Potato Farm, David Long

There are 45,000 acres of potatoes grown on the eastern shore. Red Skin potatoes get the best price. Potato chips are sliced thinner and have a higher specific gravity. The superior white potatoes take 95 days to mature. 100 pounds of potatoes makes 12 pounds of chips. They plant the last week of February to early March when the soil temperature reaches 45*F to start growing. The potatoes are harvested the first week of June to the last week of June. 28 days after the vines are killed they let the potatoes sit in the soil to gain skin. 1 acre of potatoes cost $3,200. Diseases are the biggest problem with potatoes. Late blight and the Colorado Potato Beetle are two of the main diseases. Having crop insurance is useful but the government or the agency always gets the better end of the deal.