Washington potato acreage has increased this season, but is still short of what it once was.
The Washington State Potato Commission reports nearly 160,000 acres is forecast, up about 5,000 acres from 2020, but down about 5,000 acres from the state’s maximum potato acreage.
Harvest got undeway in the first half of July in the Columbia Basin with red and yellow potatoes, followed by russet potatoes the last week of July.
Washington also ships red potatoes and there has been increasing volume with gold potatoes.
“In a lot of other areas (in the U.S.), there’s been a swapping where red acres are going down and yellow acres are going up, but we’ve been able to maintain our red acres because of the great quality (of the state’s red potatoes),” the commission reports. “We’ve been able to maintain our red acres, but there is a growing interest in yellow potatoes, so we’re starting to see more of more of those grown.”
There are two major potato growing regions in Washington, the biggest consisting of the Columbia Basin, which accounts for about 90% of the state’s potato production. Growers there typically ship potatoes to the fresh market and to processors.
In Northwest Washington’s Skagit Valley, growers raise potatoes strictly for the fresh market.