U.S. potato acreage falls to lowest level in 70 years

According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), just 912,000 acres (369,000 hectares) are forecast to be planted in 2025, a 2% decline from 2024 and 6% below 2023.

The cutbacks are concentrated in Washington, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Maine, with Washington alone reducing plantings by 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares). Only Colorado and Wisconsin expect slight increases, while seven other surveyed states are holding acreage steady.

The Pacific Northwest, which typically drives US potato production, is forecast at 503,000 acres (203,600 hectares), a 3% decline driven largely by a sharp 9.4% reduction in Washington. That decrease reflects lower contracted volumes from processors, though Idaho and Oregon have maintained acreage levels and even shifted toward more uncontracted plantings.

If realized, the 2025 acreage would be the smallest recorded among the 13 NASS-surveyed states since 1954. However, yield improvements help mitigate the impact of fewer acres: average yields today are more than double what they were in the 1950s. Based on average abandonment rates, USDA projects 905,900 acres (366,500 hectares) will be harvested.

If yields hold near the trendline of 461 hundredweight per acre, production is expected to reach 417.6 million hundredweight in 2025, just 1% below 2024’s 420.2 million. This reflects a long-standing trend in the potato sector, where declining acreage is largely offset by productivity gains.