01/23/08 The Idaho potato industry's impact

Idaho is a dairy giant. The state has a robust and growing cattle industry too. Don't forget wheat, barley and sugarbeets. The potato is the ag commodity most associate with Idaho, the number one potato producing state for the past 50 years. The state's growers produce about 30 percent of the US crop. Frozen and dehydration processors produce 40 percent of the US processed potato products and packers provide one third of the nation's fresh shipments. The Idaho potato industry from seed potatoes to French fries provided nearly 39 thousand 500 jobs in 2002. Economists at the University of Idaho College of Agriculture and Life Sciences say that means spuds account for one of 20 jobs in the state. When the U of I economists looked at 2002 data they saw 3.4 building in potato product sales that generated 720 million dollars in added value and 490 million in income. But the impact is much greater because of exports that multiply the economic benefits. The potato export dollars rippled through businesses that support the industry with 6.7 billion dollars in sales, 1.9 billion in value added and 1.3 billion in income. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott