'Potato King' Joe Marshall

A young Duane Ramseyer of Filer stands on top of a truckload of potatoes during harvest in 1936, while his father, Homer Ramseyer, visits with Idaho’s 'Potato King' Joe Marshall, far left. Potato sacks were hand-filled and sewn in the field.

Mychel Matthews

Idaho, for decades, chased Maine in the race to produce the most potatoes in the U.S. before overtaking the former No. 1 potato producer in 1957.

Sixty-three years later, Idaho remains at the top of the potato heap.

Today, the state produces nearly one-third of the potatoes grown in the U.S. — about 13 billion pounds of potatoes to be fried, frozen, baked or mashed.

Back in 1937 when Joe Marshall of Jerome was Idaho's "Potato King," the state harvested 130,000 acres at a yield of 13,500 pounds of potatoes per acre. That's nearly 1.8 billion pounds of potatoes, valued then at about $7 million.

Today, with strategic marketing, increased acreage and improved technology, the state's potato growers produce an annual crop worth about $1 billion.

As potato harvest approaches, the Times-News takes a look at Idaho's famous potato crop by the numbers.

See The Big Story, Page D1

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