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

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

POTATOES

Released May 2007
Seasonal
No. 987-5-07

U.S. MAY 1 POTATO STOCKS DOWN 4 PERCENT
FROM LAST YEAR

The 13 major potato States held 73.2 million cwt of potatoes in storage May 1, 2007, down 4 percent from last year and 17 percent below May 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 19 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 totaled 600,000 cwt on May 1, 2007.  Klamath Basin includes California and Klamath County, Oregon potato stocks.

 Disappearance of 309 million cwt from the start of harvest to May 1, is up 4 percent from last year.  Shrink and loss, at 23.7 million cwt, is up 8 percent from the previous year. 

Processors have used 162 million cwt of 2006 crop potatoes so far this season, up 8 percent from a year ago and 5 percent above 2 years ago.  Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon total processing increased 8 percent from a year ago, Maine's total processing was 8 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 34.6 million cwt of the total processing, up 15 percent from last year and 3 percent above the same date in 2005.

 Idaho's potato stocks are down 11 percent from last year, while sheds in Washington held 20 percent less than last year, and Oregon's stocks dropped 4 percent from last season.  Stocks in Wisconsin decreased 10 percent from 2006.  Maine's potato stocks increased 26 percent from last year, North Dakota's sheds held 50 percent more, and stocks in Minnesota are up 52 percent.  Potato sheds in Nebraska held 17 percent more than last season, while potato stocks in Michigan increased 80 percent, and California's stocks are up 13 percent from last year.  Montana and New York's potato sheds combined held 30 percent more than on the same date in 2006.  Colorado's potato stocks are unchanged from last year.  Comparisons by region are not made in this narrative to avoid disclosure of individual operations.

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

State

Crop of 2005

Crop of 2006

Production

Stocks
May 1,
2006 2/

Percent
of
Production

Production

Stocks
May 1,
2007 2/

Percent
of
Production
 

1,000 cwt.

Percent

1,000 cwt.

Percent
     

CA

3,306

400

12

3,783

450

12

CO

22,910

5,700

25

22,686

5,700

25

ID

118,288

31,000

26

121,820

27,500

23

ME

15,455

4,300

28

18,270

5,400

30

MI

13,910

500

  4

14,190

900

  6

MN

17,630

2,700

15

20,400

4,100

20

MT

3,445

    

3,518

    

NE

8,245

1,200

15

8,633

1,400

16

NY

5,226

    

5,700

    

ND

20,500

3,200

16

25,480

4,800

19

OR

22,023

5,000

23

18,533

4,800

26

WA

95,480

17,500

18

89,900

14,000

16

WI

27,880

3,900

14

29,370

3,500

12
             

Other States

  

500

    

650

  
             

13 States

374,298

75,900

20

382,283

73,200

19
             

Klamath Basin 3/

        

600

  
             

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/  Missing stocks combined into Other States.
3/  Estimates began in December 2006.  Includes potato stocks in CA and Klamath County, Oregon.