Wisconsin’s potato crop yielded more potatoes with less acres in 2021 versus 2020. This is the word from the latest potatoes summary from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Wisconsin potato production in 2021 totaled 29 million cwt, up 1 percent from 2020. The state’s potato growers planted 69,000 acres, unchanged from 2020.
Harvested acres in 2021 were reported at 67,500, down 1,000 acres from the previous year. Average yield per acre, at 430 cwt, was up 2 percent from the previous year. Price per cwt, at $13.00, was 80 cents above 2022. Total value of production of the state’s potato crop was $377 million in 2021, up 8 percent from
2020.
Fast forward to the present — at last look, about 56 percent of potatoes were harvested, three days behind last year and two days behind the average. Tamas Houlihan, the executive director of the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, explains potato growers got off to a late start this spring. However, some growers harvested certain varieties earlier than normal to meet potato demand. This summer, the nation faced a potato shortage due to low yields in 2021. The good crop in Wisconsin allowed growers to step up to the plate to meet demand both here in the U.S. and overseas.
This conversation took place in August:
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