News and Stories

Idaho Norkotah potato supplies are depleted. The Burbank variety will be shipped for the rest of the 2015-2016 season (June/July) and/or until new crop, field-run Norkotahs become available in late July. Remaining Idaho Burbank stocks will be dominated by small potatoes (80- through 100-count sizes); large supplies (40- through 70-count sizes) are limited.

White Russet storage stocks will be on the market through mid-August. Remaining supplies are dominated by small sizes (80- through 100- count potatoes); large sizes (40- through 70-count potatoes) are tight.

Prices for small sizes are expected to remain relatively steady, with slight fluctuations, through the end of the season. The market for large sizes is expected to continue to gradually increase.

Storage Crop Quality

• Idaho experienced record-high temperatures this past summer, as well as sudden shifts to freezing weather; these factors are causing inconsistent size and sporadic quality issues
• Pressure bruising (soft indentations) is a result of pressure at points of contact with adjacent potatoes or the floor while potatoes sit in storage sheds
• Hollow heart (small, irregularly shaped craters) develops during the growing cycle when potatoes grow faster than normal due to adverse weather; the defect is internal and is usually detected at the packing level by x-ray machines
• Occasional pressure bruising will be seen in the White Russet variety, however there will be far fewer internal black spots than the Burbank variety due to their genetic makeup 
• Markon will continue to gather weekly quality reports and update members on a regular basis
  

2016 New Crop

• Potato planting for the 2016 storage crop season is complete
• Weather has been ideal; growing regions have seen some cold, damp weather, but so far no concerns have been reported
• New crop harvesting of fresh-run potato shipments will begin in late July early August
• Storage crop harvests 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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