Above-average temperatures slowed Michigan’s potato harvest last week. Sunny skies and slightly cooler temperatures are in the forecast. Reports indicate that quality is good, and yields are above average. Chip potato business remains quiet. The devastation caused by Hurricane Helene could limit both table and chip potato shipments to parts of the east coast.
The USDA has revised 2023 potato production data for 12 of the 13 reporting states, including Michigan. Production exceeded the January estimate in five of those states, while it declined in seven states. The U.S. 2023 potato crop is now estimated at 440.13 million cwt. That is 618,000 cwt less than the previous estimate. However, it is 38.08 million cwt larger than the 2022 crop.
For Michigan, USDA reports that growers harvested 49,000 acres of potatoes in 2023. That is 500 acres less than the January estimate. The state’s 2023 yield estimate was revised upward by 5 cwt per acre, to a record 440 cwt per acre. The changes increased the 2023 crop estimate by 27,000 cwt. Michigan’s 2023 potato crop exceeded 2022 production by 602,000 cwt, or 2.9%. That increase is puzzling. The state’s combined shipments of table and chip potatoes from the 2023 crop fell 2.5% short of year-earlier movement.
U.S. packers shipped 1.714 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending Sept. 28. That is up from 1.485 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 34,036 cwt of potatoes during the week ending Sept. 28. That is up from 23,200 cwt shipped during the same week in 2023. Last week’s Michigan shipments were 100% russets.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A russet potatoes in 10-pound bags for $9.50-$11 per 50-pound bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $17-$18 per 50-pound box, also unchanged. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $18.25 per cwt, down from $18.82 per cwt a week ago.
Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5-pound bales of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $13-$15.50 per bale, down from $13-$17 per bale last week. They are selling 50-pound cartons of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $13-$15.50 per 50-pound box, down from $13.00-$16.50 a week ago.
Report by North American Potato Market News