The phone isn't ringing, work slows down a bit, and he can spend a few hours just watching his potato fields grow. Ted started farming at 16 – his first project was growing potatoes for Lamb Weston with the Future Farmers of America. He kept at it, and now he's been growing potatoes in the Columbia River Basin for 35 years.

For Ted, farming is a team effort. A hands-on type of guy, he works closely with his crew all during the growing season – from planting in early March through harvest in late October. By carefully rotating his crops and managing irrigation from the nearby Columbia River, he's able to consistently produce healthy potatoes.

"I’m proud that our potatoes are so wholesome and nutritious," says Ted. "We eat them ourselves. We feed them to our kids, our grandkids, our parents, so we’re careful to conserve resources for the next generation.

"Farming is tough work. The growing season is long, and lots can go wrong. Ted says if he can vacation for more than three days during the growing season, it’s a win for his wife. "She wants to know what I’d do if I wasn’t farming," he says. He doesn’t have an answer – farming is what he loves.