The weather in Michigan is wet and cold. Harvest is approximately 90% complete. Some growers have finished digging, while others may dig into November. Chip potato movement has been steady. Dealers report that solids are average to a little below average for this year’s crop, but color has been good.
US chip potato movement during the past 10 weeks (August 1 through October 8) matched last year’s pace, at 9.7 million cwt. Michigan’s shipments are running 1.8% short of year-earlier movement. On the other hand, Wisconsin’s chip potato shipments are 28.4% ahead of the 2021 pace. New York’s reported shipments are 34.4% below last year, during the same period. Chip potato movement from the Mid-Central region is running 21.5% ahead, while shipments from the Mid-West region are running 2.8% behind year-earlier movement.
Table potato movement has been slow. Season-to-date, through October 1, Michigan’s table potato movement is running 22.5% behind the 2021 pace. Some growers delayed harvest to give potatoes more time to size up. In addition, one packing shed won’t be operational until sometime in January.
US packers shipped 1.501 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending October 8, 2022. That is down from 1.656 million cwt shipped a year earlier. USDA-AMS has not reported any Michigan table potato shipments during the week ending October 8, 2022. The agency has frequently been late when reporting the state’s table potato shipments this year. Michigan packers shipped 85,700 cwt during the same week in 2021.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potatoes in 10# bags for mostly $14.00-$15.00 per 50# bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling Russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $21.00-$30.00 per 50# box, unchanged from a week ago. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $27.94 per cwt. That is down from $28.93 per cwt a week ago.
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. There were no prices reported for Big Lake and Central Minnesota, as the shipping season there winds down.