Ohio potato production down 30% from 2010

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Ohio’s fall potato production is forecast at 425 thousand cwt., down 30 percent from last year, according to the Ohio office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

This year’s yield is 250 cwt. per acre, down 40 cwt. from last year. Area harvested at 1,700 acres is down 400 acres from last year.

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The U.S. fall potato production is up 6 percent from 2010. Production of fall potatoes for 2011 is forecast at 387 million cwt., up 6 percent from last year.

Area harvested, at 939,200 acres, is slightly above the Nov. 1 forecast and 7 percent above the 2010 estimate. The average yield forecast, at 412 cwt. per acre, is down 4 cwt. per acre from last year’s yield.

In Idaho, cool soil temperatures this spring delayed emergence of potatoes. Mild summer weather was followed by warmer than normal temperatures this fall, enabling farmers to harvest the 2011 potato crop with few delays. In Idaho, if realized, the yield will be the second highest on record.

In Maine, wet conditions prevailed from planting through harvest and resulted in reductions in both acres harvested and yields.

In Washington, harvesting conditions were favorable; however yields were variable across the state.

All potatoes: Total United States potato production in 2011 from all seasons is forecast at 426 million cwt., 5 percent above 2010. Harvested area, at 1.07 million acres, is virtually unchanged from the November forecast but up 7 percent from last year.

Average yield is forecast at 397 cwt. per acre, down 4 cwt. per acre from the previous year.