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S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File
Eric Olson, left, checks the spud storage operation at Ward Farms near Baker City being han-
dled by Bob Adams, top of pile, who controls the conveyor inside the cellar.
Potato:
Continued from Page 20
“All grocery items took a big jump last spring,
and that was to be expected.”
Lathim said he didn’t anticipate, however,
how rapidly sales from fast-food restaurants
rebounded.
With drive-thrus the main option, sales
for some franchises exceeded even pre-pan-
demic levels, he said.
One reason, Lathim said, is that custom-
ers were more likely to buy a meal not just
for themselves, but for the entire family.
The “steady rise” in fast-food sales
after the fi rst month or so of the pandemic
was crucial for the frozen potato business,
Lathim said, because those franchises make
up about 70% of the demand for those prod-
ucts, particularly French fries.
POTATO PROSPECTS FOR 2021
Although the pandemic continues, the
potato market has stabilized, at least com-
pared with conditions a year ago, Ward said.
He said the supply of potatoes in storage
is slightly above average, which has contrib-
uted to a 10% cut in acres planted in potatoes
in Baker Valley this year. Growers in the val-
ley contract with the Oregon Potato Co. and
J.R. Simplot Co., Ward said.
Lathim said Columbia Basin potato grow-
ers contracting with two processors will
have acreages slightly above 2020 levels
but below the 2019 fi gure. Growers working
with a third processor will have an increase
in acreage to meet the demand of a new pro-
cessing plant slated to open in December
2021, he said.
The bigger problems with the 2021 out-
look are prices, which are dropping, and pro-
duction costs, which are rising.
Lathim said processors in the Columbia
Basin, which include Lamb Weston, J.R.
Simplot and McCain Foods, in eff ect set
the potato market for the rest of the nation
because that region not only plants its spud
crop earlier, but it also has large volumes.
Lathim said processors are proposing a
price cut for the 2021 crop of about 3%.
Ward expects that will be the fi gure
adopted across the region.
If the 3% price cut prevails, as Ward
expects, it will not be the only challenge for
potato growers.
He said production costs, including fuel,
fertilizer and equipment, are projected to
increase.
Lathim pegs the increase at a bit more
than 4%.
See Potato, Page 22
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