Rain stalled the Michigan potato harvest last week. Approximately 65%-75% of the crop has been harvested. Growers need another week of good weather to finish. Harvesters are back in the field, but more rain is in the forecast for this weekend and next week. Wisconsin growers are nearly finished digging this year’s potato crop. Growers in some areas left potatoes in the ground due excess moisture. Red River Valley growers are close to wrapping up their harvest season. Chip potato yields in the Valley could be down close to 20% due to the drought. Maine and New Brunswick growers have filled permanent and temporary storages. Some chip and frozen processing potatoes are left to dig. Growers are waiting until they can find a home for the remaining potatoes. Yields in Ontario have been excellent, though the delay in chip potato field delivery may cause some storage issues. PEI and Quebec also have excellent yields this year.
US packers shipped 1.588 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending October 16, 2021. That is down from 1.855 million cwt a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 69,700 cwt of potatoes during the week ending October 16, 2021. That is up from 40,300 cwt during the same week in 2020. Last week’s Michigan shipments were 91.4% Russets, 4.3% Yellow potatoes, 2.4% Round White potatoes, and 1.9% Red potatoes.
USDA reports that Michigan packers are selling size A Russets in 10# bags for $11.00-$12.00 per 50# bale, FIRST REPORT. Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potatoes in 10# bags for mostly $8.25-$8.50 per 50# bale, up from $8.00-$8.50 per 50# bale last week. They are selling Russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $16.00-$18.00 per 50# box, down from $18.00 per 50# box a week ago. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $19.89 per cwt, up from $19.27 per cwt last week.
Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5# bags of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $13.00-$16.00 per 50# bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling 50# cartons of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $14.00-$15.50, also unchanged.