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

E-mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov
(18) 457-5570

POTATO REPORT
April 2008

Seasonal
No. 987-4-08        

NEW YORK POTATO STOCKS DECREASE

Potato stocks, held for all purposes on April 1, 2008 by New York growers, dealers, and processors, totaled 300,000 hundredweight (cwt.), down 40 percent from last year according to Steve Ropel, Director of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office.  The estimated disappearance for March 2008 at 400,000 cwt., is down from 500,000 a year ago.  Storage accounted for 6 percent of the 2008 potato production, down 3 points from a year ago. 

The 13 major potato States held 130 million cwt of potatoes in storage April 1, 2008, up 8 percent from a year ago and 12 percent above April 1, 2006.  Potatoes in storage accounted for 33 percent of the 2007 fall storage
States' production, up 2 percentage points from last year.  Klamath Basin stocks totaled 1.15 million cwt on April 1, 2008, down 18 percent from last year.  Klamath Basin stocks include potatoes stored in California and Klamath County, Oregon.

Disappearance from the start of harvest to April 1 was at 270 million cwt, 1 percent above last year and up 4 percent from 2006.  Shrink and loss, at 21.6 million cwt, was down 3 percent from the same period in 2007 but up 7 percent from 2006. 

 Processors have used 144 million cwt of 2007 crop potatoes so far this season, down 1 percent from last year's season-to-date usage but up 9 percent from 2 years ago.  Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon total processing decreased 2 percent from a year ago and Maine's total processing was 5 percent below 2007.  Washington and the rest of Oregon total processing was 3 percent higher than last season.  Dehydrating usage accounted for 29.3 million cwt of the total processing, down 9 percent from last year but 10 percent above the same period in 2006.

Western States held 99.2 million cwt of potatoes in storage on April 1, up 14 percent from a year ago and 12 percent above 2006.  Idaho's potato stocks were up 10 percent from last year; Washington's potato stocks were 40 percent above last year; and Oregon's stocks increased 14 percent from April 1, 2007.  California's potato stocks decreased 25 percent from 2007, while Colorado's and Montana's stocks were both down 17 percent from a year ago.

Central States accounted for 24.4 million cwt of all potato stocks on April 1, down 5 percent from a year ago but 20 percent above the same date in 2006.  Wisconsin's potato stocks were down 5 percent from last year; North Dakota's stocks were 24 percent below 2007; and potato stocks in Nebraska were down 13 percent from the previous season.  Minnesota's stocks increased 5 percent from the same date in 2007 and Michigan's potato stocks were 61 percent higher than a year ago.

Eastern States stored 6.50 million cwt of potatoes on April 1, down 21 percent from a year earlier and 7 percent below April 1, 2006.  Maine's  potato stocks were 19 percent lower than last year and New York's potato stocks decreased 40 percent from a year ago.

                                  FALL POTATOES:  Production and Stocks on April 1, 2007-2008 1/

State

Crop of 2006

Crop of 2007

Production

Stocks
Apr. 1,
2007

Percent
of
Production

Production

Stocks
Apr. 1,
2008

Percent
of
Production
 

1,000 cwt.

Percent

1,000 cwt.

Percent
     

 CA

3,870

800

21

4,223

600

14

 CO

22,686

9,000

40

20,981

7,500

36

 ID

128,915

46,500

36

131,650

51,000

39

 ME

17,980

7,700

43

16,530

6,200

38

 MI

14,190

1,800

13

14,700

2,900

20

 MN

20,400

6,100

30

20,680

6,400

31

 MT

3,518

2,300

65

3,696

1,900

51

 NE

8,730

2,400

27

8,051

2,100

26

 NY

5,700

500

  9

5,216

300

  6

 ND

25,480

7,900

31

23,660

6,000

25

 OR

18,533

7,600

41

20,238

8,700

43

 WA

89,900

21,000

23

102,300

29,500

29

 WI

29,370

7,400

25

28,160

7,000

25
             

  13 States

389,272

121,000

31

400,085

130,100

33
             

Klamath Basin 2/

  

1,400

    

1,150

  
             

1/ Stocks include processor holdings and most of the seed to plant following year's crop.
    Seed usage for all seasons in 2007 totaled 26.4 million cwt.
2/ Includes potato stocks in CA and Klamath Co. OR.