Potato Crop Shortage

Waupaca Post

November 5, 1925

SHORTAGE OF POTATO CROP

SEVERAL FACTORS CONSPIRED TO BOOST PRICE OF SPUDS THIS YEAR

C.J. Schrock returned Monday morning from Chicago where he watched the potato market Friday and Saturday. Mr. Schrock sold four carloads of potatoes at Racine and during the nine days that he was in the city no shipment of potatoes except his were received in that city;.

In driving through the farming community about Racine, Mr. Schrock saw field after field of potatoes that had not been dug before the zero weather of last week.

While in Chicago Friday and Saturday, Mr. Schrock reports sales of white stock as high as $4.65 and Early Ohio seed stock at $5.50 per cwt.

Mt. Schrock explains the reason for the steady upward trend of the potato market by the fact that buyers from Nashville, St. Louis and Cincinnati are busy bidding on any choice carloads of potatoes and at top prices, while cars that had been frosted were not wanted at any price. The recent spell of zero weather extended as far south as Nebraska where 11 degrees below zero was reported and many a small potato patch, that might have supplied the demand of a few families had they been harvested, is now worthless and even the seed for next spring must be supplied form outside.

Stead nerves and moderate market by the growers will result in keeping prices at the present level, in the opinion of Mr. Schrock.