Kroeker Farms in Manitoba: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Kroeker Farms is a Winkler-area potato and vegetable operation that describes itself as Manitoba's largest grower of organic potatoes. Published profiles say the farm grew past 5,000 acres under the leadership of Don Kroeker, and the company still supplies French fry, chip, table and seed markets across Canada and the United States.
| Location | Plum Coulee / Winkler area, Manitoba |
|---|---|
| Family roots | Family operation; Don Kroeker returned to it after graduating in 1957 |
| Sectors | Potatoes (table, creamer, chipping, French fry, seed); organic potatoes; onions; hemp |
| Scale | About 5,000 acres, roughly half irrigated (PotatoPro listing) |
| Why it is elite | Largest organic potato grower in Manitoba by its own description; long-time supplier to McCain Foods and Old Dutch Foods |
| Ownership | Privately held family company (Kroeker Farms Limited) with a seed subsidiary, Manitoba Elite Farms |
| Official website | Adora Potatoes (Kroeker Farms brand site) |
History of Kroeker Farms
Kroeker Farms Ltd. is rooted in the Winkler and Plum Coulee area of the Pembina Valley, one of the most productive vegetable and potato districts on the Canadian Prairies. A founding date is not stated in the sources reviewed, so none is given here. What is documented is the growth under Don Kroeker, who graduated from the University of Manitoba in agricultural economics in 1957 and then returned to the family operation.
According to the University of Manitoba's 2010 certificate of merit coverage, the farm grew to more than 5,000 acres and employed between 60 and 160 people depending on the season. Don Kroeker is credited with developing markets and production for table, chipping, French fry and seed potatoes, and with leading work on irrigation and direct seeding. He also helped found the Chipping Potato Growers of Manitoba and the Prairie Potato Council. In late 2025 the company announced that Harwin Bouwman became chief executive effective December 1, 2025, succeeding Wayne Rempel, who moved to a senior advisory role.
What Kroeker Farms Grows and Raises
Today Kroeker Farms grows organic potatoes, conventional table potatoes, creamer (C size) potatoes, onions and hemp, according to an industry directory listing that puts the land base at about 5,000 acres with roughly half under irrigation. The company also runs Manitoba Elite Farms, a seed potato operation in southern Manitoba, which feeds clean planting stock into the system.
Customers named in the directory include McCain Foods for French fries and Old Dutch Foods for chips, which fits the processing-potato base of the Prairies. It also sells branded packed products in the United States and Canada, including Adora and Poplar Grove Organics, and its Potato Store moved to a larger Winkler location in 2023.
How Kroeker Farms Makes Money
Contract processing potatoes
Supplying processors such as McCain Foods and Old Dutch Foods gives a farm a steady outlet for French fry and chipping potatoes.
Seed potatoes
Through Manitoba Elite Farms the company sells seed potatoes. Seed production is a specialist activity that depends on certification and disease control.
Organic and branded packed products
Kroeker Farms markets organic potatoes and branded retail products under the Adora and Poplar Grove Organics names, plus creamer potatoes. Owning the pack and the brand lets a grower capture part of the value that normally goes to packers and retailers. A retail store adds a direct channel.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Kroeker Farms
The first lesson is vertical integration in small steps: seed, growing, packing, branding and a retail counter each add a margin layer without abandoning the core crop.
The second lesson is risk management through diversification of customers and crop types. Selling to a fry processor, a chip processor, organic buyers and retail shoppers means a weak market in one channel does not sink the whole farm.
Potato growers know that every spud is destined for a different destiny, from fry to chip to creamer, and that is plenty of material for a joke or two. Over at farm.FM we gather farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and a Winkler potato grower with fries, chips and organic bags to keep straight deserves a warm salute from the comedy side of the fence. Nobody on the farm minds being called a hot potato, as long as the harvest comes in dry.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
How to Contact Kroeker Farms
Website: https://adorapotatoes.com
The industry directory PotatoPro lists the company at 777 Circle K Drive, Plum Coulee (Winkler), Manitoba, and the Potato Store at 715 Circle K Drive, Winkler. Confirm current phone, email and retail hours on the brand site before visiting or ordering.
Kroeker Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Adora Potatoes - Brand site linked to Kroeker Farms potato products
- PotatoPro company listing - Directory entry with acres, customers and subsidiary details
- Manitoba Co-operator: Kroeker honoured - University of Manitoba recognition of Don Kroeker and the farm's growth
- Manitoba Agriculture sector profile - Provincial farm cash receipts and export figures
- Statistics Canada: Manitoba in the 2021 Census of Agriculture - Potato acreage and farm statistics for Manitoba
Kroeker Farms FAQ
Where is Kroeker Farms located?
Kroeker Farms is based in the Plum Coulee and Winkler area of southern Manitoba, in the Pembina Valley, according to the PotatoPro directory listing.
What does Kroeker Farms grow?
An industry directory lists organic potatoes, table and creamer potatoes, onions and hemp, plus seed potatoes through its subsidiary Manitoba Elite Farms.
How big is the operation?
The PotatoPro listing reports about 5,000 acres, roughly half irrigated. A 2010 University of Manitoba profile also said the farm grew past 5,000 acres.
Who buys its potatoes?
The directory names McCain Foods for French fries and Old Dutch Foods for chips, and says the company sells packed products in Canada and the United States.
Kroeker Farms shows how a family potato business in the Pembina Valley can combine irrigation, seed production, processor contracts and branded products. For the province's soils, markets and programs, read the Manitoba farms guide and the other profiled operations that follow it.