Black Gold Farms owners add transportation company

The Halverson family, owners and operators of Black Gold Farms, are getting into the transportation business.

The Halversons have announced the formation of Horizon Logistics, an independent, full-service transit firm that will service Black Gold Farms and other grower shippers. Like Black Gold Farms, Horizon Logistics is headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

“In the last few years, we’ve seen the transportation deal be as up and down as ever and that was affecting our customers,” said Eric Halverson, CEO of Black Gold Farms. “Our No. 1 objective is to make sure we get our potatoes to our customers, when they want them and how they want them.

“Trucks have a major influence in that.”

Black Gold Farms has an internal team that focuses on transportation through a brokerage-style business. “Our current system has worked well in the past, and we know that our transportation team is the last line of defense in order to create the most value the farm can to our customers,” said Matt Jahnke, director of transportation for Horizon Logistics. “We’ve also seen that drivers are hard to come by because of regulations, time away from home and other factors that are beyond our control. By vertically integrating and really focusing on resolving the transportation piece, by having our own assets, we are able to take some of those factors out of the equation.”

Black Gold Farms will be at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit, Booth 4642, in Anaheim, Oct. 17-19, to discuss Horizon Logistics.

Black Gold Farms is a fourth-generation farm and grower, shipper, marketer of potatoes, sweet potatoes and other commodities. It has an extensive network of farm locations throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.blackgoldfarms.com.

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