There is a good crop of good-quality potatoes coming from the Red River Valley in North Dakota for 2024. "The yield seems to be about average to above average," says David Moquist of O.C. Schulz & Sons.
As for timing this season, it looks to be similar to last year and on par with what was seen historically. "What isn't average is our weather. We're running about 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year so the harvest isn't steady," says Moquist. "We've been harvesting a lot of mornings and not afternoons. Since we started, we've only put in two full days and so forth. We started yesterday morning but shut down around noon and it looks like it will be that way for the next few days. That's been the biggest issue. We just haven't had as many hours to harvest as normal at this time of year."
Normally, harvest would be done by approximately October 5th and while that date could still be reached, it depends on how the weather is ahead and harvest may extend a few days until October 10th or so.
Acreage developments
What is also different this year is that acreage in the Red River Valley, generally on fresh potatoes, is down by approximately two to three percent as it averages out. (Reds were down more significantly but yellows less so.) "It's a bit of a shift from red potatoes to yellows like most areas have done," says Moquist.
As for the demand, for red potatoes, it's fairly good but there's limited supply right now. "Yellow supplies are apparently good in the country so we'll see how demand and supply will match up on that. I think red demand and red supply will match up well," he says.
While pricing is still being determined, there's a sense that red potato pricing will 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 does supply match up once we're all in storage," Moquist says.
For more information:
Dave Moquist
O.C. Schulz & Sons
Tel: +1 (701) 657-2152
[email protected]
www.ocschulz.com