Posts Tagged “Oregon potato shipments”
Another shipping season of quality red, white and yellow potatoes from growers in Washington and Oregon is expected.
The 2024 harvest started in late July for some growers, but will not get underway until early September for others, which is typical.
USDA estimates that Washington produced 99.7 million hundredweight of potatoes in 2023, about 10% of which was destined for fresh market.
Total potato production this year will be down due to a reduction in acres planted, according to the Washington Potato Commission of Moses Lake, WA.
About 16,000 fewer acres were planted this year. With excellent weather during the growing season yields per acres are expected to increase.
An overall 8% decline in Washington’s potato production is expected by the commission compared to last year.
Total potato acreage in Washington is projected to be down 10% to 12%.
Growers in the state have planted an estimated 144,000 acres of potatoes, of which about 16,000 acres are for fresh market.
Oregon’s growers produced about 27.4 million hundredweight of potatoes in 2023, according to USDA.
The Oregon Potato Commission of Portland predicts about 10% of that volume is for fresh market.
Oregon grows about 43,000 acres of potatoes.
Double-N Potatoes of Burlington, WA ships red, yellow, white potatoes and purple potatos.
Harvest gets underway the first or second week of September, volume expected to be similar to last year.
Double-N Potatoes ships from September until the end of April.
Valley Pride Sales LLC, also based in Burlington, will start its 2024 harvest in early September.
The company, which ships potatoes year-round, has white, red and yellow potatoes and some small potatoes for consumer packs.
Eagle Eye Produce of Iona, ID ships potatoes the year-round potato out of Mattawa, WA. It’s 2024 harvest has just got started.
The company’s acreage will be down this year because of crop rotations and an industrywide oversupply with grower returns below the cost of production.
Potandon Produce of Pasco, WA, expects to have a higher-quality crop of russet potatoes this year as last season had its ups and downs. A more consistent crop is seen this year.
Potandon’s harvest started in late July. The company ships out of Washington the year around.
Average volume for onion shipments are expected this season from the Columbia Basin, as well as from Treasure Valley, according to extension personnel at Washington State University and Oregon State University.
With total acreage virtually unchanged from a year ago, yellow onions account for about 80% of total onion acreage. Red onions now account for 15% of total Columbia Basin onion acreage, with white onions totaling about 5%.
Columbia Basin’s early onion harvest will likely start in early August, with storage onions beginning at the end of August or early September. Onions will be harvested and put in storage through September and into October.
Most of Washington’s storage onions are grown in the Columbia Basin, with the majority planted in Grant, Franklin and Adams counties.
Onion acreage in the Columbia Basin shared by Oregon and Washington totals about 25,000 acres. Onion harvest begins in the region begins in the late summer and can extend into the fall. Storage onions can be marketed from storage for up to eight months.
Storage onion acreage in the eastern part of Oregon and southwest Idaho, called the Treasure Valley region, accounts for about 20,000 to 25,000 acres.
Many onions in the Treasure Valley will be shipped to the East, while many of the Columbia Basin onions will move north and south, as well as to export markets.
Northwest potato shipments will be down this season from Oregon due to drought, and from Washington state because of too much rain. The COVID-19 virus also plays a role.
Washington and Oregon rank second and third, respectively, among the 50 states in potato production, with processing accounting for as much as 90 percent of shipments. Demand is reported strong, for both processed and fresh product.
An estimated 80 to 85 of Oregon grown spuds go to processing, and the hard hit foodservice industry has affected all potato growers in the Northwest and the nation.
Riverside Potato Inc. of Merrill, OR reports no snow pack, and a lack of rain resulting in 300,000 to 330,000 acre feet of water being cut to 140,000. The result is the company estimating it will be down 30 to 35 percent in potato acreage in the valley this season.
Riverside will ship product from 200 to 250 acres this year, compared to 550 to 580 acres a year ago.
Wong Potatoes Inc. of Klamath Falls, OR reports drought conditions were worse than any since 2006. Last season, the operation planted over 900 acres, compared to this year, which totals a little over 600 acres.
To the north in the Columbia Basin, along the Washington-Oregon border, rainfall wasn’t a problem, but acreage likely will be down, according to Potandon Produce of Idaho Falls, ID.
Overall, Potandon sees its fresh potato loadings basically being down, although volume might be up slightly in August. However, September and October, product coming out of storage will definitely be up lower.
In Northwest Washington, Valley Pride Sales of Burlington, WA has had too much rain.
The USDA says production in 2019 totaled 11.6 million pounds, compared to 11.3 million in 2018. Potatoes in storage accounted for 17 percent of 2019 production, compared to 18 percent a year earlier.
Oregon production in 2019 totaled 2.82 million pounds, compared to 3.02 million in 2019. Potatoes in storage accounted for 14 percent, unchanged from the previous year.
