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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:  Greg Lemmons
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

www.nass.usda.gov/ny              


Released March 2011
Seasonal                                                No. 987-3-11


                           POTATO STOCKS DECREASE


The 13 major potato States held 143 million cwt of potatoes in storage
March 1, 2011, down 15 percent from a year ago.  Potatoes in storage
accounted for 41 percent of the 2010 fall storage States' production, three
percentage points below March 1, 2010.  Klamath Basin stocks totaled 1.80
million cwt on March 1, 2011, down 18 percent from a year ago.  Klamath
Basin stocks include potatoes stored in California and Klamath County,
Oregon.

Potato disappearance, at 208 million cwt, was 3 percent below March 1,
2010.  Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 18.6 million cwt, was down 12
percent from the same date in 2010.

Processors in the 9 major States have used 110 million cwt of potatoes this
season, up 2 percent from the same period last year.  Dehydrating usage
accounted for 16.5 million cwt of the total processing, down 17 percent
from last year.


           FALL POTATOES:  Production and Stocks on March 1, 2010-2011

 [Stocks include processor holdings and most of the seed to plant following
 year’s crop.  Seed usage for all seasons in 2010 totaled 23.7 million cwt]

                  Crop of 2009                     Crop of 2010
                    Stocks    Percent                   Stocks    March
         Production Mar. 1,     of    Production Feb. 1, Mar. 1, Percent of
  State              2010    Production          2011    2011   Production
              1,000 cwt.      Percent         1,000 cwt.          Percent

    CA        3,960   1,100     28      2,280   1,200     900     39

    CO       22,080  10,500     48     21,528  11,400   9,600     45

    ID      132,500  67,500     51    114,440  64,000  54,500     48

    ME       15,263   7,800     51     15,892   9,300   7,900     50

    MI       15,660   3,500     22     15,660   5,900   4,100     26

    MN       20,700   8,300     40     17,010   8,400   7,300     43

    MT        3,298   3,100     94      3,673   3,400   3,300     90

    NE        8,756   3,300     38      7,719   3,400   3,000     39

    NY        4,950     900     18      5,120   1,200     800     16

    ND       19,125   7,000     37     22,000  10,300   8,100     37

    OR       21,460  10,700     50     20,058  12,700  10,100     50

    WA       87,230  34,900     40     81,740  33,800  25,700     31

    WI       28,980  11,100     38     24,293  10,700   8,100     33

    13
  States    383,962 169,700     44    351,413 175,700 143,400     41


 Klamath
 Basin1/       (NA)   2,200   (NA)    (NA)     2,500   1,800    (NA)

(NA) Not available

1/Includes potato stocks in California and Klamath Co. Oregon.  Included
  in the 13 State totals.