RUPERT, Idaho — Potato industry officials report yields are down significantly as Western Idaho growers commence with their early harvest of Russet Norkotahs for the fresh market.

Growers statewide anticipate having more average production during their general harvest in a few weeks, as the crop will have time to continue progressing, though they don’t expect to approach last year’s record volumes.

They expect tuber quality will vary dramatically from field to field, based on site-specific conditions during a prolonged heatwave this summer.

But growers also say they’re optimistic about strengthening prices, given Idaho farmers planted 15,000 fewer potato acres this season and should have a reasonable-sized crop to market.

“Yields are down, price is up, and (tuber size) is pretty good,” Mountain Home grower Jeff Harper said amid his early harvest.

Jeff Miller, a crop scientist at Rupert-based Miller Research, explained during an Aug. 17 field day at his potato research plots that the 2017 crop got off to a slow start. Potato planting was delayed by wet fields, and cool spring weather delayed crop emergence.

Miller said an “almost unheard of” two-week period of temperatures that peaked above 95 degrees may also lead to more tuber quality problems, such as hollow heart. Miller expects tuber quality of individual fields could vary widely, depending on the growth stage when the hot weather hit.

“People aren’t sure what it’s going to do to quality,” Miller said. “We’ve done some test digs and some looked horrible while some looked great.”

In Eastern Idaho, Ritchie Toevs, president of the Idaho Potato Commission, anticipates his yields will be down by about 60 hundredweight per acre from last season. Toevs, of Aberdeen, plans to start harvest on Sept. 20 and has been pleasantly surprised by tuber quality in his test digs. He believes a bad wildfire season has contributed to reduced yields.

“I don’t know if smoky weather might have taken some off of the crop in August,” Toevs said, noting smoke blocks solar radiation. “We didn’t see the mountains for two weeks.”

Marty Kearl, farm manager with a Jentzsch-Kearl Farms unit in Bliss, agrees early harvest yields are low, but he believes there’s still time for the rest of the crop to catch up. He added that growers have also had little trouble with diseases.

“The tubers are smaller than they were last year at this time, but the vines are looking better,” Kearl said.

Mike Larsen, with Rupert-based Mart Produce, believes hot weather has hurt Norkotahs, especially in sandy soils, and some growers who are now supplying his business with new crop have struggled with poor size and yields. He expects the “size will be off a little bit” with Russet Burbanks, and he worries about potential tuber defects related to the heat.

“What’s really unknown is what kind of quality we’re going to get from the Burbank crop,” Larsen said.

But Larsen admits the market outlook is rosier than it’s been in recent years.

“It seems like demand is good, especially from the processors,” Larsen said.

Randy Hardy, with Sun Valley Potatoes in Oakley, said grower returns on Norkotahs are up to roughly $8 per carton, compared to about $5 on Aug. 7, before the new crop came in. Hardy expects his company’s Burbanks will be smaller, average yielding and good quality.