County potato harvest deemed a success Recent dry weather helping farmers get crop picked, stored

PRESQUE ISLE – Most of Aroostook County’s 65,000 acres of potatoes will be in storage by the coming weekend, according to the executive director of the Maine Potato Board.

While there have been problems with late blight and heavier-than-normal rains in some areas of the county, the overall crop was said to be of good quality with good yields.

An estimated 500 acres of potatoes were lost to late blight and the overabundance of water.

“Harvest has been going very well,” Don Flannery said Tuesday. “Most of this year’s crop will be under cover by the weekend.

“That’s good for this weekend’s date, Oct. 9,” he said. “Mother Nature used us well with good, dry weather during harvest.”

Many of the county’s schools had one and two weeks of recess for the annual harvest. Most schools started classes this week.

Warm weather, with little or no rain quickened the harvest. Those still harvesting this week are doing the annual chore with mostly adults.

Flannery said growers hit with late blight and the overabundance of rain in July and August took care of their problems promptly, reducing the amount of loss.

“As a whole, we have real good yields, an overall good crop,” Flannery said.

He said growers with problem potatoes harvested them early and quickly, selling them to processors, thereby reducing the possibility of storage problems.

By keeping bad potatoes out of storage, good potatoes are protected from spoilage, the industry leader said.

Some St. John Valley growers along the St. John River lost acreage to an overabundance of water. Several hundred acres were plowed under in the Frenchville and St. David areas.

Overall, in North America the amount of potatoes is expected to be down from last year. Some in the industry believe the lower acreage in the United States will be good for the open markets this coming winter.

Also helping the sales situation will be a lower acreage in Canada.

Flannery said the smaller amount of potatoes should help increase market demand.

Last season was disastrous for growers selling tablestock potatoes on the open market. Prices were the lowest in years, and demand was way down.