Idaho's 2001-potato harvest should be hitting the 75 percent mark at the beginning of next week.
A cold weather front, which swept through the state last night, dropping temperatures into the teens in the higher elevations, suddenly brought "harvest-like temperatures" and the urgency of growers to speed things up a little.
For the most part, the harvest has been average, except for the extremely warm temperatures, which forced many growers to shut down operations in the early afternoons. The unusually warm September saw temperatures go into the high 80s on occasion in all areas of the state and made tuber pulp temperatures too warm for harvesting.
Quality of the crop is mixed, according to reports, except that many observers are calling the crop "rough"-because of hot summer weather.
For the most part, the state dodged late blight and early blight but some insect problems were experienced. The virus situation is yet to be tabulated.
The crop should come in at an estimated statewide figure of 340 cwt/acre, below last year's 369 cwt.