Idaho potato acreage is up, quality good, but cool, wet August could affect sizes
Idaho potato acreage is up, quality good, but cool, wet August could affect sizes
In agriculture, weather often has the last word.
Earlier in the growing season, it was appearing that the 2014 Idaho potato crop may come in early, size well, and have good yields. But August was unusually cool and wet in eastern Idaho where most of the state’s potatoes are grown, and that slowed down the growth of the tubers, leading some in the industry to believe that the crop may be smaller than anticipated and that larger-sized potatoes could be at a premium for the 2014-15 marketing season.
On the other hand, the number of harvested acres may be up this year.
“It depends on who you talk to,” said Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission, in an interview with The Produce News Sept. 4. “If you go to the USDA numbers,” they indicate that total potato acreage in Idaho is about the same as last year. But according to the United Potato Growers’ count, “we are up a few thousand acres versus a year ago. I think that is probably the more accurate.”
The timing of the harvest now looks to be close to normal. “Where the crop was by all indications maybe one or two weeks ahead of schedule a couple of months ago, with some rains and cold weather and some other nature’s elements, it has slowed that process down.”
With the early Norkotah harvest already under way, early digs indicate “a very high-quality crop” with “the size profile still to be determined,” Muir said. “We are waiting on more information before I comment on the actual size of the crop” or the size structure of the potatoes in terms of whether there will be more big sizes or more small sizes than usual.
“We don’t know that yet. But all indications are it is going to be a very good-quality crop.” The shape of the potatoes and other factors “all look very positive,” he said.
