Michigan growers are starting to store this year’s potato crop. Wet weather is raising concerns about spoilage, but it isn’t deterring harvest. Yields on this year’s crop are down from last year and close to a five-year average yield, according to the Michigan Potato Commission.

Most chip potato growing areas east of the Rocky Mountains are reporting reduced yields this year. Losses will be particularly heavy in North Dakota (too much rain), New York (hot and dry), and Ontario (hot and dry). Observers expect the Ontario yield to fall 10% short of a three-year average yield.

Wet weather brings potato concerns

Chip potato movement remains strong. Michigan field-delivery contracts may clean up ahead of schedule this year. That is a sharp contrast to last year, when chip companies continued to take field-delivery potatoes through October, and converted a substantial percentage of the contracts to storage contracts. Chip companies are not yet talking to growers about increased contract volumes for early potatoes, in Florida and Texas, but we suspect that they will start that process once the 2016 crop is under cover.

U.S. fresh potato shipments for the week ending September 10, 2016 totaled 1.688 million cwt. That is up from 1.682 million cwt shipped cwt during the same period, in 2015. Michigan packers shipped 30,140 cwt of table potatoes during the week ending September 10. That is up from 9,100 cwt a year earlier. Michigan shipments were 78.8% Russets, 13.6% Round White varieties, and 7.6% Red potatoes.

Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potatoes in 10# bags for mostly $6.00-$7.00 per 50# bale, down from $7.00 per cwt at this time last week. They are selling Russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $10.00-$11.00 per 50# box, down from $13.00 a box a week ago. The weighted average shipping price for Idaho Norkotahs is $11.35 per cwt, down from $11.55 at this time last week.

Delaware shippers are selling size A Round White potatoes for $6.75-$7.75 per 50# bag, unchanged from last week at this time.