Dolan expects improved potato markets in early 2015
Dolan expects improved potato markets in early 2015
There are reasons to hope the marketing position of Red River Valley potato shippers will improve this January, said Paul Dolan, manager of Associated Potato Growers Inc., based in Grand Forks, ND.
Disappointed by “so-so demand” in December, Dolan is optimistic the markets will improve because Wisconsin potato shippers were expected to have exited the market earlier than expected. Furthermore, Florida’s spring potato plantings were to be down in 2015.
Paul Dolan
“I hope we have a few more trucks,” Dolan added in a mid-December interview.
At that time he said potato movement had been a little slow since Thanksgiving. “Transportation continues to be our biggest concern,” he added. “It’s hard to come by. There are not enough drivers.”
Truck availability has worsened in the Red River Valley over recent years, but “it’s never been this bad,” Dolan said. “This year has been the worst.”
Because of the truck situation, the use of rail transportation has been up this year. But the rail cars use No. 2 diesel fuel, which can freeze. That likelihood, in addition to the inherent undependability of rail service, will cause Associated to quit using rail through the coldest months of the North Dakota winter.