News and Stories

Markon First Crop (MFC) Norkotah Potatoes will be available through April. When Norkotah stocks are depleted, MFC Burbank variety will be used to fill orders through late July or the end of season. Potato sheds will run at a sufficient pace, so Markon does not anticipate a supply gap when growers transition into the 2017 crop in August. Recent demand has been weak and stocks are sufficient, keeping prices at steady-to-lower levels.

If the market does inch up, it will be in April when the Norkotah season begins to wind down. However, because other regions such as Canada, Colorado, and Wisconsin also have adequate stocks this season, Idaho prices should remain relatively stable through the season.   

Storage Crop

• This is the time of the season when sporadic quality issues become more evident
• Pressure and/or shoulder bruising (soft, external indents) are the results of pressure at points of contact with adjacent potatoes or the floor, while supplies sit in storage sheds
• Hollow heart (small, irregularly shaped internal craters) develop during harvesting when potatoes grow faster than normal due to adverse weather; this defect can be detected at the production level by x-ray scanners that determine which potatoes meet No. 1 grade specifications
• Air checking/cracking will increase because the potatoes have been stored at cool, humid temperatures and when exposed to dryer air, moisture is depleted and potatoes crack

2017 New Crop

• Typically growers begin to plant in mid-April, but some may start a few weeks earlier if the weather is warm 
• New crop harvesting of fresh-run potato shipments will begin in late July
• The storage crop harvest will start in early September and continue through most of October; suppliers will begin to ship out of storage in early October

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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