United States potato production fell 14 percent from last year with a fall-production forecast placed at 401 million cwt.
This represents the smallest fall crop since 1993. The area harvested is 1.09 million acres, down 8 percent from last year. Average yield is forecast at 367 cwt per acre, a drop of 25 from last year.
The 10 western U.S. states produced 273 million cwt in 2001, down 17 percent. The eight Central States produced 102 million cwt, down 7 percent. The five Eastern states will total 26.1 million, down 7 percent
Idaho, the nation's leading producer, is expected to total 128 million cwt, down 16 percent from last year's 152 million cwt. This is Idaho's lowest production since the 126 million cwt in1993. Idaho's statewide yield of 348 cwt is down 21 cwt from a year ago.