Wada Farms grows its specialty potato program, manages a tight russet supply

MONTEREY, Calif. — Wada Farms Marketing Group is growing its specialty potato program, including red, yellow and fingerling potatoes, says Kevin Stanger, president of the Idaho Falls, Idaho-based company.

The company participated in International Fresh Produce Association’s Foodservice Conference on July 29.

In North Carolina, Wada Farms grows watermelon and sweet potatoes.

“We’re focusing on the things that we have got and really growing them,” he said.

Many Idaho potato shippers are facing a shortfall in supply this year, as the crop transitions between old crop and new in late August, potato shippers said.

The USDA reported that fob prices for 50-pound cartons of size-70 russet potatoes were $37 to $40 per carton on Aug. 3, more than double the $17 per-carton average on Aug. 4 of last year.

“We are not going to have a gap, but we are going to have a couple of weeks at 20% of what we normally have,” Stanger said.

The new Idaho crop is looking good so far, he said.  “We are excited to have yields back up."