This fall, Lamb Weston, McDonald’s largest french fry supplier, closed one of its production plants in Connell, Washington. The company is the world’s largest producer of frozen fries. It blames a dip in demand for the closure. Wisconsin’s potato industry says it’s too soon to tell what that will do to the spud market.
Wisconsin ranks third in the nation in potato production, harvesting potatoes on 67,500 acres in 2023. Idaho is the nation’s top potato-producing state.
“I know the closure will affect growers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Minnesota, which is where the potatoes for that Lamb-Weston plant were coming from,” explains Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association Executive Director Tamas Houlihan.
Alsum Farms, with potato fields in Arena and Grand Marsh, says it’s too early to tell how the closure will impact the fresh table stock market that it serves.
Most Wisconsin potatoes (37 percent) go to the fresh market, such as the grocery store. About 25 percent of Wisconsin potatoes go toward french fries and other frozen foods, according to the WPVGA. Chips account for another 25 percent, and seed production takes the last 13 percent.
Alsum Farms says french fries often require a different potato than the fresh market. But some varieties serve a dual purpose.
“There are some varieties that can be shipped for fresh as well as be shipped to make french fries out of,” says Alsum Farm Manager Beau Hartline. “Some of those potatoes that might have been destined for that french fry plant might end up on store shelves now bought as fresh potatoes, so obviously that messes with supply.”
But he says: “It’s too early to tell.”
Hartline has the details in a potato harvest wrap-up with the Mid-West Farm Report:
