Growers who had late-planted potatoes in Idaho--and took the gamble to let them size up--are being rewarded for their efforts as harvest winds up this week.
When wet, cold weather hit the state last spring, it delayed the planting of thousands of acres of potatoes. Despite a week of threatening and cold weather in the early portion of the harvest, weather has remained perfect through the October harvest.
The crop is described as about average and in good shape but acres will be down, partially based on the efforts of United Potato Growers of America/Idaho to cut acres to bring production back in line with demand.
Marketing experts are predicting that the smaller crop in Idaho will match up well with smaller crops in other fresh-growing states in the United States and in Canada.