North Dakota has seen a hot and dry growing season for potatoes so far. “We had a huge rain at the end of June with five to seven inches on our farm. We didn’t have much rain before that and we were going on moisture from the snow melt,” says David Moquist of O. C. Schulz & Sons. He adds that since that time, there have been some smaller rains and somewhat cooler temps but no general larger rain which it could use, particularly before it starts digging the new crop.
Moquist says O.C. Schulz & Sons plans to start killing some of its earlier crop next week though harvest will fully begin in September and go through early October, with grading and packing starting likely in the third week of October. That will all go through the grower’s Ellips grading line, which is a lane sizer along with grading that was newly installed in 2022.
2023 harvest timing
“I think harvest should be the same time as last year,” says Moquist. “We started planting on the same day as we did a year ago though this year, we finished a few days earlier. With the heat we had early on, the crop came out of the ground fast.” Acreage is generally similar to last year though up slightly on yellow and down with red potatoes.
As for demand, following last season’s good demand, Moquist anticipates this season to see healthy demand as well.
For more information:
Dave Moquist
O.C. Schulz & Sons
Ph: +1 (701) 657-2152
[email protected]
www.ocschulz.com