Washington potato farmers harvested more than 5.1 million tons of potatoes in 2007, the state's second-largest spud harvest in history.
Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, said the state's potato farmers dug up an average of 31 tons per acre -- tying the record for the highest per-acre yield for the state and the U.S. That's twice as much as the average yield per acre in the rest of the country.
Dale Lathim, executive director of the Potato Growers of Washington on Potato processing in Washington:
"Potato processors are located here because of the high quality, affordability, and low-power costs and our volume here hasn't changed dramatically over the years because of that,"he said.
As export markets like China and Japan create more demand, it's likely the potato processing industry will continue to expand in the area.
ConAgra celebrated a $14 million expansion to its Pasco potato processing facility last week. The expansion adds two lines for frozen potato and onion products, and increases employment at the plant by 100 workers to 525.
"We are already close to capacity,"Lathim said. "I think that in the next five years, we'll see several more lines in the area."