Northwest region potatoes remaining to be shipped out of storage on June 1, 2020, totaled 5.3 billion pounds.
June 1 potato stocks in Oregon totaled 403 million pounds. Shipments to date was 2.41 billion pounds. In Washington, June 1 potato in storage totaled 1.97 billion pounds. Loadings to date totaled 85.6 million cwt., or 9.6 billion pounds.
Nationally, the 13 major potato states held 7.5 billion pounds on June 1, 2020, down 4 percent from last year.
Potatoes in storage accounted for 16 percent of the states’ 2019 production, compared with 17 percent for a year earlier.
Potato diggings have just got underway, which is normal.
Following Labor Day, growers will be putting some product in storage and still pack out of the field. Packing out of the field continues until October 10. Potandon will finish on a Friday, packing old crop, and start a new crop Monday or Tuesday and continue on with the crop out of the field. The company then switches into storage and continues to the next July.
South Basin Packing of Gresham, OR notes the crop is coming along for shipments to retailers, although foodservice is certainly down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Norman Nelson Inc. (Double-N Potatoes) of Mount Vernon, WA reports acreage in the Skagit Valley, whose season will start around September 1, appeared to be about normal. Acreage is expected to be similar to a year ago.
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It is still a month away, but Northwest potato shipments are expected to be good this season, following last year when the growing season was plagued by adverse weather.
Earlier this year when weather delayed plantings nearly a month, Mother Nature changed her tune and now the season looks to be pretty much on schedule starting during the first half of September.
Although Washington state acreage is up this season, it is due mostly for processing potatoes.
Skagit Valley’s Best Produce of Mount Vernon, WA completed its 20th shipping season in early May. It now has all of its red, yellow, white and purple potatoes in the ground, and the crop is progressing nicely.
Norm Nelson Inc. of Mount Vernon finished its plantings in early June and should start potato shipments in mid September with a bumper crop.
Bouchey Potato of Harrah, WA started harvesting conventional potatoes in July, plus will be shipping organic reds, yellows, russets and fingerlings this season.
Oregon Potato Shipments
Oregon’s upcoming season appears to be following a similar pattern.
Botsford & Goodfellow Inc. of Clackamas, Ore. reports a similar weather pattern experienced by the Washington potato industry, with crops progressing in a similar manner. The company, which is a shipper and broker of potatoes, is just starting its new season.
Riverside Potato of Klamath falls, Ore. reports it is about two to three weeks late this year, overall. It ships reds, yellows and russets.
Very light loadings of Oregon potato shipments have started….Meanwhile, New Jersey tomato shipments are in peak volume.
The early season potato harvest in Oregon is underway pretty much on schedule from normal past years.
Harvest of Oregon potatoes will continue until November. Plantings in the Klamath region was completed in early June, and that those potatoes are in their early stages.
About 13 percent of Oregon potato shipments are with table stock (fresh market), which is mostly russets with some reds and yellows, 7 percent chip potatoes, and the rest being processed russets or other varieties of the russet type.
Government figures show that in the region which includes Oregon, Washington and Idaho, about 65 percent of potatoes grown in those three states are exported internationally, and should once again include South Korea.
New Jersey Tomatoes
In 2017 New Jersey tomatoes were the third ranking crop in the Garden State, coming off of 4,000 acres, with shipments totaling 112 million pounds. New Jersey annually ranks in the top 10 in the U.S. in shipments of tomatoes.
Tomato loadings are at a peak now and that peak will continue for another week or so. However, the season will continue through October.
Growtopia of Swedesboro, NJ, was formerly known as Sorbello Farms. It is a third-generation family-owned farm that has 900 acres, with nearly 200 acres of Jersey Fresh vegetables and features its own packing facility. Growtopia/Sorbello Farms also grows asparagus, zucchini squash, cucumbers and Bell peppers throughout the year. The company ships Jersey Fresh vegetables across the United States and Canada.
Growtopia Farms is located off exit #10 on route 295 or exit #2 on the NJ Turnpike.
In 2018 the company was first farm in New Jersey to implement precision spraying through unmanned drones rather than a traditional ground sprayer. This produces a much smaller carbon footprint, a 75 percent reduction in pesticides, and thermal imaging to aid in its scouting program.
New York vegetable shipments are now moving to markets, while potato loads from the new crops for Washington and Oregon will be underway soon.
It was a drought in New York last year, but too much rain this year affecting vegetable shipments. For example, Turek Farms of King Ferry, NY has left a few hundred of its nearly 4,000 acres unplanted this year due to excessive rains. The company’s s corn harvest is just getting underway to be followed by cabbage, broccoli and Brussels spouts.
Torrey Farms Inc. of Elba, NY grows about 14,000 acres and faces similar issues. Torrey also grows cucumbers, green beans, yellow squash, cabbage, onions, potatoes and winter squash.
