US: Ample supplies expected for St. Pat’s promotions

Cabbage and potato supplies should be plentiful for any St. Patrick’s Day promotions this year, grower-shippers say. According to Keith Groven, fresh sales manager with Grand Forks, N.D.-based Black Gold Farms, “The St. Patrick’s Day holiday, for reds, indexes almost as strongly as Thanksgiving.” It’s also one of the last major promotional events before the end of the storage season, Groven said. Volumes will be adequate, even after a relatively small crop went into storage, Groven noted. “Last year was a near-record harvest, and we had just a whole bunch of potatoes. This year, with a smaller crop, there’s not as many in storage, but that’s not going to affect availability,” he said. Paul Dolan, general manager for Associated Potato Growers Inc. in Grand Forks, N.D., said there will be supplies available for any promotional need related to St. Patrick’s Day. More