HIGH temperatures in the Red River Valley in North Dakota have been slowing potato harvests, according to one supplier.
In a recent interview with Fresh Plaza, David Moquist of O.C. Schulz & Sons said: “We’re running about 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year so the harvest isn’t steady. “We’ve been harvesting a lot of mornings and not afternoons.”
He said growers haven’t had as many hours to harvest as normal at this time of year. Normally, potato harvests finish around October 5th but at the time of interview, it was envisaged that this year it would be later.
There is a good crop of good-quality potatoes coming from the area, David said, but acreage in the Red River Valley, generally on fresh potatoes, is down by approximately around 2%-3%, with Reds showing a bigger reduction than yellows. Demand for red potatoes is “fairly good”, David added, but he said there’s limited supply right now.
While pricing was still being determined, Reds prices are expected to be higher than last year, and yellow potatoes may see slightly lower pricing. “The biggest thing with yellows is how many have to ship off the field versus how the supply matches up once we’re all in storage,” David said.
Source: O.C. Schulz & Sons / Fresh Plaza
