Oct 30, 2025Michigan harvest nears completion; 2026 contract negotiations begin
Michigan’s potato harvest is around 90% complete, with quality and recovery rates close to average for the state’s chipping crop.
Open market potatoes are selling slightly below contract prices, according to a report compiled by North American Potato Market News (NAPMN) for the Michigan Potato Industry Commission. As contract negotiations for the 2026 crop begin, contract volume reductions are expected, especially in the spring and summer growing regions.
Open-market russet table potato prices continue to decline. The Idaho Grower Returns Index (GRI) dropped to $1.97 per cwt last week, 72.6% below the year earlier GRI and Idaho’s lowest GRI since 2005. GRIs are down significantly in each of the major russet shipping regions.
Idaho table potato movement continues outpace last year, with shipments reaching 819,000 cwt during the week ending Oct. 25, up 6% from the previous year. Total U.S. shipments have lagged behind the 2024 pace since May, despite large supplies and low prices.
U.S. packers shipped 1.657 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending Oct. 25, down from 1.781 million cwt in 2024. Michigan packers shipped 24,950 cwt during the week ending Oct. 25, a decrease from 67,086 cwt shipped during the same week in 2024. Last week’s reported Michigan shipments were 80.2% russet and 19.8% yellow potatoes.