Meanwhile, Eden Valley Growers of Eden, NY, just got started with sweet corn, cabbage, squash, cucumbers and beans.
New York shipped sweet corn in 2016 off of 26,600 acres, amounting to 2.5 million cwt. Corn for the fresh market made up $44.6 million of a total crop value of $53 million. Green bean shipments last year came off of 28,300 acres, for a total of nearly 2 million cwt.
New York’s vegetable shipments extend into late November and even early December for some crops.
Washington Potato Shipments
In 2016 Washington growers planted 170,000 acres of potatoes, with acreage and volumes expected to be similar this season. The state typically ships about 10 billion pounds of potatoes each growing season.
Potandon Produce LLC of Idaho Falls, ID, will begin shipping russet and colored potatoes out of Osceola, WA later this month, while Norm Nelson Inc., of Burlington, WA expects to start loading spuds in September.
Washington’s Columbia Basin potato shipments – grossing about $3400 to Chicago.
Oregon Potato Shipments
Oregon potato shipments for the fresh market represents nearly 13 percent of total production in the U.S. Similar volume of about 2.5 billion pounds is seen for the upcoming season.
Strebin Farms LLC of Troutdale, OR will pack the old storage crop through the end of July, before starting with the new crop in early August. In similar fashion, Amstad Produce LLC, of Sherwood, OR also expects its new potato crop to be ready after the first week of August. The company will be shipping red and yellow potatoes August through the end of the year out of the Willamette Valley.
Here’s an update on California fall produce shipments, plus a glimpse at the outlook for Oregon potato shipments.
Among the leading items for fall produce loadings out of California are grapes, apples and citrus.
Grape Shipments
California ships over 60 percent of its table grapes after September 1st. Total California grape shipments this season are estimated at 113.3 million 19-pound boxes. So far grape quality has generally been good. However, we need to keep an eye on hot, humid and occasional rainy weather that could adversely affect quality.
San Joaquin Valley grapes and other items – grossing about $6700 to New York City.
Apple Shipments
California gala apple shipments got off to a slow start in mid July mainly because of Washington state’s old crop still being shipped. Loadings have now picked up. Fujis and granny smith apples shipments get underway in September, followed by pink lady in mid October. Primavera Marketing Inc., of Stockton, CA is the state’s largest apple shipper, with about 1.1 million boxes. The state’s apple shipments have taken a hit, however, with Bidart Bros. of Bakersfield, CA, pulling out of the apple business following a listeria outbreak at its packing facility. The company, which packed about 400,000 boxes of apples, is now focusing on other crops.
Citrus Shipments
California navel shipments should start in mid-October, although volume will be down this season due to 20,000 to 25,000 acres of trees being dozed because of the drought. For easy-peel fruit, satsumas will starte ahead of navels, in late September or early October.v Clementine loadings start soon after navels. Volumes should be up as younger trees come into production.
Oregon Potato Shipments
Oregon fresh potato shipments are expected to be similar to the 2014-15 season.
However, excessive heat could change spuds as the harvest progresses, especially if vines start dying early.
The table stock harvest started in early August from the Columbia Basin, with harvest in the Klamath Basin following shortly thereafter.
Oregon fresh potato shipments are 17 percent of total state production, with fresh acreage being approximately 7,000 acres.
Oregon potatoes – grossing about $4300 to Chicago.
There has been a tremendous increase in Washington state blueberry shipments in recent years. We’ll also look at some potato loading opportunities in the Western half of the United States.
Washington Blueberry Shipments
Blueberry shipments have increased nearly five-fold over the past eight years. Check out these numbers.
2006 18.4 million pounds
2007 28.5 million pounds
2010 60 million pounds
2013 80 million pounds
2014 projected at 90 million pounds
Washington is fourth in U.S. blueberry production with 10,000 acres of berries from 175 growers The state’s blueberry season runs from June through August while processed ‘blues’ are available year round. Washington blueberries are grown in Skagit, Clark, Lewis, Snohomish, Thurston, Whatcom, Chelan, Yakima and Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla, and Grant Counties.
Washington/Oregon potatoes
The majority of Washington potato shipments are now underway with a similar time frame as last year.
Oregon potato shipments will suffer due to an expected a decline of about 700 acres this season, but water concerns will likely affect even more shipments. Water availability is a concern in both Malheur County and the Klamath Basin, and yields most likely will be affected.
Colorado Potato Shipments
In southeastern Colorado, San Luis Valley potato acreage is up 8.5 percent this season. Total acreage is 54,200, compared to 49,700 last season. The harvest and shipments will start in earnest around September 10th.
Colorado potatoes – grossing about $1650 to Dallas.
Washington produce – grossing bout $1050 to Los Angeles.