Apples and the USMCA Pt 2

Apples and the USMCA Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. Washington potato harvest is underway and in spite of the unusual weather we've seen this year, things appear to be moving along smoothly.

Washington Potato Commission's Matthew Blua says things have cooled off a little as the potato harvest continues ...

BLUA ... "Well, so far, I hear good things. And understand, farmers complain more than sailors, so when they talk about good things, they probably really mean it. And that's very encouraging because, you know what, our crop is underground, we have no idea what we're going to get until you pull it out. They do a lot of test-digs, but that's just a few feet and it doesn't give you a real good perspective of what you're going to get at the end of the season."

And, so far, while there were some early worries, Blua says they've been few ...

BLUA ... "Well, the biggest thing that worried us is that we were about a month late planting and that was because it was just a cold, late winter and there was still a lot of snow on the ground. So, they frequently found themselves planting in very wet soil and we were concerned about stand development and other problems that might be caused by very wet soil early on and just getting out on the ground and getting our season going."

In spite of the delays, Blua says the weather made a favorable turn for the better ...

BLUA ... "But, overall, we caught up for our late harvest and right now people seem to be feeling pretty good about harvest."

Listen tomorrow when we'll have more about this year's potato harvest and some of the common challenges growers face in tough weather years like this.

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