The USDA NASS
 New York Field Office
"Fact Finders for Agriculture"

E-mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov
(518) 457-5570

POTATOES

Released April 2007
Seasonal
No. 987-4-07

NEW YORK POTATO STOCKS DECREASE



Potato stocks, held for all purposes on April 1, 2007 by New York growers, dealers, and processors, totaled 400,000 hundredweight (cwt.), down 20 percent from last year. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office estimated disappearance in March 2007 at 400,000 cwt., compared with 800,000 a year ago.  Storage accounted for 7 percent of the 2006 potato production, down 3 points from a year ago.

The 13 major potato States held 114 million cwt of potatoes in storage April 1, 2007, down 2 percent from last year and 12 percent below April 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 30 percent of the 2006 fall storage States' production, down 1 percentage point from last year.  Klamath Basin stocks were added to the potato stocks program starting with December 2006 and total 1.40 million cwt on April 1, 2007.  Klamath Basin includes California and Klamath County, Oregon potato stocks. 

Disappearance of 269 million cwt from the start of harvest to April 1, is up 4 percent from last year.  Shrink and loss, at 21.9 million cwt, is up 8 percent from the previous year. 

Processors have used 144 million cwt of 2006 crop potatoes so far this season, up 9 percent from a year ago and 6 percent above 2 years ago.  Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon total processing increased 9 percent from a year ago, Maine's total processing was 10 percent above the same date in 2006, and Washington and the rest of Oregon total processing was up 2 percent from last season.  Dehydrating usage accounts for 30.2 million cwt of the total processing, up 13 percent from last year and 1 percent above the same date in 2005.

Western States held 81.3 million cwt of potatoes in storage on April 1, down 8 percent from last year.   Idaho's potato stocks are down 6 percent from last year, Washington's potato sheds held 16 percent less than last year, and Oregon's stocks declined 11 percent from last season.  Colorado potato sheds held 2 percent more stocks than last year and California's potato stocks increased 14 percent from last season.  Montana's potato stocks are unchanged from last year.

Central States accounted for 24.0 million cwt of potato stocks on April 1, up 18 percent from last year.  North Dakota's potato stocks increased 36 percent from last year, Wisconsin's sheds held 6 percent more, Minnesota stocks are up 24 percent, and potato stocks in Michigan are 18 percent above last season.  Nebraska's potato stocks are unchanged from the same date in 2006.

Eastern States stored 8.30 million cwt of potatoes on April 1, up 19 percent from last year.  Maine's potato sheds held 22 percent more than last year, while New York's potato stocks declined 20 percent from a year ago.

FALL POTATOES:  Production and Stocks on April 1, 2006-2007 1/

State

Crop of 2006

Crop of 2007

Production

Stocks
Apr. 1,
2006 2/

Percent
of
Production

Production

Stocks
Apr. 1,
2007

Percent
of
Production
 

1,000 cwt.

Percent

1,000 cwt.

Percent
     

 CA

3,306

700

21

3,783

800

21

 CO

22,910

8,800

38

22,686

9,000

40

 ID

118,288

43,500

37

121,820

41,000

34

 ME

15,455

6,500

42

18,270

7,900

43

 MI

13,910

1,700

12

14,190

2,000

14

 MN

17,630

4,500

26

20,400

5,600

27

 MT

3,445

1,900

55

3,518

1,900

54

 NE

8,245

2,200

27

8,633

2,200

25

 NY

5,226

500

10

5,700

400

  7

 ND

20,500

5,300

26

25,480

7,200

28

 OR

22,023

8,500

39

18,533

7,600

41

 WA

95,480

25,000

26

89,900

21,000

23

 WI

27,880

6,600

24

29,370

7,000

24
 
 
         

13 States

374,298

115,700

31

382,283

113,600

30
 
 
         

Klamath Basin 2/

 
     

1,400

  
     

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.