Idaho growers not only have a surplus potato production problem this year but a size profile challenge as well.
According to the Jan. 2 Idaho Agricultural Statistics Service Potato Size and Grade Summary, 38.9 percent of the statewide field-sampled potatoes were at least 10 ounces. In 1999 that figure was at 26.3 percent.
Of the Russet potatoes in the 2000 sample, 83 percent met the two-inch or four-ounce size and grade requirements for U.S. No. 1 potatoes. Last year the figure was 82.6 percent.
All areas of the state except the 10 southwest Idaho counties had larger U.S. No. 1 profiles. Processing grade with a one- and one-half-inch minimum accounted for 16 percent of the crop.
The Objective Yield Survey consisted of 296 samples taken from throughout Idaho in randomly selected fields.