USA: Idaho Plants 298,915 Acres of Potatoes as Frost, Heat and Drought Cut 2026 Yields
Idaho growers are digging a smaller crop in 2026. Planted area fell to 298,915 acres, and growers expect yields well below last year's 440 cwt per acre, while quality stays good.
Idaho, a major potato state in the United States, is harvesting a smaller crop in 2026. Growers planted an estimated 298,915 acres this year, about 13,000 acres fewer than in 2025, Capital Press reported on 29 September. FreshPlaza puts the 2025 area at 315,000 acres and says 2026 is the fourth-smallest planted area in 70 years. The state expects its smallest potato crop since 2011.
Yields are also down. In 2025 Idaho averaged 440 hundredweight (cwt) per acre, and in 2024 it averaged 430 cwt per acre. Pleasant Valley Potato expects yields this year to be 50 to 60 cwt per acre below 2025. Travis Blacker, vice president of the Idaho Potato Commission, said: “Quality is consistent all over,” but “yields are down.”
Frost, heat, smoke and water
Growers name several causes. Frost hit fields in spring and early summer. FreshPlaza reports two frosts in May, with temperatures down to 23°F (about minus 5°C). Then extreme heat in July and August slowed tuber bulking. Wildfire smoke reached fields in the southwest of the state.
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Water was short as well. The Idaho Department of Water Resources declared a statewide drought in April, East Idaho News reported. A University of Idaho economist said many farmers did not plant potatoes or chose crops that need less water. In eastern Idaho, one Oakley grower expects yields 5% to 10% lower, while an Aberdeen grower reports yields about 20% below last year.
Variety results differ. Russet Burbank yields are down sharply. Red potatoes and Umatilla are below average. Clearwater Russet is close to average. Specific gravity is below average and tubers are smaller than in 2025. Harvest in the lower southwest started around 21 August. In eastern and south-central Idaho the main harvest runs to about 1 October.
Why it matters
Idaho grows russet potatoes for both fresh markets and processors. A smaller crop with small tubers means less product for bakers, the foodservice trade and storage programs. Ryan Wahlen of Pleasant Valley Potato told FreshPlaza that pricing is “the highest we’ve seen since the summer of 2023.”
The bigger test comes in spring 2027. That is when stored potatoes fill late-season orders, and growers expect supply to be tight. Water for 2027 is also uncertain, because major reservoirs are low.
Photo: Potato harvest in south-central Idaho near Burley (illustrative). USDAgov / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
