Overall Red River Valley red potato season going surprisingly well

For those Red River Valley red potato growers who lost three-fourths of their crop to rain and subsequent fields that were too muddy to yield spuds for harvest, there isn’t much that can happen to make the 2016 crop a profitable venture. But, on average, Red River Valley red potato growers managed to harvest about two-thirds of a normal crop. On Jan. 10, Ted Kreis, the marketing manager for the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association, said that overall, potato growers in his region will enjoy greater profits than they would have seen had the valley produced a full crop. The reason, of course, is simply supply and demand. The Red River Valley supplies a significant portion of the nation’s red potato volume. A lack of these supplies has elevated prices to increase profits above what would have yielded for a greater potato supply. More