Report forecasts drop in planted acreage in 2026 in reporting states

A new report forecasts a 2.7% drop in planted acres of potatoes in 2026 in 13 reporting states.

The North American Potato Market News (NAMPN) report, compiled for the Michigan Potato Industry Commission, projects that growers will plant 878,000 acres in 2026. That is 24,000 acres, or 2.7%, less than the current estimate of the 2025 planted area.

Acreage reductions of 4.8% are expected in California and Idaho, according to the report.

The estimate would mark the smallest U.S. potato area since 1952, according to the report, though the expected reduction may not be enough to significantly improve prices for open-market potatoes, according to NAMPN.

According to the report, growers across the country are concerned about current market conditions, rising production costs, the lack of profitable alternative crops, the ability to obtain financing, increasing global competition and limited irrigation water supplies. In addition, North American growers also have a huge supply of potatoes from the 2025 crop in storage that will likely be processed and marketed several weeks into the 2026/27 marketing year.

U.S. packers shipped 1.653 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending April 4,  down from 1.711 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 51,428 cwt during the week ending April 4, down from 54,024 cwt shipped during the same week in 2025.