribusiness within the next two years. Currently, the school offers a workforce certificate, and the first five graduates to receive it are now entering the workforce. Even now, WVUP’s agribusiness commitments are creating a networking web and local enterprising possibilities.
“We are using the farm like a giant lab to give students real world experience. We also want to tie in business classes, so students can make a business plan,” Goudy says.
WVUP is collaborating with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s Veterans and Heroes to Agriculture program, which provides support and scholarships for veterans and other emergency personnel interested in pursuing agribusiness. Gilmer says veterans at WVUP have been very active volunteering at Riverhawk Farm.
Any member of the WVUP family or the community can volunteer at the farm. The school also hopes to involve those enrolled in local drug rehabilitation programs and provide them with meaningful economic opportunities, a concern shared by West Virginia Potato Chip Company.
“We are working with our United Way to provide opportunities for people in recovery,” Goudy says. “Some people may have trouble getting employment because of their past. Having their own small business may be their best next step.”
As WVUP’s agribusiness program takes full shape and the West Virginia Potato Chip Company grows, opportunities for local residents also grow. Ketelsen says she looks forward to new customers and possibly adding more shifts. The agribusiness program has already hired one employee, and as the program blossoms, WVUP anticipates the need to hire more people to support it. Additionally, local interest has been sparked.
“We had 17 people at our initial meeting representing businesses: a vet’s group, the Mother Earth Foods store here in town and Nelson family farms in Jackson County, as well as interested students who had little businesses growing microgreens,” Goudy says. “We all identified a need to grow agribusiness in our community.”
Riverhawk Farm utilizes best practices for sustainable farming, and it has plenty of room to grow. So far, the university is utilizing about 10 acres for the partnership. In addition to the chipping potatoes for the West Virginia Potato Chip Company, students at WVUP are selling Riverhawk Farm honey. The school has forged relationships with local restaurants for farm-to-table fruits and vegetables, maintains a bee keeping yard on the farm and, with a third donation, recently planted an apple orchard. The school has also applied for a grant to teach composting.
Wood County is an agricultural area; however, most farms produce livestock, poultry and products other than crops, according to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s 2017 census. Wood County’s net cash farm income dropped between 2012 and 2017, but WVUP hopes to help reverse that trend.
“We have big plans and great ideas,” Goudy says. “We would love for people to come and get our two-year degree, but if they need to come and take a class on how to get a business plan, that is fine, too. Right now, farming is usually an avocation rather than a vocation. We want people to find ways to be able to support themselves with their agribusiness, so it is more than a hobby.”
