Mountain of spuds discarded by Idaho farmers saved in 'potato rescue' By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
& Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer Published Apr. 29, 2020 1:30 PM | Updated May. 1, 2020 5:52 PM https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/mountain-of-spuds-discarded-by-idaho-farmers-saved-in-potato-rescue/729662 <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Mountain%20of%20spuds%20discarded%20by%20Idaho%20farmers%20saved%20in%20%27potato%20rescue%27&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.accuweather.com%2Fen%2Fweather-news%2Fmountain-of-spuds-discarded-by-idaho-farmers-saved-in-potato-rescue%2F729662> <https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?t=Mountain%20of%20spuds%20discarded%20by%20Idaho%20farmers%20saved%20in%20%27potato%20rescue%27&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.accuweather.com%2Fen%2Fweather-news%2Fmountain-of-spuds-discarded-by-idaho-farmers-saved-in-potato-rescue%2F729662> Copied <?subject=Mountain%20of%20spuds%20discarded%20by%20Idaho%20farmers%20saved%20in%20%27potato%20rescue%27&body=https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/mountain-of-spuds-discarded-by-idaho-farmers-saved-in-potato-rescue/729662> Volume 0% Due to COVID-19 farmers across the nation are seeing an extreme surplus of crops. Here's how extra potatoes in Idaho are being put to good use. Amid lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, businesses and industries are suffering from COVID-19 -- and potato farmers are no exception. Despite a growing demand in grocery stores, potato prices have plummeted in the last few weeks due to social distancing guidelines and a lack of demand in restaurants and the food industry. Just weeks prior, the industry was looking at the best prices in recent memory and even projections for a summer shortage, The Associated Press reported <https://apnews.com/d66938d278ee17810614bb0c7828bc4d>. The cost for a 50-pound carton of restaurant-grade potatoes in the Twin Falls and Burley district hovered between $22 and $23 on March 13 but had dropped to somewhere between $10 and $12 by April 16. Some farmers in Idaho have such extreme surpluses that they are dumping potato crops, and dairy farms have begun feeding the potatoes to their cattle. Last week, photos like the one below, shared by Molly Page, a Hailey, Idaho, local, emerged on social media showing mountains of potatoes going to waste after being dumped by farmers. Page's photo showed a mountain of discarded potatoes at Silver Creek Seed Farm in Picabo, Idaho, according to the Idaho Mountain Express newspaper <https://www.mtexpress.com/news/blaine_county/farm-donates-75-tons-of-potatoes/article_f4bde39e-89af-11ea-8f3e-f357f9fe2353.html>, and it quickly went viral. Farmers across Idaho had to dump potatoes due to a lack of demand during the coronavirus pandemic. (Twitter/@idahomolly) "I heard about the farmers dumping the potatoes through a local farmer or rancher who I know here," Page told AccuWeather in a Skype interview. "And it was heartbreaking to see, you know just seeing this huge pile of potatoes that, you know they didn't have a market for. So that compelled me and a group of people here to act." *Using the advantage of a small town and her history of community outreach, Page organized a 25-person "potato rescue team" to help gather the dumped potatoes and bring the spuds to those who need food in the Hailey and Ketchum, two towns in Blaine County, Idaho, about 160 miles east of Boise.* *Click on the link for the rest.* -- If you appreciate News From Underground, please consider making a donation — either a one-time gift or a monthly subscription: http://markcrispinmiller.com/support/ Thank you for your support. Ways to unsubscribe: 1) send a blank email to [email protected] PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "News From Underground" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/newsfromunderground/CAGxB6W-gs0mZXyXVdKTNcRLEF9m%2BoWStpiFbDe%3DG%3DzJm6F63Eg%40mail.gmail.com.
