Idaho’s potato crop has caught up well after wet, cold weather during planting and emergence seasons delayed its start. As Brad Carlson reports for Capital Press, Declo-area grower Mark Darrington liked what he saw during recent test digs: tubers, in contrast to the “big crop of vines” of one variety that produced poorly in last year’s drought and early, prolonged high heat.
In the south-central region, “compared to last year, this crop looks fabulous,” he said. “As compared to a five-year average, it is a good, solid, average crop. …It was slow on emergence, but once it emerged, it performed well,” Darrington said.
Nearby to the south and west, Randy Hardy said the crop had been 10-14 days behind before the recent momentum gain in mostly warm, clear conditions.
“Currently, the crop looks pretty good,” Joe Esta, vice president at Wada Farms in Idaho Falls, said July 26. The business likes to see rows in the region close by July 4, “and they were trailing that a little bit.”
Planted acres in the state are about 290,000, down 8% from 315,000 a year earlier, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported June 30. Many growers shifted to crops that use less water and other inputs.
Source: Capital Press. Read the full story and listen to an audio file here
Photo: Credit Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
