Idaho growers expect record beet yield, high-quality spuds

Idaho growers anticipate digging another record-yielding sugar beet crop and potatoes with excellent quality, thanks to ideal weather during the critical points of this growing season. Idaho growers expect record beet yield, high-quality spuds. Randy Grant, a Russet Burbank grower for the processed potato industry, said spuds benefited from plenty of warm weather without extreme temperature fluctuations during key growth periods. “The quality is there. We don’t see the rough potatoes, the growth cracks and that type of stuff,” he said. “It was ideal growing weather when they started making their shape.” Only recently has he noticed spud fields beginning to “show their age,” following a 10-day stretch of extreme high temperatures to end July and begin August. He said the recent heat stress shouldn’t affect quality, and bulking should resume when temperatures dip back to normal. More