What, no chips?
Potato-chip aficionados are discovering their cherished snack may be in short supply.
And if they find it, they’re likely to pay a bit more for it.
The problem: not enough chipping spuds to supply manufacturers.
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘shortage,’ but supplies are fairly limited,” said Tim O’Connor, president and chief executive of the Denver-based U.S. Potato Board. “I know there have been some (retail) outages where not all products are available every day.”
King Soopers has posted signs in snack aisles, warning customers that various brands of chips may be temporarily absent.
Potatoes of all varieties are in shorter supply than usual because many farmers are opting to replace potato acreage with corn, wheat and barley — crops that have gone up in price faster than potatoes.
“There’s definitely a shortage of fresh potatoes,” said Katy Strohauer, who with her husband, Harry, grows russets, reds, Yukons and fingerlings near Greeley.
With the Strohauers and other northern Colorado farmers, the problem has been inadequate irrigation earlier in the summer and last week’s heavy rains that left behind potato-damaging standing water.
The state’s largest potato-growing region, the San Luis Valley, produces mainly russets and grows few, if any, chipping potatoes.
Special chip varieties
Colorado is the nation’s fourth-largest potato producer, with a crop value of $182 million in 2007.
But the supply problem has been particularly acute with chipping potatoes. Those special varieties are bred with hard, dense flesh and low moisture, qualities that enhance frying.
Because of the potatoes’ specialty nature, farmers tend to grow only enough chippers to fulfill sales contracts with chip-makers.
But manufacturers last year, when planning for this year’s crop contracts, failed to anticipate the depth of economic problems in the U.S.
“In a recessionary economy, people will stay home a little more,” O’Connor said. “There’s a tendency to just grab a bag of chips and a six-pack and stay put.”
O’Connor said snack-industry trackers have reported that the retail price of potato chips has risen 10 percent over the past year to $3.69 a pound.
The spot shortages may not ease until next year, after growers have had a chance to adjust their planted acreages.
“It’s a supply issue,” O’Connor said. “You can’t just grow a chipping potato tomorrow.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
Hailstorm pounds San Luis Valley potatoes
A hailstorm in Colorado’s San Luis Valley hit the potato crop hard, causing an estimated $32 million in damage earlier this month.
“I’ve lived here a dozen years, and this was the worst hailstorm I’ve seen,” said Jim Ehrlich, executive director of the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee in Monte Vista. Ehrlich said that of the valley’s 57,000 acres of planted potatoes, about 9,000 were hit by hail and 4,000 were severely damaged.
Wheat and barley crops in the region also sustained significant damage from the Aug. 16 storm. Actual potatoes were not harmed by the hail, but their foliage was hurt or destroyed. As a result, the potatoes will be smaller than average.
Growers this year had planted about 4 percent less potato acreage than average because of the possibility of making more money from wheat, barley and other grains.
“Potato production hasn’t been as profitable,” Ehrlich said. “If you give farmers a chance to grow something with less risk and more profit, they’re going to jump at the chance.”
Steve Raabe
