US Potato Output Slips 1 Percent as Processing Use Rises 5 Percent

The United States harvested 417.6 million hundredweight of potatoes in 2025, down 1 percent from the previous crop, according to the final annual summary released by the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service on September 25, 2026. The headline decline was modest, but the underlying figures show a sector producing more per acre while receiving less value for what it sold.

Harvested area fell 3 percent to 903,200 acres, while the national average yield increased by eight hundredweight to 462 hundredweight per acre. The yield improvement offset much of the acreage contraction, leaving total output only slightly below the 421.2 million hundredweight recorded for 2024.

Farm value moved more sharply than production. Growers sold 388.4 million hundredweight, less than 1 percent below the previous year, but the average price fell by 90 cents to 10 dollars and 80 cents per hundredweight. As a result, the value of potatoes sold dropped 9 percent to 4.21 billion dollars.

The state data show how uneven that adjustment was. Idaho production increased to almost 140 million hundredweight as yield rose to 445 hundredweight per acre. Washington output fell to 91 million hundredweight after planted area declined by 15,000 acres, even though yield increased to 630 hundredweight per acre. Wisconsin production rose to 29.1 million hundredweight on both slightly higher acreage and a stronger yield.

USDA recorded 286.1 million hundredweight of potatoes used for processing, 5 percent more than in 2024. Frozen french fries used 159.7 million hundredweight, up 6 percent, while chips and shoestrings used 58.3 million, up 5 percent. Dehydrated use slipped 1 percent to 42.1 million hundredweight, and total canning use increased 40 percent to 2.66 million.

That processing total should not be confused with the separate estimate of raw potatoes sold by growers in 13 reporting states to processors. Those sales fell 1 percent to 267.1 million hundredweight. The measures cover different stages and timing, so the increase in utilization alongside lower grower sales can reflect inventories, potatoes sourced outside the reporting group and processing during the following marketing period.

Table stock sales increased 2 percent to 101.5 million hundredweight, while seed sales declined 8 percent to 18.7 million. Shrinkage and loss was estimated at 25.6 million hundredweight, down 2 percent. Together, the figures point to stable physical demand but weaker grower pricing, rather than a simple collapse in potato use.

The practical signal is that productivity protected national supply, but it did not protect sector revenue. Higher yields compensated for fewer acres, and processors used more potatoes, yet the average grower price and total sales value fell materially. For growers and processors planning the next crop, acreage discipline, contract terms and the balance between fresh, frozen and other processing channels will matter as much as headline production.