Potato planting winding down across US regions

Potato growers across the U.S. are nearly finished planting, with most of the 2026 crop in the ground in Idaho and the Columbia Basin.

Planting is moving forward in Michigan, where temperatures have been well below average during the past two weeks, according to a report compiled for the Michigan Potato Industry Commission by North American Potato Market News (NAPMN).

Growers in the central sands region of Wisconsin finished planting last week, while growers in the Red River Valley are just getting started. In the San Luis Valley, planting is nearly finished.

A few seed growers remain in fields in Idaho, where weather has been favorable. Ideal growing conditions in the Pacific Northwest have early potatoes off to an excellent start, according to the report.

Chip potato shipments

In April, U.S. chip potato shipments fell 175,000 cwt below 2025 movement. The 4.627 million cwt total for the month is 3.6% less than the industry shipped during the same period last year, according to the NAPMN report.

April shipments were down 8.8% relative to the three-year average.

The Rocky Mountain region (+154,000 cwt) and Michigan (+96,000 cwt) saw increases during the month, as did the Southwest (+70,000 cwt) and the Red River Valley (+27,000 cwt). Decreases occurred in in the mid-Central region (-105,000 cwt), New York (-96,000 cwt), Maine (-85,000 cwt), the Midwest (-78,000 cwt), Florida (-67,000 cwt), Wisconsin (-54,000 cwt), and the West Coast (-40,000 cwt) .

U.S. reported chip potato shipments for the season (August-April), total 34.713 million cwt, according to the report. That is 3.250 million cwt, or 8.6%, less than year-earlier shipments.