Potato acreage is down and yields are relatively low in Idaho. “Growers aren’t feeling very positive about their yields – they’re looking to be lower,” Ryan Wahlen of Pleasant Valley Potato told FreshPlaza’s Astrid Van Den Broek. He notes there are a few factors behind the reduced yields, starting with a delay in the crop to start the season.
“This year, it was a very cool spring and the plants didn’t get the level of growth that we expected them to have by the end of June. At that point, the plants were about two weeks behind,” says Wahlen. “Then, the months of July and August were extremely hot. The reality is that the size profile of the crop never did develop as expected. The size profile is going to be smaller than last year.”
Wahlen says there’s no doubt that the market on average this year will be higher than last year. “And potentially we could see the peak season pricing be higher than last year,” he says. “It’s a scary situation and something we haven’t seen before. With that reduction in acreage and reduction in yield, all bets are off.”
Source: FreshPlaza. Read the full story here
Photo: Credit FreshPlaza
