Potato production in Minnesota, North Dakota expected to see small drop

Potato production in the upper Midwest looks to be down somewhat in 2018.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates that North Dakota potato crop will be 23.7 million hundredweight (cwt), down 3 percent from last year. Minnesota’s crop figures to come in at 18.1 million cwt, down about 2 percent.

Seventy-three thousand acres were harvested in North Dakota, down by 1,000, and 43,000 were harvested in Minnesota, which was down by 2,500.

Minnesota’s average yield looks to be up at 420 cwt per acre, up by 15. The average yield in North Dakota looks to be a tick down at 325 this year versus 330 a year ago.

Another big Midwest potato producer, Wisconsin, is expected to see a production drop of about 12 percent, thanks in no small part to near-record precipitation this year.

For more on the 2018 harvest, click here.