Potato Stocks Unchanged from 2006

The 13 major potato states held 220 million cwt. of potatoes in storage Jan. 1, almost unchanged from last year but 7 percent below Jan. 1, 2005, for comparable states, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Ohio and Pennsylvania were dropped from the potato stocks program starting with the 2005 storage season. Potatoes in storage account for 58 percent of the 2006 fall storage states’ production, down 1 percentage point from last year. Klamath Basin stocks were added to the potato stocks program starting with December 2006 and total 3.40 million cwt. on Jan. 1, 2007. Klamath Basin includes California and Klamath County, Ore., potato stocks.

Disappearance of 162 million cwt. from the start of harvest to Jan. 1 is up 6 percent from last year. Shrink and loss, at 16.1 million cwt., is up 7 percent from the previous year.

Processors have used 88.5 million cwt. of 2006 crop potatoes so far this season, up 9 percent from a year ago and 3 percent above 2 years ago. Idaho and Malheur County, Ore., total processing increased 12 percent from a year ago, Maine’s total processing was 26 percent above the same date in 2006, and in Washington and the rest of Oregon total processing was up 3 percent from last season. Dehydrating usage accounts for 16.5 million cwt. of the total processing, up 5 percent from last year but 11 percent below the same date in 2005.

Western states held 151 million cwt. of potatoes in storage on Jan. 1, down 4 percent from last year. Idaho’s potato stocks are down 1 percent, Washington’s potato sheds held 9 percent more and Oregon’s stocks declined 16 percent from last season. Colorado potato sheds held 1 percent more stocks, Montana’s stocks are up 3 percent and California’s potato stocks increased 15 percent from last season.

Central states accounted for 54.1 million cwt of potato stocks on Jan. 1, up 10 percent from last year. Wisconsin’s potato stocks increased 10 percent from last year, North Dakota’s sheds held 30 percent more, Michigan stocks are up 6 percent and potato stocks in Nebraska are 2 percent above last season. Minnesota’s potato stocks declined 4 percent from the same date in 2006.

Eastern states stored 14.9 million cwt. of potatoes on Jan. 1, up 11 percent from last year. Maine’s potato sheds held 16 percent more than last year, while New York’s potato stocks declined 4 percent from a year ago.