Released March 2007
Seasonal

No. 987-3-07

NEW YORK POTATO STOCKS DECREASE

Potato stocks, held for all purposes on March 1, 2007 by New York growers, dealers, and processors, totaled  800,000 hundredweight (cwt.), down 33 percent from last year. The USDA’s New York Agricultural Statistics Service estimated disappearance in February 2007 at 300,000 cwt., compared with 400,000 a year ago.  Storage accounted for 14 percent of the 2006 potato production, down 9 points from a year ago.

The 13 major potato States held 153 million cwt of potatoes in storage March 1, 2007, down 1 percent from last year and 3 percent below March 1, 2005, for comparable States. Ohio and Pennsylvania were dropped from the potato stocks program starting with the 2005 storage season. Potatoes in storage account for 40 percent of the 2006 fall storage States’ production, down 2 percentage points from last year.

Disappearance of 229 million cwt from the start of harvest to March 1, is up 5 percent from last year for comparable States. Shrink and loss, at 20.1 million cwt, is up 9 percent from last year for comparable States.

Processors have used 125 million cwt of 2006 crop potatoes so far this season, up 9 percent from a year ago and 5 percent above 2 years ago. Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon, total processing increased 10 percent from a year ago and Washington and the rest of Oregon total processing was up 3 percent from last season. Dehydrating usage accounts for 25.6 million cwt of the total processing, up 12 percent from last year  but 2 percent below the same date in 2005.

Western States held 107 million cwt of potatoes in storage on March 1, up 15 percent from last year. Idaho’s potato stocks are down 4 percent from last year. California’s stocks increased 33 percent from 2006. Oregon’s potato stocks declined 16 percent from last year, Montana’s potato sheds stored 6 percent less than in 2006, and Washington’s stocks decreased 12 percent from last season.  Colorado’s potato sheds held 1 percent more stocks than last year.

Central States accounted for 35.2 million cwt of potato stocks on March 1, up 15 percent from last year for comparable States. Wisconsin’s potato stocks increased 11 percent from last year, Minnesota’s stocks are up 11 percent from 2006, and stocks in North Dakota are 32 percent above last season. Michigan potato stocks are 13 percent above last season.

Eastern States stored 10.8 million cwt of potatoes on March 1, up 13 percent from last year for comparable States. Maine’s potato sheds held 19 percent more than last year, while New York’s potato stocks declined 33 percent from a year ago.

State	Crop of 2005				Crop of 2006
	Production	Stocks Mar. 1, 2006		Percent of Production	Production	Stocks Mar. 1, 2007	Percent of Production
	1,000 cwt.			Percent	1,000 cwt.		Percent
CA	3,306		900	27	3,783	1,200	32
CO	22,910		11,200	49	22,686	11,300	50
ID	118,288		56,000	47	121,820	53,500	44
ME	15,455		8,400	54	18,270	10,000	55
MI	13,910		3,100	22	14,190	3,500	25
MN	17,630		7,100	40	20,400	7,900	39
MT	3,445		3,200	93	3,518	3,000	85
NE	8,245		3,300	40	8,633	3,300	38
NY	5,226		1,200	23	5,700	800	14
ND	20,500		7,200	35	25,480	9,500	37
OR	22,023		11,500	52	18,533	9,700	52
WA	95,480		32,500	34	89,900	28,500	32
WI	27,880		9,900	36	29,370	11,000	37
Klamath Basin2/						2,200
13 States 3/	374,298		155,500	42	382,283	153,200	40
1/  Stocks include processor holdings and most of the seed to plant following year's crop.      Seed usage for all seasons in 2006 totaled 25.6 million cwt. 2/  Estimates began in December 2006.  Includes potato stocks in CA and Klamath Co. OR 3/  13 States for the 2006 crop.