You may not have been paying much attention to potatoes, but underground, summer after summer, in a field near you, North Dakota’s potato farmers have been contributing mightily to the regional economy.
In other words, these spuds are a big ‘cash crop.’
One of the most significant contributors to the history of North Dakota potatoes was Robert H. "Bob" Johansen. This hard-working NDSU professor was regarded as the “most prolific potato breeder the world has ever known.” In his lifetime, Bob Johansen developed 15 varieties of potatoes. By comparison, the famous Luther Burbank developed only one variety, the Russet Burbank.
Johansen and NDSU introduced "Norland," "Russet Norkotah," "Norgold Russet," "Norchip," "NorKing," "Bison," and other varieties to farmers.
Born in 1922 at Grafton, Robert Johansen grew up on a “potato, small grain, and livestock farm” near Edinburg with six brothers and two sisters. A graduate of Park River High School, Johansen earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from NDSU and later gained his doctorate at Louisiana State University.
Johansen worked at NDSU’s potato breeding program from 1949 through his retirement in 1993. As he said, “I love what I am doing,” and he wanted to contribute improved potato varieties to help farmers in their fields.
Johansen’s success in potatoes came from “60 percent hard work, 20 percent luck, 20 percent love, 20 percent an eye for selecting superior varieties, 10 percent promotion, and 20 percent strong support from growers.” Never mind that his numbers came to 150 percent.
Some observers called Dr. Johansen the “Father of Potatoes,” but his major work was to improve various potato varieties. Johansen had help at NDSU, notably Bryce Farnsworth and Asunta “Susie” Thompson, along with plenty of student workers.
It was on this date in 1963 that a newspaper story reported the release of a “new red potato variety” named the Viking, which produced a crop with a “medium red to bright red skin color.” NDSU’s Robert Johansen promoted it as having “excellent cooking qualities, both for boiling and baking.”
Known as “Dr. Potato” and a “potato breeder extraordinaire,” Johansen also became renowned as a co-sponsor of NDSU’s Harvest Bowl football game, an annual event since its founding in 1974. Johansen, a “beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend,” died in 1996, leaving a rich legacy as a family man and as a historic North Dakota potato-variety developer.
Dakota Datebook written by Steve Hoffbeck, retired MSUM History Professor
Sources:
- “NDSU Releases New Red Potato Variety,” Steele County Press [Finley, ND], January 31, 1963, p. 4.
- “A Chip Off The Market,” Bismarck Tribune, October 16, 1988, p. 4D.
- “Dr. Robert Henry Johansen,” obituary, Fargo Forum, July 21, 1996, p. E6.
- A.A. Boe, “Potato Breeding: A N.D. Success Story,” North Dakota Farm Research Bimonthly Bulletin, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Sept.-Oct. 1989), p. 2, 27.
- “Edward H. Johansen, 1982 Honorary Life Member,” Potato Association of America, 1982, potatoassociation.org/Honorary Life Members, accessed on August 27, 2013.
- Rona K. Johnson, “Robert Johansen’s Death,” Grand Forks Herald, July 20, 1996, p. 2B; “Father of Potatoes Dies,” Agweek [Grand Forks, ND], July 22, 1996, p. 2.
- “Harvest Bowl Activities Friday, Saturday at NDSU,” Fargo Forum, October 31, 1993, p. E3.
- Asunta (Susie) L. Thompson, “NDSU Potato Breeding Program,” Department of Plant Science, NDSU, https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/potatoextension/susie-thompson-potato-breeding-handout, accessed January 6, 2025.
