Potato Acres In Idaho Drop As Industry Looks For Balance

The past couple of years have been a challenge for local potato growers, but not because of Mother Nature, but rather because of economic difficulties. The past two years have seen a reduction in contracts meaning growers don’t always have a home for their potatoes after harvest.

In response, Idaho potato growers pulled back acreage this year, planting just under 299,000 acres statewide.

“We're down some acres, which we needed to be," said Jamey Higham, Executive Director of the Idaho Potato Commission. "I think total we're down about 15,000 acres, which is quite a chunk. But that's only one side of the story. The other side of the story is how the yields and the quality are when they're harvested.”

Balance Is Vital

When it comes to yield, Higham stressed if growers reduce acers by 5%, but yield is up 6%, they haven’t made much ground, if any. He added it's key the entire industry works for balance.

“We're still waiting to see; we've had some early frosts here in Idaho, and there's still a long ways to go until this crop is made, but we want to have the right amount of potatoes to return our growers as a fair return to them and also to be fair with our customers at the same time,” Higham said.

Not Everyone Reduced Acres

It’s not just Idaho that reduced potato acres this year. According to USDA, North Dakota, Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and California all reduce acreage; but at 15,000 acres, Idaho’s decrease was by far the largest.

Washington, Oregon, Florida, Maine, and Texas did not change acreage from last year.

USDA says nationwide, 873,000 acres of potatoes were planted in 2026, a 3.2% year-over-year decrease.