If there’s any doubt Idaho is the king of potato shippers, consider the state is home to about 600 farms which grow potatoes for the fresh market and process.
Overall, potatoes are grown on approximately 324,000 aces, and will ship about 13 billion pounds of potatoes this season. That would fill about 500 football stadiums 10 feet high.
By early September, 50 percent of the potato harvest in western Idaho had been completed. The eastern side of the state was facing greater challenges with a lot of moisture and heat. Harvesting will finish in mid-October, with quality looking good.
Approximately 40 percent of Idaho potato shipments go to the fresh market.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $5100 to Philadelphia.
U.S. Potato Shipments for 2014-15
About 442 million cwt. of potatoes were produced in the U.S. in 2014, 2 percent more than in 2013.
Table stock (fresh) shipments accounted for about 107 million cwt. of that total.
About 1.05 million acres of potatoes were harvested in the U.S. in 2014, up slightly from 2013.
The average yield last season, 421 cwt. per acre, was 7 percent higher than in 2013.
While production was up in 2014, prices were lower. The value of the 2014 crop was about $3.66 billion, down 7% from 2013. The average price, $8.88 per cwt., was 87 cents lower than the price for spuds harvested in 2013.
Of the 442 million cwt. total, 404 million cwt. were harvested in the fall.