Potato Outlook 2023 Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Despite a colder than normal spring, Washington state potato growers are feeling like they’ve got a good crop for 2023.
Washington Potato Commission Executive Director, Chris Voigt says, from what he’s hearing, things are looking pretty good …
VOIGT … “Early reports are kind of average which is good news considering that we did kind of get a late start with that cool spring that we had. And we’re all optimistic, you know, for the crop that will be harvested later towards the end of the summer, early fall.”
So, Voigt says, things are certainly looking better than last year …
VOIGT … “We’re up probably about 5,000 acres from where we were last year. So, we’re at 165,000 acres planted here in Washington state and that’s kind of the top end. We really can’t go much higher than that. We just have run out of ground to be able to grow more potatoes.”
And yields this year, Voigt says, should also be better …
VOIGT … “So, this year has been relatively moderate compared to the previous two years. And so, yeah, we’re optimistic that yields are going to be much better. We were probably down overall about 6% last year. And so, we’re on track to be at least average, if not above average, we’ll see how the rest of this growing season goes.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on Voigt’s take on this year’s potato crop and how our weather helped.
