Community

R.D. Offutt Farms Strives to be a Positive Community Partner

R.D. Offutt Farms started with a father and his son. In 1964, Ron Offutt partnered with his father to grow potatoes. Today, R.D. Offutt Farms remains a family owned and operated business. Many of our 200+ farm team members are from multi-generational families. As testament to their commitment, the average tenure of our senior farm leaders working for R.D. Offutt Farms is 25 years.

Long-term Relationships with Neighbors

R.D. Offutt Farms works with neighbors and other family farmers to rotate crops from one year to another, which has long been a farming best practice. R.D. Offutt Farms maintains mutually beneficial arrangements with nearby family farmers to rotate crops. As a result of these relationships, 100 percent of R.D. Offutt Farms are rotated on a multi-year schedule with a majority on a four-year schedule. Participating in crop rotation agreements is good for every farmer involved because we are all taking the best care possible of our fields.

Off-season land use: we currently do not allow hunting on our fields at any time.

Thanks to everyone in the community who came out to dig potatoes at R.D. Offutt Farms' 5th Annual Potato Field Day. Here's a great shot of Melodie K. who's been participating each year with her husband, Tom.

Local Volunteerism and Philanthropy

R.D. Offutt Farms invests in our communities to positively impact the quality of life where we live and work. Our team members are encouraged to actively volunteer and support local non-profit agencies, schools, and more. In addition, we support efforts that benefit our communities through sponsorships, gifts, and in-kind contributions. In 2020, our team members volunteered more than 180 hours and we contributed more than $100,000 to local organizations.

Potato Field Days: Every year, more than 50,000 pounds of fresh potatoes are donated to the Park Rapids, Perham and Wadena, Minn. communities during R.D. Offutt Farms’ Potato Field Days. The annual event opens our potato fields for the public to dig free potatoes.

Ag in the schools: We actively work with schools in the communities that we farm, visiting classrooms to teach about sustainable agriculture and inviting students out to our fields to connect agriculture to their daily lives.

Annual pink hat fundraiser: In 2020, the combined forces of R.D. Offutt Company, R.D. Offutt Farms and RDO Equipment Co. donated $52,320 during the fourth annual pink hat breast cancer fundraiser for National Breast Cancer Foundation. Throughout the fall, the special pink RDO hats were available to team members in exchange for a $10 donation. In just four years, the campaign has raised more than $167,000.

RDO Caters Taters for Charity: Our yearly potato luncheon event raises money for local charities. For a nominal donation, guests enjoy a delicious lunch featuring a 'pound-tato' - a one-pound baked potato with choice of a variety of tasty toppings, a beverage, and dessert.

Fries for 4-H: Fries for 4-H at the Hubbard County Fair in Park Rapids in 2021 was one for the record books. More than 75 volunteers from R.D. Offutt Farms, Lamb Weston-RDO Frozen and Hubbard County 4-H teamed up to donate supplies, prepare the booth and staff the fryers and serving line. The team sold more than 2,300 pounds of French fries and raised $5,100 for local 4-H programming.