Q. When I told someone from Idaho that I thought potatoes were continually being planted and harvested all year long, he laughed at me. Isn’t that true?
A. If you account for all of the countries that grow potatoes in the world, you might win the bet. Somewhere, at any given point in time, potatoes are probably being planted and likewise harvested. Harvest usually happens once a year, and most areas only get one crop. In Idaho, we can store the potatoes grown and harvested between August and October in large potato cellars, sometimes referred to as a potato shed. This is where the potatoes are taken out of storage and washed, then sorted into consumer bags or foodservice cartons for fresh consumption. Below is a picture of what Idaho® potatoes typically look like in storage. These facilities can be as long as a football field! The 2012 harvest looks like it will be a nice crop—about 12 billion pounds of potatoes will be dug up in Idaho this season unless Mother Nature intervenes.
A. The Idaho Russet Burbank variety is typically harvested from mid-September to mid-October each year. It is a late maturing variety. Others such as the Russet Norkotah from Idaho grow to maturity earlier and are typically harvested in mid-August to mid-September. Idaho rules and regulations require that bagged or carton potatoes carry the variety designation right on the package or noted on a quick lock enclosure tag on bags sold in retail outlets such as grocery stores. Potatoes are harvested once a year, then stored for consumption throughout the year. So, in November you may see both varieties mentioned earlier being sold side by side. Our web site has a terrific educational piece, the Foodservice Toolkit, which can be viewed as a PDF by clicking on this link: 
