Michigan growers were optimistic about this year’s potato crop, until the heatwave experienced during the end of July. Daytime temperatures were above 90°F, and nighttime temperatures remained high. In addition, humidity was around 90%. Those kinds of conditions can take a toll on a potato crop. The state has experienced cooler weather during the past seven days, but temperatures are forecast to increase later in the week.
The chip potato harvest is slowly getting underway in southwest Michigan. Chip potato supplies are backing up, so buyers have pushed back harvest dates for some growers. Growers are expected to start digging early table potatoes during the second full week of August.
North American Potato Market News (NAPMN) expects U.S. growers to produce 419.8 million cwt of potatoes during 2025. That is only 442,000 cwt less than the current estimate for the 2024 crop, a 0.1% decline. Growers are likely to harvest 905,900 acres of potatoes this year; 19,500 acres less than they harvested from the 2024 crop. This year’s reduction in acreage will likely be offset by an increase in yields. NAPMN is projecting a national average yield of 463 cwt per acre, up from 454 cwt per acre for the 2024 crop. It matches the 20-year trend yield. If realized, this year’s potato crop would be 0.2% larger than the five-year average. Potato crops were planted on time, or earlier than usual, in several of the major potato producing regions. With a few exceptions, summer growing conditions have been mostly favorable across the country. In addition, the market has pushed growers to delay harvest in some areas, which could boost overall size profiles and yields. Growers in most of the storage states are just getting ready to harvest. The combination of early planting, favorable growing conditions, and extra growing days could lead to larger yields than we are currently projecting. Nevertheless, a lot can change between now and the end of the harvest season.
U.S. packers shipped 1.563 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending August 2, 2025. That is up from 1.515 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 38,750 cwt during the week ending Aug. 2. That is down from 43,250 cwt shipped during the same week in 2024. Last week’s reported Michigan shipments were 83.7% russets, and 16.3% yellow potatoes.
The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Burbanks is $16.18 per cwt, up from $16.05 per cwt the previous week.
USDA has stopped reporting prices for Wisconsin.
– This report was compiled by North American Potato Market News (NAPMN) for the Michigan Potato Industry Commission.