Idaho potato harvest 2025: Top yields, top quality
Idaho potato harvest 2025: Top yields, top quality
Picture the perfect conditions for producing Idaho potatoes, and that image would look exactly like the 2025 growing season, reported Travis Blacker, vice president of industry relations and research for the Idaho Potato Commission.
“In Idaho, it’s common to have a frost right around Father’s Day, or some hail that will set the potato plants back a little bit, but not this year,” Blacker said. “The warm days and cool nights combined for a great-looking potato crop this year. We also had excellent harvest weather, despite a couple of days that were rainy.”
Russet potatoes are still king in Idaho, and they accounted for more than 90 percent of Idaho’s estimated 313,000 potato acres in 2025, up “just a hair” from 2024 acreage, said Blacker. With idyllic growing conditions many of those spuds are super sized, he added, with a bigger potato size profile than the 2024 crop.
“We’ve got top quality potatoes that we’ll be able to supply retailers with this year,” said Blacker. “They are storing well, and the packouts are good too. It’s going to be an ideal year for filling 8- and 10-pound bags with larger potatoes.”
Crop circles
With plenty of supply available from the No. 1 U.S. potato-producing state, retailers can push profits higher by aggressively promoting Idaho tubers this year, Blacker said.
Advertising Idaho potatoes effectively will be key to driving sales, said Ross Johnson, IPC vice president of retail. Johnson recommended creating bag ads that depict bags rather than bulk images to avoid consumer confusion about which products are on sale. In addition, ads that use prepared images can increase total basket rings.
“Shoppers who buy potatoes spend an average of $86 per trip compared with $43 for those who don’t purchase potatoes,” said Johnson. “Our IPC Idaho potato promotion directors are helping retailers understand market dynamics to help increase profitability despite a depressed market. Idaho assets are available for use both in-store and in ads to help capture the 90 percent of consumers who associate potatoes with the Idaho brand.”
The Idaho advantage
Idaho’s potato crop continues to expand far beyond russets to include yellow, red and gourmet options, said Johnson. That makes it easy for retailers to stock a full array of tubers sporting the Grown in Idaho seal that shoppers look for. Nearly 75 percent of consumers said they would be inclined to eat Idaho potatoes over potatoes from other states, according to IPC focus group research.
“More than 80 percent of consumers eat at least one serving of potatoes every week, with one-third eating three or more servings per week,” said Johnson. “Our Idaho potato growers take pride in growing and harvesting America’s favorite vegetable so that retailers can have confidence in a consistent supply of premium Idaho potatoes all year long.”
