Michigan Potato Production Down 14 Percent

Michigan's 2022 potato crop is forecast to be 16.7 million hundredweight (cwt), down 14 percent from a year ago, according to Marlo D. Johnson, director of the USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Regional Office. Planted acres, at 45,000, decreased 1,000 acres from last year. Harvested acres, at 44,000, were down 1,000 from 2021. Average yield, forecasted at 380 cwt per acre, was down 50 cwt from the previous year. The first potato stocks estimate for the 2022 crop year will be released Dec. 16.

Nationally, production of potatoes for the 2022 crop year is forecast at 397 million cwt, down 3 percent from last year. Planted acreage, at 912,000 acres, is up slightly from the June estimate but down 2 percent from last season. Area harvested, at 906,100 acres, is down 2 percent from the previous year. The yield forecast, at 438 cwt per acre, is down 6 cwt from last year's yield.