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You’ve seen them in parades this past summer, at the Harvest Festival, and at the Corn and Apple Festival, giving out their high-quality potatoes.
“We gave out about 6,000 pounds of potatoes just in Winkler alone,” notes Christian James, Director of the Kimberly Packing Plant.
“Kimberly is a division of Kroeker Farms that handles the crops after harvest.” This includes the washing, grading, and size profiling of potatoes to ensure the best quality product is packed and shipped. “This is where we guarantee 100% quality to the customer” explains James.
Yanina Makar-Kuzinska is the Food Safety and Quality Control Manager at Kroeker Farms’ Kimberly Packing Plant and has been with the company for seven years.
She was attracted to her role at Kroeker Farms because of her passion for quality.
“High standards were in my blood.”
In Ukraine, she had long been involved in Quality Assurance, certifying companies with ISO 9001.
“But I still had to learn a lot about potatoes,” she notes. “I had a very warm welcome. I had all the support. I was working and learning a lot. And then I was asked if I could step into the food safety role. Our company has a couple of programs to certify at Kroeker Farms. One of them is CanadaGAP, which is a food safety program for fresh fruits and vegetables. So that was my second role, combining Quality Control Technician and Food Safety. Ensuring that our packing plant and Kroeker Farms overall is meeting all the food standards in Canada and the United States.”
“Quality starts from the raw materials, which is our seed,” she adds. “We grow seed, we select seed, we put the seed into the soil and then we grow, we harvest, store -- and this is the foundation for the good relationship we have with our customers.”
No matter who you talk to at Kroeker Farms, you’ll find that everyone cares deeply about quality, attention to detail, and care for the customer.
“The products we pack in small bags end up on the shelves at stores like Superstore, Walmart, and Costco,” adds Makar-Kuzinska. “We pack those potatoes into the bags and ship them. During all these processes, my department ensures we pack the right potatoes into the right bags, and that the product we ship meets or exceeds the customers’ expectations.”
Kroeker Farms is highly responsive to consumer needs. That’s how they’ve come to grow between 30 and 40 different varieties of potatoes in any given growing season, explains Makar-Kuzinska.
“Have you ever seen the potatoes that have pink or purple flesh? They can be white, yellow, or red skinned… and taste different.”
“We have so many varieties because we want to make sure we satisfy the customer, so we want to give the customer exactly what they asked for,” says James.
But the way that Kroeker Farms does it is unique.
“Our vision is Healthy Food, Healthy World. Just being mindful – thinking how to preserve land for the future generations. Being sustainable. We are growing only table potatoes. Those potatoes are not meant to be processed. Our goal is to deliver potatoes that your family can enjoy together around the table. This is what we do. It's taking the best potatoes that we can have, and delivering them to the people,” says Makar-Kuzinska.
Kroeker Farms lives and works by the motto “Immer Besser”. James explains the meaning behind these German words.
“It's always being better. Kroeker Farms believes that people are our greatest asset. For example, why all the varieties? We want to satisfy the customer; we want to keep improving. We want to keep improving the people's skill, we want to improve the environment, and to sustain what God has given us in the environment, the structure of the soil.”
Makar-Kuzinska notes that for her, alignment with company values is critical.
“They should align with my values. So, when I see Healthy Food, Healthy World, crop rotation, how people are valued in this company, it's just easy to work with. It's fun. Also, there’s always something to learn.”
She notes that in her work, she enjoys tackling challenges and having the opportunity to learn and grow.
“We combine challenges with fun, when everyone is jumping in to support, to brainstorm and address problems. What we do, you can be always proud. What we are doing is so important and critical, because we're in the food business and food is essential for human beings, for people.”
Today, Kroeker Farms has come a long way from its roots as a family farm.
“Now we're getting into mechanized agricultural farming with technologies from local equipment suppliers around the Pembina Valley. It's a huge game-changer,” says James. “And just as the company has grown, we as employees working for the company are also growing in terms of our knowledge and exposures. And it's been awesome. It's been a good journey.”
James says that he joined the company three years ago because their mission and vision aligned with his own personal beliefs.
“I've been in the food industry for quite a long time – way back in West Africa I worked for Nestle. Kroeker Farms resonates with what I want to do, where I want to be. And Kroeker Farms prioritizes people first, before profit.”
“Kroeker Farms is a multicultural organization that accepts all nationalities and prioritizes people’s skill over profit. We've grown so much in terms of the number of nationalities that we have. We have (people) from South Africa, Nigeria, Mexico, the Philippines, Ukraine, India, Jordan, Syria, Jamaica, I can go on and on. This is a company that goes all out to ensure that new Canadians succeed.”
One example, says James, is Kroeker Farms’ English at Work training, which is open to everyone who struggles to communicate effectively in English.
“It creates that opportunity for people to communicate and deliver best-in-class service to our customers.”
At the Kimberly Plant, Makar-Kuzinska says Kroeker Farms has created a dynamic workplace where everyone is encouraged to be creative and use their skills and backgrounds.
“We have multiple examples where people started in their role and then they were promoted. This is what we love to do: to promote our people, to help them to evolve and adapt in their roles and move forward. It’s very empowering.”
At this point, Kroeker Farms’ growth is tremendous, and not slowing down. Last year, they shipped approximately 150 million pounds of potatoes across North America!
At peak season, between November and January, the Kimberley production plant alone employs over 130 people.
“We are still growing,” notes Makar-Kuzinska. “It doesn't matter where you start. If you're willing to contribute to the company's success, we will support you. There are many opportunities.”
“When I think of where I'm working and what our company is doing, I'm always so proud. It's just a wonderful experience through all the seven years.” To learn more about Kroeker Farms or to apply, visit https://www.kroekerfarms.com/careers .
You can listen to the entire conversation with Christian James and Yanina Makar-Kuzinska, below.