PRESQUE ISLE – A potato storage problem has surfaced in Aroostook County, but an industry official does not believe the percentage of potatoes involved is very high.

Don Flannery still says the fall crop was a good one for Aroostook County despite surfacing reports that some potatoes are going soft in storage because of late blight and other rot organisms.

“Melting potatoes are a problem,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “It is a situation where some of it was expected because of the late blight around and unexpected water problems.

“It’s the type of situation [for which] the extent won’t be known for some time,” he said. “We are working through those problems.”

He said heavy rains in the St. John River Valley caused some flooding in August, and there was a lot of water elsewhere in Aroostook County.

“Water came at an inopportune time,” he said. “We are working through it.”

He said the industry as a whole doesn’t need to be concerned. However there are growers who have problems, and they are extremely concerned.

He said it is still too early to know what the impact on industry will be.

Gil Caron, a Fort Kent grower said earlier in the week that some growers will be seriously hurt by the rain. He said some are expected to be out of the industry after this year. For some in the Fort Kent area this would be the second disastrous year in a row.

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

Caron said the problems are because of late blight, pink rot and problems with other organisms.

“Potatoes are melting in some storages,” Caron said. “It isn’t nice to see.”

Flannery said he has not heard of anyone losing their entire crop and he had no percentage information on the problems.

According to the North American Potato Market News, an industry newsletter, it is a problem in New Brunswick, which is across the St. John River from central Aroostook County.

“Growers are extremely concerned about storage losses,” according to the publication’s Oct. 21 edition. “Assessments vary widely.”

There were allegations earlier this fall that Canadians were not reacting quickly enough to late blight problems.

“There are varying opinions on whether Canadian inaction made problems worse,” Flannery said. “We here in Maine handled the situation.

“Our cull disposal was done better here than in Canada last season,” he said. “It’s better when taken care of right. The faster word gets out about the danger, the better the industry can react to that.”

He said it behooves the industry on both sides of the border to share information. He also said it was not right to blame the Canadian industry for the problem.

The tablestock potato industry has started shipping from Maine. As of Oct. 23, growers had shipped 278 loads, compared to 274 last year at the same time.

The price also is up. Last year, 10-pound bags were selling for as low as 50 cents, and Flannery said the most recent price is 85 cents to 95 cents per 10-pound bag.

Canadian shipments for the same time period are down dramatically. Flannery reported 454 loads of Canadian potatoes this year versus 969 last year.

Despite the increase in price, Flannery said the “price is not what we would like to see. It’s still somewhat soft, but prices are higher than last year.”

Overall, the industry leader said Aroostook County has a good potatoes.

“We do have some nice potatoes,” he said. “Bad potatoes are a small portion of the crop.

“Yields were also bigger,” he continued. “Production may be more than last year despite having fewer acres.”

County farmers planted an estimated 65,000 acres of potatoes this year, compared to 68,000 last year.

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

Overall, potato production in North America is down. Some in the industry believe the lower acreage in the United States will be good for the open markets this winter.

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