01/27/09 Crop production down

A headline from National Agricultural Statistics Service said that potato stocks held by growers dealers and processors totaled 8.5 million cwt less this year than last. Sugarbeet production was down 37% over 2007. This needs some clarification so I turned to Bill Meyers in the Idaho Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistic Service. (Meyers) "If you're familiar with United Potato of America, Fresh Potato of America, they were lobbying for some lower acreage, they wanted to get supply under control. Between what was happening with the wheat and barley markets, and the potato markets, it was a perfect storm to decrease the amount of potatoes being grown in the country. What will happen next year I'm not sure but potato prices have remained strong, the other commodities have fallen so things could revert back to where they were a couple of years ago in Idaho anyway." Why were sugar beets down? (Meyers) Same deal. Competing commodities, people were changing their acreage and then sugar beets had a bad deal this year with winds taking acreage out of production. We want to get the production levels back up to run the factories. From industry I've heard that that's probably going to happen."