Spudman Magazine: Publisher, Potato Coverage, Awards and Readers
Profile updated November 2026
Spudman magazine covers one crop and covers it thoroughly: the potato. Published eight times a year by Great American Media Services in Sparta, Michigan, it is an audited trade magazine for potato growers, packers, shippers and processors, backed by a weekly e-newsletter and two industry award programs.
| Publisher | Great American Media Services (Great American Specialty Agriculture) |
|---|---|
| Home | 75 Applewood Drive, Sparta, Michigan |
| Frequency | Eight issues a year, audited circulation |
| E-newsletter | Week in Review, weekly |
| Awards | Spudwoman Awards and Impact Awards |
| Audience | Potato growers, packers, shippers and processors |
| Official website | Spudman.com |
History of Spudman
Spudman is one of several crop-specific magazines published by Great American Media Services, which runs its specialty agriculture titles as Great American Specialty Agriculture from Sparta, Michigan. The company's other grower brands include Fruit Growers News, Vegetable Growers News, Greenhouse Product News, National Nut Grower, Organic Grower and Produce Processing, giving Spudman sister titles that follow potatoes and other produce from field to processor.
The magazine's name is a nod to the potato's best-known nickname, and its focus is narrow. Rather than covering vegetables in general, Spudman serves the people who grow, store, pack, ship and process potatoes, an industry spread across major producing states such as Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Maine.
The publisher describes Spudman as an exclusive, audited magazine, meaning its circulation is independently verified for advertisers, a common standard among established trade titles.
Spudman Today
Spudman publishes eight print issues a year with digital editions, industry news, videos and new product listings on its website. Its weekly Week in Review e-newsletter rounds up the potato news of the week for growers and suppliers.
The magazine also runs two recognition programs: the Spudwoman Awards, which honor women in the potato industry, and the Impact Awards. On the federal side it covers data collection that matters to potato farms, such as USDA's 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties, which NASS collected through April 2025 and which builds on the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
What Spudman Is Publishing Now
Production and storage
Seed, planting, fertility, disease and pest control, harvest and storage management for commercial potato growers.
Markets and processing
News for packers, shippers and processors on fresh, chip, fry and dehydrated potato markets and trade.
People and awards
The Spudwoman Awards, the Impact Awards and profiles of growers, researchers and industry leaders.
Spudman Editors and Staff
Spudman's public pages do not print a masthead; the publisher keeps a separate staff directory and lists:
- Great American Media Services - Publisher
- Great American Specialty Agriculture - Parent specialty agriculture group, Sparta, Michigan
The magazine can be reached by phone at 616-887-9008 or by mail at P.O. Box 128, Sparta, Michigan 49345.
Who Reads Spudman
Readers are potato growers, seed producers, packers, shippers and processors, plus the suppliers who serve them. Potatoes fall within the vegetables and pulses sector that USDA's Economic Research Service tracks, which averaged $24.2 billion a year in farm cash receipts from 2020 to 2024, and NASS Quick Stats reports state-level potato acreage and production for the growers who read Spudman.
Potato growers spend a lot of time underground, at least in spirit, worrying about tubers they cannot see until harvest. farm.FM digs up farm satire and farm humor that keep cellar managers and seed growers smiling, with ranch humor for the cattle folks in Idaho too. Its farm jokes are rarely half-baked.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
Spudman Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Spudman: About - frequency, audience and awards.
- Spudman: Census collecting specialty crop data - coverage of the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties.
- Vegetable Growers News: About - Spudman's sister title at Great American Media Services.
- USDA ERS: Vegetables and pulses - economic data for the sector that includes potatoes.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - potato acreage, yield and production by state.
Spudman FAQ
Who publishes Spudman magazine?
Great American Media Services, through Great American Specialty Agriculture in Sparta, Michigan.
How often is Spudman published?
Eight times a year, with a weekly Week in Review e-newsletter.
Who reads Spudman?
Potato growers, packers, shippers and processors, plus industry suppliers.
What awards does Spudman run?
The Spudwoman Awards and the Impact Awards.
For an industry built on one crop, Spudman magazine offers news that stays focused on the potato from seed to storage to processor.