Potatoes may be faring better than other foods and nonfood commodities, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune from larger economic forces, Wisconsin grower-shippers said.
“Potatoes are still a good value, even in a recession, but I don’t think a bad economy is good for anybody,” said Russell Wysocki, owner of Russet Potato Exchange, Bancroft, Wis.
In particular, foodservice demand for fresh Wisconsin potatoes has been down, Wysocki said.
Reining in acreage is vital to buoying markets, but the fate of the fresh potato market in Wisconsin and other states may lie more with larger economic forces this season, said James Burns Jr., president of Almond, Wis.-based Burns &Sons Farms Inc.
“Unless the economy changes, I don’t see (demand) changing,” Burns said, citing a 5% to 6% dropoff in demand in recent months.
