As it does every year, the Idaho Potato Conference, held in Pocatello Jan. 21-22, delivered vital educational opportunities for growers, agronomists and the allied industry. With the potato industry facing some of the highest supplies and lowest prices it has seen in years, wise producers are taking any opportunity to gain an edge in the coming year.
The information packed into these two days can feel a bit like drinking from a fire hose, and all the knowledge shared during the conference could never fit in the space we have here. But here are some highlights Ag Proud – Idaho was able to glean from a couple of sessions.
Water, water … anywhere?
Water is always a major concern for everyone in the ag industry, and that concern may be amplified this year. That fact was given voice by a panel that included Ian Crawford, a certified crop adviser with Precision Laboratories; Antone Christensen, an agronomist with Stukenholtz Laboratory; Idaho Power’s Steve Keller; and University of Idaho researchers Emily Bedwell and Meetpal Kukal.
When asked what their biggest water-related concerns were entering the 2026 growing season, each prioritized the uncertainty surrounding the snowpack (and that snowpack’s moisture content) from what has been an exceptionally dry winter in Idaho.
“Our biggest risk is going to be in timing,” said Bedwell, “… [and] understanding what time of the season you’re really prioritizing that water to that crop, and when you’re considering that over your season-long allocation.”
“What a water shortage ultimately ends up being is a quality issue,” said Christensen. “We’re cutting back so much, we’re saving water, and then we run into issues of quality. That not only affects the farmers … it affects the whole industry.”
Keller pointed out how producers are going to have to carefully plan their water use to fit into the water mitigation plan agreed to in early 2025 between surface water and groundwater users. “Depending on where you are in rotation, if you’re in potatoes, if you’re in grain, if you’re in beets … how are you going to allocate water application to make sure you meet that mandated mitigation amount?”
“It cannot be overemphasized that we really need the weather and the water supply to cooperate with our new mitigation plan,” Kukal agreed.
So what are growers to do?
“If you’re not using technology to evaluate soil moisture content and doing field checks, that’s probably where you need to start,” said Crawford. “You have to measure it if you’re going to manage it. … There are different kinds of soil surfactants. There are infiltration products; some will push water beyond the root zone. Potatoes have a pretty shallow root system, so there are also products that help enhance and hold water higher in the soil profile. If you’re using soil moisture monitoring equipment, you’ll be able to see this.”
“What’s really critical is focusing on when the water is applied, not just how much,” Bedwell said. “That’s something that soil moisture sensors can help, hand-feel methods can help, and just understanding the agronomy and the growth and development of your crop. Really protecting those tuber initiation and bulking stages is key.”
2026 potato market outlook
The question on everyone’s mind seems to be some version of, “So are potato prices ever going to come back up?”
The answer? “Probably not this year,” said Patrick Hatzenbuehler, University of Idaho Extension ag economist. Not only the U.S., but potato-producing regions around the world – including Canada, Mexico and Europe, some of our biggest export markets – yielded strong potato crops in 2025, resulting in more potatoes than normal on the global market. Hatzenbuehler’s analysis of the markets indicates a solid but more or less plateauing demand relative to history, so prices are predictably low.
“We have more potatoes, not much to kind of gather those up, so the price implications are kind of what we’re seeing,” he said. “That’s why it hasn’t [exactly been a] happy day for potatoes, especially those who are noncontract potatoes.”
The data agree: Hatzenbuehler showed data from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) indicating relatively strong prices for russet potatoes through the first half of 2025 and into the late summer. But for the last quarter of the year, when the harvest sent a lot of spuds to the open market, prices dropped precipitously, from around $11 per 50-pound carton in August to about $8 in October.
“It’s basically the lowest prices that have been seen in a long time here,” Hatzenbuehler said. “This is largely the result of consistently good production conditions over the past couple years in the U.S. and in neighboring countries.”
The winter months are generally when the lowest potato prices occur, and Hatzenbuehler said that there should be a clearer picture of where prices are headed by early summer, once planted acreage estimates come out and growing conditions are better known.
“Profit is the big driver to keep an eye on,” Hatzenbuehler said, referring to producers’ plans for the upcoming growing season. “Even in a low-price environment, if you’re able to keep costs low while maintaining quality, then you can still obtain some profits.”
Hatzenbuehler said that could mean backing off the potato acreage for some growers, while others may want to ramp up potato production. He referenced the USDA’s latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) that show expected lower prices for barley, wheat, oats and corn in 2026 than in 2025, which paint a less-than-rosy picture for farm profitability.
“Generally, it’s just a lot of supply and kind of weak demand conditions for many crops that are out there,” said Hatzenbuehler, also noting that low milk prices could result in low alfalfa prices as well for southern Idaho growers. He advised producers to contract as much of their crop as possible to help guarantee their cost of production is covered and hopefully provide some profit margin.
Visit the University of Idaho's conference webpage for more information on the proceedings of the 2026 Idaho Potato Conference and to find contact information for presenters.
