Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
The final value of Idaho's 2017 potato crop was $975 million, up 1 percent from 2016. The marketing year average price for potatoes in Idaho was $7.23 per hundredweight, up $0.28 from last year. In Oregon, the 2017 potato crop was valued at $168 million, down 7 percent from last year. The potato price was $7.86 per hundredweight, down $0.04 from last year. Washington's 2017 potato crop was valued at $687 million, down 16 percent from 2016. The marketing year average price for fall potatoes was $6.92 per hundredweight, down $0.78 from the previous year.
In Idaho, fall potato production for 2017 totaled 135 million hundredweight. In Oregon, production was 21.4 million hundredweight. Production in Washington was 99.2 million hundredweight. The combined production for the three states was 58 percent of U.S. fall potato production in 2017.
Processors in Idaho and Malheur County, Ore., used a total of 87,379 hundredweight in 2017, down 6 percent from 2016. Washington and Oregon, excluding Malheur County, processors used 91,160 hundredweight during 2017, up slightly from last year.
Fall Potato Acreage by Variety
The National Agricultural Statistics Service collects variety data in seven States, accounting for 83 percent of the 2017 United States fall potato planted acres. The seven States conduct objective yield surveys where all producing areas are sampled in proportion to planted acreage. Variety data are actual percentages from these surveys.
In the Northwest Region, the following varieties accounted for 10 percent or more of acres planted in 2018. In Idaho, the Russet Burbank variety accounted for 44.9 percent of the potato acreage planted. Russet Norkotah accounted for 18 percent of plantings, and Ranger Russet was 13.5 percent. In Oregon, the Umatilla Russet variety accounted for 17.8 percent of planted acres. This was followed by Russet Norkotah at 15.4 percent of plantings, Alturas at 13 percent, Shepody at 11.9 percent, Ranger Russet at 11.4 percent, and Clearwater at 10 percent of planted acres. In Washington, Russet Burbank accounted for 29.6 percent of acreage planted. Umatilla Russet accounted for 14.8 percent of plantings.
The most common variety in the seven states conducting the objective yield survey was Russet Burbank, which accounted 37.8 percent of acres planted in the seven states. This was followed by Russet Norkotah at 10.8 percent.