Potatoes

POTATO STOCKS: Maine potato stocks on hand for December 1, 2008 totaled 10.8 million cwt, 16 percent below 2007’s December 1 holdings. Disappearance to December 1, 2008 totaled 3.7 million cwt, compared with 3.9 million cwt a year earlier. Maine’s processing usage (excluding chips) was down four percentage points from last year. Storage accounted for 75 percent of Maine’s total production, below last year’s 77 percent and the previous five–year average of 79 percent. Of the Maine stocks on hand the first of December, 52 percent were russets, 43 percent were round white varieties, three percent were yellows and two percent were reds.

 The 13 major potato States held 242 million cwt of potatoes in storage December 1, 2008, down nine percent from a year ago and seven percent below December 1, 2006. Potatoes in storage accounted for 66 percent of the 2008 fall storage States' production, slightly below December 1, 2007. Potato disappearance, at 123 million cwt, was six percent below December 1, 2007 and down five percent from December 1, 2006. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 13.0 million cwt, was down eight percent from the same date in 2007 and down two percent from 2006. Processors in the nine major States have used 71.8 million cwt of potatoes this season, down two percent from the same period last year and down three percent from two years ago. Dehydrating usage accounted for 10.7 million cwt of the total processing, down 16 percent from last year and 26 percent below the same period in 2006. 

 POTATOES: 2008 potato production in Maine is estimated at 14.5 million cwt (hundredweight), 14 percent below 2007 output due to reductions in both acreage and yield. Maine farmers planted 56,000 acres, 1,100 fewer acres than the previous year. The December 1 forecast placed 2008 acres harvested at 54,700 acres, with 1,300 acres abandoned due to losses from wet conditions and disease.

 Results from the 2008 Potato Objective Yield (POY) Survey placed the average number of hills per acre for all potato varieties planted in Maine at 11,210 hills per acre, down three percent from the 11,519 hills per acre seeded in 2007. On average, growers harvested 8.6 tubers per hill in 2008, compared with the 8.9 tubers per hill average in 2007. Survey results placed fewer potatoes in the US Number 1 category in 2008 than in earlier years for round whites and russets. Round white varieties graded out at 76 percent US #1, compared with 89 percent in 2007 and the 5 year average of 82 percent. Russets graded out at 66 percent US #1 in 2008, compared with 70 percent in 2007 and five year average of 68 percent. Lab results placed more long whites in the US Number 1 category than the previous two years. Long whites graded out at 64 percent US #1 in 2008, compared with 59 percent in 2007 and the five year average of 66 percent. Yellow varieties graded out at 82 percent US #1, unchanged from the previous year. Further results from the 2008 Objective Yield survey will be published on January 12, 2009 in the Maine Annual Potato Size and Grade Report.

 Based on early December assessments, Massachusetts growers planted 2,800 acres and harvested 2,400 acres and yields averaged 260 cwt per acre. Losses were heavy at some locations from high winds and excessive moisture. Rhode Island potato farmers enjoyed drier weather conditions, and yields were expected to average 285 cwt per acre from the 500 acres harvested.

Potato statistics courtesy of New England Agricultural Review, a field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, United States Department of Agriculture.  Gary Keough, Director.   The entire document is available as a PDF file on the Internet through: http://www.nass.usda.gov/nh/agdec08.pdf

Potato Links

University of Maine Potato Integrated Pest Management
Potato Integrated Pest Management