07/14/05 Lowest fall spud acres in decades

Farm and Ranch July 14, 2005 U.S. potato growers planted and are expected to harvest the fewest acres of fall potatoes since 1957. If you combine potatoes for all four seasons it's the lowest acreage since record keeping began in 1866. That's what the Agricultural Statistics Service reported this week. Nationally fall acreage is down seven percent from last year and 12 percent below 2003. The Statistics Service attributes the decline to economic pressures, industry acreage reduction programs, and bad weather at planting time. Joe Parsons with the Washington State Agricultural Statistics Service says Washington growers planted 154-thousand acres of potatoes this year, down four percent from 2004 and the lowest acreage since 1997. Parsons: "Idaho planted 330-thousand acres of potatoes this year. That is 25-thousand less than the 355-thousand planted a year ago. And that is also the lowest planted acreage in Idaho since 1986. Oregon acreage is estimated at 35-thousand acres compared to 37-thousand a year ago. Part of the reduction in Oregon is due to the closure of a processing plant in the lower Columbia Basin." The United Potato Growers of America Cooperative formed earlier this year is taking some of the credit for the reduction in acreage. The organization which has state cooperatives in the northwest and other major potato producing states, says that even with the drop in acreage they are confident there will be enough potatoes to fill demand. The first USDA estimate of this year's potato production won't be until November. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.