12/17/08 Russet Burbank's future in Idaho

20 years ago you could walk through an Idaho potato field and almost be assured that it was a Russet Burbank crop. Less than five percent was non-Burbank then. Today, spud that built the potato industry in Idaho only accounts for about 57 percent of the total production. There are several reasons for the decline and they're named Alturas, Yukon Gold, Norkotah, Highland Russet and other new potato varieties. Nora Olsen is a potato specialist with the University of Idaho. OLSEN "And so we're able to kind of categorize a lot more potatoes and patchwork this together to make a really good system using multiple varieties instead of just being dependent on one variety." Olsen says the Russet Burbank is still the potato of choice for export to Mexico and foreign markets and it has something newer varieties don't have. OLSEN "You have this new variety and you think its great but also it has its own inherent problems too that you have to work out and so the nice thing about Burbank is we remember. We know what some of those issues are with it. Some of the new varieties we just haven't had the history with it." The Russet Burbank will probably never disappear from Idaho fields but as more growers diversify its status may continue to diminish in the future. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott