While soggy fairgoers may not have appreciated the recent rain, those in the potato industry are welcoming the precipitation.
Gregg Garrison of Double G Farms, Inc. in Blaine said Friday that rain was needed.
“We are a little dry; we could use some rain, but if we get some timely rains, we’ve got the potential to have a real nice crop,” he said. “My kids and I actually picked some samples for the Fair this morning and the crop looks like it’s in really good shape.
“What I’ve seen so far looks good and healthy,” said Garrison. “Provided we get the moisture, it looks like we’ll have an average or above average crop. It’s been a good growing season so far.”
Garrison, and his father, Wayne, grow processing potatoes (russets) for McCain Foods and Naturally Potatoes. They farm 700 acres in Blaine.
“Last year was wet, but we did plant earlier last year. As far as our late start this year, I would say we’ve caught up to last year,” he said. “Right now there’s no concern of potatoes laying in water like last year. Those diseases aren’t there, which is the plus of being dry.”
Garrison said he expects to begin digging the week of Sept. 15, and hopes the area receives adequate rainfall between now and then.
“Having too much rain at once can be detrimental, and hail is an even bigger problem because it can break the stalks. We survived Tropical Storm Arthur that hit over the July Fourth holiday,” he said. “We got five inches of rain and that was a scare, but the ground was dry beforehand, so a lot of it got soaked right in, so that was good.
“What would be ideal is to have one inch of rain each week until harvest,” said Garrison. “If we got that, we’d be in good shape.”
Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, agreed that the crop is looking good.
“We had an interesting spring; it was a little later than previous years which put us a little behind,” he said. “But so far this summer we have had some heat, which has been beneficial. We had some level of playing catch up; the crops gained a little bit from where we started, and the rain we’ve gotten the last couple of days has been very timely. It was starting to get a little dry. That rain is expected to be followed by some heat, so we’ve got pretty good conditions ahead of us for the next 10 days or so.
“I would think that if nothing unusual happens and we have pretty conducive growing conditions for the next four to six weeks (or 6-8 weeks depending on if they’re Burbanks or not), I think we’re in for a pretty decent crop,” said Flannery. “The crop looks good, and if we have favorable conditions, I would expect we’ll have a quality crop come September or October.”
Flannery said according to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this year Maine growers planted 53,000 acres of potatoes.
