With planting season only weeks away, severe drought conditions are raising concerns about the 2021 Red River Valley potato crop in Minnesota and North Dakota.
As of April 4, 92% of North Dakota’s topsoil was rated short to very short, indicating that “soil moisture supplies are significantly less than what is required for normal crop growth development.”
There was some precipitation in the region during the first week of April, said Ted Kreis, marketing and communications director for the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association.
Rain amounts ranged from a quarter inch to three quarters of an inch of precipitation, he said. That was followed by a heavy snow, which he said will be helpful.
“If we have enough soil moisture to get started, they’re going to plant and at this point looks like that could happen,” he said.
With only about an inch of precipitation in the form of snow over the winter, Kreis said weather patterns have given the region very little rain since last September.
The region typically gets about 20-25 inches of precipitation per year. Growers are about 8 inches behind normal for the calendar year already, he said.
Fresh potato acreage in the Red River Valley is expected about the same as 2020, Kreis said, with an estimated shift in 400 to 500 acres from red potatoes to yellow potatoes.
