Eagle Eye Produce had been harvesting new crop potatoes for several weeks before beginning harvest for its storage supplies the week after Labor Day. While it is still too early to know the overall projection for the crop, early indications are for high-quality spuds with smaller overall sizing and a bit lower yield.

Like many potato growers in Idaho, Wilcox Fresh is uncertain at this point what the season will bring. But one thing is certain — it has been a year like no other in recent memory.

“We’re basically in a wait-and-see situation with volume, and we’re hoping that yields aren’t too far off last year,” said Derek Peterson, vice president of sales and operations for the Rexburg, ID-based grower-shipper.

With an Idaho potato harvest kick-off during the week of Aug. 8, Idaho Falls, ID-based Wada Farms is seeing what Director of Marketing Eric Beck termed an “unprecedented” market this 2022-23 season.

Beck, who said in mid-September the grower-shipper operation was in “full force harvesting in all growing areas,” commented on current market conditions and demand.

SUN VALLEY, ID — Jamey Higham brings a wealth of potato knowledge and management experience to his role as president and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission. In his first year at the helm of the IPC, Higham has vowed to take a thoughtful approach to the IPC’s operations and increase communication with its members.

Higham, who joined the IPC in January, detailed his vision for the IPC at the industry breakfast Aug. 25 during the 94th annual Idaho Grower Shipper Association convention, here.

Heartfelt tributes to stellar spuds were just the ticket for higher produce sales during the Idaho Potato Commission’s 31st annual retail display contest.

Retailers across the country took home more than $150,000 in cash and prizes for their winning entries in this year’s Idaho Potato Lovers Display Contest — and IPC reports that test stores with secondary displays of Idaho russets deliver a nearly 10 times growth advantage, while comparison stores with no secondary display achieve an average category growth of only 2.5 percent.

Last week the Idaho Potato Commission participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the University of Idaho’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to officially recognize the opening of the new Seed Potato Germplasm Laboratory. The state-of-the-art facility is critical to maintaining the quality of one of Idaho’s most important agricultural commodities, the potato.