mi-press-releases News Release NR-12-24 April 17, 2012 U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Michigan Field Office Michigan Department of Agriculture Post Office Box 30239 Lansing, MI 48909-6248 Phone: (517) 324-5300 Facsimile: (517) 324-5299 E-mail: nass-mi@nass.usda.gov Web site: www.nass.usda.gov Jay V. Johnson, Director April Potato Stocks Potato Stocks in Michigan on April 1, 2012, were estimated at 1.6 million hundredweight (cwt), down 30 percent from last year's 2.3 million cwt, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. April's stocks represent 11 percent of the total production. Stocks include potatoes stored by both processors and growers. The 13 major potato States held 116 million cwt of potatoes in storage April 1, 2012, up 4 percent from a year ago. Potatoes in storage accounted for 30 percent of the 2011 fall storage States' production, one percentage point below April 1, 2011. Potato disappearance, at 264 million cwt, was 7 percent above April 1, 2011. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 22.8 million cwt, was up 12 percent from the same date in 2011. Processors in the 9 major States have used 142 million cwt of potatoes this season, up 11 percent from the same period last year. Dehydrating usage accounted for 28.1 million cwt of the total processing, up 45 percent from last year. Fall potatoes: Production and stocks, 2009-2011 crop years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Michigan : 13 Major States Item :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2009 : 2010 : 2011 1/ : 2009 : 2010 : 2011 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 cwt : Production : 15,660 15,660 15,180 383,962 357,191 379,916 Stocks : Dec 1 : 9,000 9,300 8,600 265,800 240,200 250,000 Jan 1 : 7,100 7,600 234,300 209,400 Feb 1 : 5,300 5,900 4,700 203,500 180,300 186,900 Mar 1 : 3,500 4,100 169,700 148,500 Apr 1 : 1,700 2,300 1,600 128,700 111,000 115,850 May 1 : 900 89,610 72,000 Jun 1 : 55,120 41,320 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ January, March, and May Stocks have been discontinued.