USDA Potatoes 2015 Summary: Production Down Slightly

Potato production in 2015 is revised to 441 million cwt, up slightly from the estimate in the January Crop Production 2015 Summary but slightly below the 2014 crop. Harvested area, at 1.05 million acres, is up slightly from 2014. The average yield of 418 cwt per acre is down 3 cwt from the previous year.

Potato Production by Season

Spring potato final production for 2014 is 20.8 million cwt, 8 percent below the previous year. Harvested acres, at 72,500 acres, increased 2 percent from 2014. The average yield for spring potatoes is 286 cwt per acre, down 32 cwt from 2014.

Summer potato production is 15.7 million cwt for 2015, a 1 percent decrease from 2014. Harvested area, at 47,100 acres, is down 4 percent from 2014. The average yield of 334 cwt per acre is up 10 cwt from 2014.

Fall potato production is finalized at 405 million cwt for 2015, up slightly from the 2014 crop. Area harvested in 2015 is 934,800 acres, slightly above the previous year. The average fall potato yield, at 433 cwt per acre, is down 1 cwt from 2014.

Value and Price

The value of all potatoes sold in 2015, at $3.60 billion, decreased 2 percent from the previous year. The average price, at $8.76 per cwt, is down $0.12 from 2014. The quantity of potatoes sold from the 2015 crop totaled 410 million cwt, down slightly from 2014. Quantity sold account for 93 percent of 2015 production, unchanged from the previous year. Growers from the 30 Program States sold 273 million cwt of raw potatoes to processors from the 2015 crop, down 3 percent from 2014. Table stock sales totaled 111 million cwt, 3 percent above the previous year. Seed sales of 25.6 million cwt are up 13 percent from 2014. Sales for livestock feed, at 919 thousand cwt, increased 20 percent from 2014.


Shrinkage and Loss

Shrinkage and loss is estimated at 26.5 million cwt for 2015, 1 percent below 2014. Potatoes used for livestock feed on farms where grown and home use totaled 866 thousand cwt, a 2 percent increase from the previous season. Growers kept 3.77 million cwt for seed on their own farms, up 13 percent from 2014.

Potatoes for Processing

United States potatoes used for processing totaled 280 million cwt, down 5 percent from 2014.

Potatoes used for chips and shoestrings totaled 58.1 million cwt in 2015, down 21 percent from the previous year.

Frozen french fries and other frozen products utilized 166 million cwt of raw potatoes, up 2 percent from 2014.

Potatoes used for dehydrating totaled 47.9 million cwt, down 2 percent from 2014.

Canning use, at 1.21 million cwt, is down 9 percent from the previous year.

Other products made from potatoes totaled 6.38 million cwt of potatoes, an 8 percent decrease from 2014.