Harvesting Potatoes

Q:
When I told someone from Idaho that I thought potatoes were continually being planted and harvested all year long, he laughed at me. Isn’t that true?
A:
If you account for all of the countries that grow potatoes in the world, you might win the bet. Somewhere, at any given point in time, potatoes are probably being planted and likewise harvested. Harvest usually happens once a year, and most areas only get one crop. In Idaho, we can store the potatoes grown and harvested between August and October in large potato cellars, sometimes referred to as a potato shed. This is where the potatoes are taken out of storage and washed, then sorted into consumer bags or foodservice cartons for fresh consumption. Below is a picture of what Idaho® potatoes typically look like in storage. These facilities can be as long as a football field! The 2012 harvest looks like it will be a nice crop—about 12 billion pounds of potatoes will be dug up in Idaho this season unless Mother Nature intervenes.