Fall potato harvest continues to ramp up across North America. Growers are reporting yields that are average to slightly above average, with some exceptions. In the Pacific Northwest, cold spring temperatures and excessive heat during July and August have reduced yield expectations by 15-25 cwt per acre, relative to trendline yields. The USDA average yield is likely to fall 5-15 cwt short of the 20-year trend.
Chip potato business is steady, though the seasonal downturn that comes with Labor Day may be starting to slow movement. Chip potato markets are quiet as growers start to prepare fields to go into storage. Field delivery supplies are plentiful.
New-crop US chip potato movement, through August 27, is running 18.4% ahead of last year’s pace. Michigan’s shipments are running 50.9% short of year-earlier movement. On the other hand, Wisconsin’s chip potato shipments are 62.7% ahead of the 2021 pace. New York has shipped 29.7% more chip potatoes than it had at this time last year. Ohio’s reported shipments total 437,000 cwt compared to 54,000 cwt a year ago. Maine and the Red River Valley have started digging new-crop chip potatoes.
US packers shipped 1.336 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending August 27, 2022. That is down from 1.683 million cwt a year earlier. USDA did not report any Michigan potato shipments during the week ending August 27, 2022. There were 20,300 cwt of table potato shipments a year ago.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potatoes in 10# bags for mostly $16.00-$18.00 per 50# bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling Russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $35.00-$40.00 per 50# box, up from $35.00-$38.00 per 50# box a week ago. The weighted average shipping point price for new-crop Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $56.33 per cwt. That is down from $57.25 per cwt a week ago.
Big Lake and Central Minnesota packers are selling 2000# tote bags of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $25.00 per cwt, unchanged from last week. Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5# bales of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $16.00-$19.00 per bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling 50# cartons of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $16.00-$19.00 per 50# box, also unchanged.