Cambridge Farms sees improved Maine potato crop

All the elements are in place for a great year for the Maine potato supply from Presque Isle-based Cambridge Farms. 

Ken Gad, president, said many growers enjoyed a good growing season and great quality of potatoes to put in storage. Growers have produced a very nice crop that should come out of storage with minimal shrink, he said. White potatoes are seeing their dominance erode over the years in Maine, Gad said.

“We’ve seen (white potato dominance) shrinking obviously over the past five to 10 years, to the point that this year, you really can say that, for the storage crop in the northeast U.S., whites have become a specialty,” he said. 

The introduction of good russet varieties like the russet norkotah has speeded the transition, he said.  The russet norkotah has reproduced the consistency, taste and usability of white potatoes, he said. That reality has caused growers to reduce white acreage because russet varieties were yielding better, storing better and also demanded by the market.

“Personally, I am still going to eat the round whites over the russet every day,” he said.  “But from a marketing perspective, from a retail perspective and from a foodservice perspective of what they need for usability, I don’t blame the growers for going further and further towards the russets.”

Yellow and red potatoes also have established their importance in the Maine deal, he said. While yellows have been growing over time, and some growers have recently added acreage of red potatoes.

“We see a few more reds up there; guys are getting through the learning curve, and they’ve created a much nicer program on their reds,” he said. “We’re pretty proud of the red and yellow program up there, along with the russets.”

The outlook for the Maine marketing season is strong, he said, predicting the company’s supply of white potatoes will finish in early February, with reds and yellows winding down by late February or early March, with russets ending by April.

Trucking costs are up about 30% compared with a year ago, Gad said, but the state’s proximity to major Eastern markets is an advantage compared with Western shipping regions.