Potato harvest under way

As a picker, Jessica Hellberg is the last person on the assembly line at Brad and June Allen’s farm near Haines before the Russet potatoes are stored in a temperature-controlled cellar until they are shipped to Idaho.

By JAYSON JACOBY
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Spring was rather treacherous for Baker County potato growers, with its persistent cold, wet weather, but summer might turn out pretty sublime.

“We had just about as ideal of conditions as you could hope for growing potatoes,” said Jan Kerns, who with her husband, Tim, raises spuds in Baker Valley west of Haines.

The lack of severe heat and an abundance of cool nights should result in a good crop, Jan Kerns said.

So far the temperature has hit 90 degrees or higher on 14 days this summer at the Baker City Airport; the average is about 26 days.

And the average low temperature for both July and August was well below average, nearly setting a record in both cases.

Summer didn’t seem quite so tranquil on July 16, though.

A hailstorm that afternoon pummeled several potato fields in Baker Valley.

But Kerns said her fields recovered from the storm with no significant damage.

She won’t know for certain until later this week when the harvest begins.

Crews are already digging potatoes in other parts of the valley, including Brad and June Allen’s farm near Haines.

“I don’t think anybody’s yield is going to be a runaway because it was such a cool, wet spring,” Kerns said. “But I think everybody’s going to be satisfied.”

Potatoes are an important field crop in Baker County, with production worth $10.4 million in 2010 from 4,000 acres harvested.