Wada Farms reaps strong quality Idaho potatoes

Wada Farms Marketing Group has concluded its potato harvest, with quality looking very good for the 2022/23 season, says Kevin Stanger, president of the Idaho Falls, Idaho-based company.

“Acreage for us was similar to last year, with yield slightly better and quality looking to be very nice for this upcoming season,” Stanger said. “Sizing in the crop is a mixed bag depending on what field they came out of, but overall I’d say our sizing is down from normal.”

Wada Farms, a family-run company for more than 80 years, grows more than 30,000 acres, of which about a third of that is in potatoes, he said. 

“We started out with just russets, but have grown with colored potatoes, chippers and other specialty potatoes,” Stanger said.  “We continue to see our colored varieties (and other specialties) growing.

Stanger said Wada Farms offers organic potatoes, and demand for organic product continues to grow at a moderate pace.

Supply and demand

The Idaho potato industry should see good pricing all season long, Stanger said.

“We’re striving to monitor our crop and shipping schedule to have supply until next crop becomes available in August of 2023,” he said. “Quality looks to be good, but we foresee a strong market all season and will hopefully avoid a huge spike at the end of the season.  There will be a lot of outside factors that the potato industry will have to contend with such as fryers and dehydrators and what they may do to upset the market.”