Potato Crop Blight01

Waupaca Post

September 5, 1907

POTATOES

Hardly had the ink become dry on last week’s Post before reports began to come in of bad cases of blight, the heavy dews and the warm days being the cause of it. Some farmers, whose fields looked fine on Monday, reported on Saturday that they would hardly get one-fourth a crop. Prior to that time, every indication was for a good crop, except that the season was later than usual. When the digging of early ones commenced, it was found that they were much smaller than usual, though of a finer quality than for some years. Indications today are that there will be perhaps two-thirds as many raised in this vicinity as last year, if no further blight sets in, and if there is no early frost.

The market, which was up to fifty cents last week, dropped to 3 cents the first of the week. Today, the buyers are paying form 40 to 45 cents for good stock.

Waupaca Post

September 26, 1907

THE POTATO CROP

The government Crop Reporter for September gives the average condition of the potato crop throughout the United States as 80.2, against 88.5 on August 1, 85.3 in September, 1906, 91.8 on Sept. 1, 1905, and a ten year average of 79.4.

In Wisconsin the condition is given as 88., as against 89. last year, 80, the year previous and an average during ten years of 83.

The market, as was anticipated in last week’s Post, dropped on Saturday last, and has remained steady since that time, from 40 to 42 cents being paid for white stock and from 35 to 37 for red stock. While the farmers still insist, many of them that the crop will be a short one here the receipts to date are almost as large as they were last year and reports from farmers who have commenced digging their late spuds fully bear out the Post’s prediction that the crop will be two thirds that of last year, if not better.