Kern County potato acreage drops
Kern County potato acreage drops
California new potato growers and handlers from the Kern County district hope that their potatoes - dug, packed and shipped without moving into cold storage - really are a hot potato in a true marketing sense.
It is this rush to freshness that makes California new potatoes unique, since most potatoes marketed nationwide are done so out of storage.
It had better be a hot market for California's new potatoes. Overall potato acreage in Kern County has dropped about 20 percent in a year's time, according to published data from the Kern County Agricultural Commissioner's Office. The county's reported potato acreage dropped to 11,775 acres from 14,872 acres. Russet potatoes - at 3,533 acres - dropped nearly 25 percent, from 4,667 acres in 2004.
Edwin Camp, partner and president of D.M. Camp & Sons in Bakersfield, said that county potato acreage is down in large part because growers are "coming off two tough potato years." In addition, there's a "Russet glut in storage.
A challenge for D.M. Camp & Sons and other growers and handlers from the Kern County district is the abundance of Russet potatoes in storage from growers in Wisconsin, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Maine. D.M. Camp & Sons grows red, white and yellow potatoes in California's Brawley area and Bakersfield - but no Russets. Still, even thin-skinned, colored potatoes have a difficult time competing because when Russets are cheap. "It puts a lid on what we can get, Mr. Camp said.
Transportation problems also have hampered Kern County potato growers. "Right now trucking rates are higher than they've ever been, Mr. Camp said. While he and other growers utilize the railroad for shipments to the East Coast, rail costs have ratcheted up significantly despite "less-than-stellar service, he said. From May into July, Kern County will provide about one-quarter of the nation's potatoes, according to Mr. Camp.
D.M. Camp & Sons started harvesting new potatoes in Brawley the third week of March. The company grows reds, whites and yellows in Brawley and Bakersfield. The harvest will continue in the desert until early May, when without a break the harvesting operation moves to Bakersfield.
"Whites had some Russet scabs early, but now the quality is beautiful, Mr. Camp said. "The rest of the desert deal will be very nice.
Mr. Camp told The Produce News April 20 that the company's Kern County crop looks "very good. Tom Franconi, a salesman with Mazzei-Franconi Co. LLC in Bakersfield, CA, said that the weather has been favorable to the potato crop because of a lack of "extreme heat stress.
"The weather was fine, Mr. Franconi said. "Rain slowed down some plantings, but it didn't affect us.
Mazzei-Franconi, which digs and delivers on the same day, harvests white, red, Yukon and North Dakota Russets. The company is down about 300 acres overall, mostly on Russets, Mr. Franconi said. The company's harvest starts the first week of May for white, red and Yukon potatoes, and the first week of June for Russets. The harvest is expected to continue into August. Once the harvest starts, Mazzei-Franconi will ship "all the way to the East Coast, Mr. Franconi said.
Don Johnston of Johnston Farms in Edison, CA, said that his overall potato acreage is down this year, mostly in Russets. Acreage for white potatoes is down a bit, while red and yellow potatoes held steady. The crop looks beautiful it looks like its going to be on time, he said.
The company begins harvesting white, red and Yukon potatoes around May 2 and Russets the last week of May.
Mr. Johnston said that in addition to pressure from Russet potatoes in storage, Kern County has experienced increasing pressure on white potatoes, too. This [Kern County] deal here was 60,000 acres in the 1950s, but it has decreased incrementally through the years to its current level of just over 10,000 acres, he said.
It is this rush to freshness that makes California new potatoes unique, since most potatoes marketed nationwide are done so out of storage.
It had better be a hot market for California's new potatoes. Overall potato acreage in Kern County has dropped about 20 percent in a year's time, according to published data from the Kern County Agricultural Commissioner's Office. The county's reported potato acreage dropped to 11,775 acres from 14,872 acres. Russet potatoes - at 3,533 acres - dropped nearly 25 percent, from 4,667 acres in 2004.
Edwin Camp, partner and president of D.M. Camp & Sons in Bakersfield, said that county potato acreage is down in large part because growers are "coming off two tough potato years." In addition, there's a "Russet glut in storage.
A challenge for D.M. Camp & Sons and other growers and handlers from the Kern County district is the abundance of Russet potatoes in storage from growers in Wisconsin, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Maine. D.M. Camp & Sons grows red, white and yellow potatoes in California's Brawley area and Bakersfield - but no Russets. Still, even thin-skinned, colored potatoes have a difficult time competing because when Russets are cheap. "It puts a lid on what we can get, Mr. Camp said.
Transportation problems also have hampered Kern County potato growers. "Right now trucking rates are higher than they've ever been, Mr. Camp said. While he and other growers utilize the railroad for shipments to the East Coast, rail costs have ratcheted up significantly despite "less-than-stellar service, he said. From May into July, Kern County will provide about one-quarter of the nation's potatoes, according to Mr. Camp.
D.M. Camp & Sons started harvesting new potatoes in Brawley the third week of March. The company grows reds, whites and yellows in Brawley and Bakersfield. The harvest will continue in the desert until early May, when without a break the harvesting operation moves to Bakersfield.
"Whites had some Russet scabs early, but now the quality is beautiful, Mr. Camp said. "The rest of the desert deal will be very nice.
Mr. Camp told The Produce News April 20 that the company's Kern County crop looks "very good. Tom Franconi, a salesman with Mazzei-Franconi Co. LLC in Bakersfield, CA, said that the weather has been favorable to the potato crop because of a lack of "extreme heat stress.
"The weather was fine, Mr. Franconi said. "Rain slowed down some plantings, but it didn't affect us.
Mazzei-Franconi, which digs and delivers on the same day, harvests white, red, Yukon and North Dakota Russets. The company is down about 300 acres overall, mostly on Russets, Mr. Franconi said. The company's harvest starts the first week of May for white, red and Yukon potatoes, and the first week of June for Russets. The harvest is expected to continue into August. Once the harvest starts, Mazzei-Franconi will ship "all the way to the East Coast, Mr. Franconi said.
Don Johnston of Johnston Farms in Edison, CA, said that his overall potato acreage is down this year, mostly in Russets. Acreage for white potatoes is down a bit, while red and yellow potatoes held steady. The crop looks beautiful it looks like its going to be on time, he said.
The company begins harvesting white, red and Yukon potatoes around May 2 and Russets the last week of May.
Mr. Johnston said that in addition to pressure from Russet potatoes in storage, Kern County has experienced increasing pressure on white potatoes, too. This [Kern County] deal here was 60,000 acres in the 1950s, but it has decreased incrementally through the years to its current level of just over 10,000 acres, he said.
