Alsum Farms & Produce in Wisconsin: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Alsum Farms & Produce is a family-owned potato, onion and pumpkin grower, packer and distributor in Friesland, Wisconsin. Produce Business reports it was started in 1973 and now farms 3,000 acres and ships about 200 million pounds of potatoes a year.
| Location | Friesland, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973, by Glenn Alsum (as published) |
| Sectors | potatoes; onions; pumpkins; packing and distribution |
| Scale | 3,000 acres; about 200 million pounds of potatoes sold a year; 350,000 sq ft of packing and production space |
| Why it is notable | Vertically integrated family operation marking its 50th anniversary, with national retail customers |
| Ownership | Alsum family; Larry Alsum is president and CEO |
| Official website | Produce Business 50th anniversary profile (not an official site) |
History of Alsum Farms & Produce
Produce Business reports that Glenn Alsum started the company in 1973 in a potato shed of about 600 square feet. After Glenn died in a 1981 plane crash, Larry Alsum took over leadership and has run the company since.
The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in August with more than 600 guests, and the same article says Larry's daughters, Wendy Alsum-Dykstra and Heidi Alsum-Randall, are expected to take over when he retires. The 5K run held at the celebration raised money for seven Wisconsin FFA chapters.
What Alsum Farms & Produce Grows and Raises
Alsum describes itself as a vertically integrated business that handles growing, harvesting, packaging and distribution. Its own land supplies roughly half of its potato output, and partner growers pack and distribute the remainder through the same system.
Crops include potatoes, onions and pumpkins, and the potatoes are marketed as Wisconsin Healthy Grown certified, a program tied to the state's potato growers and the University of Wisconsin. About 325 full-time and seasonal employees work across the farm and the 350,000 square feet of packing shed and production space.
Wisconsin's sandy central soils and irrigation make it a major potato state, and the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association is the trade body for growers such as Alsum.
How Alsum Farms & Produce Makes Money
Retail and foodservice supply
Produce Business lists large retailers among its customers, including Aldi, Costco, Hy-Vee, Meijer, Piggly Wiggly, Walmart, Woodman's and Whole Foods, plus dozens of others. Selling to many retailers spreads the account risk.
Packing for grower partners
Because partner growers pack and distribute through Alsum, the packing shed earns from volume beyond the family's own acres. That keeps expensive equipment and labor busy.
Onions and seasonal crops
Onions and pumpkins add products to the same trucks, customers and warehouse, extending the selling season past potatoes alone.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Alsum Farms & Produce
Controlling the steps between field and shelf lets a farm respond directly to retail buyers instead of relying only on commodity markets.
Pairing owned acres with partner growers gives a packer steady supply while sharing weather and price risk across more farms. A certification program such as Wisconsin Healthy Grown also gives buyers a story to place on the bag.
Potatoes that start in a 600-square-foot shed and end up in half the grocery carts of the Midwest are farm satire waiting to happen. At farm.FM we file the Friesland spud empire under farm humor, with a little ranch humor about onion crying as a workplace hazard. Our farm jokes are mashed, never hashed, and always affectionate.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact Alsum Farms & Produce
Website: https://producebusiness.com/50-years-of-growing-goodness/
No official operation website with published contact details was found in my sources, so the link is the best verified public page about the operation, November 2026. Confirm any visit or business inquiry directly before traveling.
Alsum Farms & Produce Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Produce Business profile - Scale, history and customers
- Potato Grower: Larry Alsum - Industry profile of the CEO
- Wisconsin Potato growers interview - Second-generation family interview
- Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association - State producer association
- USDA Census of Agriculture - Official farm counts and acreage for Wisconsin
Alsum Farms & Produce FAQ
Where is Alsum Farms & Produce?
In Friesland, Wisconsin.
When was it founded?
In 1973 by Glenn Alsum, per Produce Business.
How big is it?
It farms 3,000 acres and sells about 200 million pounds of potatoes a year.
How can I contact it?
No official site was found in my sources; start with the Produce Business profile and the growers association.
Alsum Farms & Produce shows how a family can grow from a small shed into a packer that serves national retailers. For the wider picture, read the Wisconsin farms guide.