The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects the 2019 harvest to yield more potatoes than expected at the end of January. This is a plus of almost 70.000 tons. An increase in yield is visible in 8 of the 13 states analysed. Incidentally, the harvest is still 333.000 tons lower than in 2018.
The American potato harvest for the 2019 season is 19,25 million tons, according to new estimates from the USDA. This is approximately 70.000 tons more than anticipated in January, but still 333.843 tons less than in the 2018 season (-1,7%). On the other hand, the harvest is considerably larger than the expected harvest for the 2020 season. That forecast stands currently at 18,1 million tons.
The potato harvest is expected to be larger, especially in Washington. The USDA has increased the state's harvest to 4,76 million tons; in January, 4,67 million tons were still expected. In the 2018 season the harvest amounted to 4,57 million tons and for the 2020 season the forecast is 3,91 million tons. The hectare yield is 71,6 tons, which is an increase of 1,6 tons compared to the forecast in January.
Mainly increases
In 8 of the 13 states analyzed, yield expectations are higher than predicted at the beginning of the year. In addition to Washington, where the largest increase is visible, the yield in Wisconsin increases to 1,30 million tons. In January, 1,28 million tons were expected. According to insiders, this increase is mainly due to the fact that the harvested area is approximately 800 hectares higher than expected. The average hectare yield has decreased to 45,6 tons. The yield for 2020 is reasonably in line with the 2019 season, namely 1,31 million tons.
The potato harvest for the 2019 season has also been adjusted slightly upwards in the states of Colorado and Oregon. In Colorado, the potato yield is expected to be 892.216 tons (+20.412 tons) and in Oregon the harvest has been adjusted by more than 7.500 tons to 1,14 million tons. In both states the increase is due to higher hectare yields.
Slight yield reductions
Yield reductions are visible in California and North Dakota, although only small numbers. In North Dakota, the forecast for the 2019 harvest drops to 881.329 tons, with a hectare yield of 37,2 tons. A stronger decrease is visible in California, which is mainly caused by the fact that the harvested area has been adjusted downwards by 365 hectares. The harvest here is expected to be 763.849 tons, with a hectare yield of 46,9 tons.