14 
BULLETIN 1388, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Yakima Valley potato growers have several marketing advantages 
over their competitors in the Northwestern States, largely because 
of a low production per capita in Washington resulting in a favor- 
able market in the State, (fig. 7), a shorter rail haul to Pacific 
PER CENT 
OF U.S. 
PRODUCTION 
PER CAPITA 
300 
200 
100 
fy^^^Northwest 
v 
/T\ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
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\ 
\ 
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\ 
J / 
\ 
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\ 
S 1 / 
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\^^ Washington 
V 
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^* 
,U. S. Production per Capita 
' II 
_I—_L.. 1, . 
YEAR -- 1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 
1921 
1922 
1923 
US 
PRODUCTION 3.4 
PER CAPITA 
42 
3.6 
28 
4.3 
3.9 
3.1 
3.8 
3.3 
4.1 
3.7 
Fig. 7.— Potato production per capita in Washington and in the Northwest as a percentage of the 
per capita production in the United States. The States included in the Northwest are Idaho, 
Colorado, Washington, Montana, and Oregon 
Northwest cities, and the advantage of a rail-and-boat rate to Cali- 
fornia markets. During two years only, 1916 and 1919, was the 
average farm price in the five Northwestern States higher than the 
Washington farm price (fig. 8). During these two years the potato 
PER CENT OF 
U.S. PRICE 
PER BUSHEL 
100 
80 
60 
1x0 
US. Pi 
PER B( 
9/CE 
JSHEL \ 
b 
Ss 
i A 
1 J/T 
Washi 
x 
nq'on 
* 
"""Z^ 9 ^ 
f 
\ 
\ 
Noi 

rhwest — - 
>N 
,""' 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 
1921 
1922 
192. 
US. PRICE 
PER BUSHEL 69 
49 
62 
146 
123 
119 
1 60 
1 14 
1 10 
58 
82 
CENTS . 
Fig. 8.— Potato prices in Washington and in the Pacific Northwest as 
Slates price 
percentage of the United 
production per capita throughout the United States w T as exception- 
ally low, amounting to only 2.8 bushels in 1916 and 3.1 in 1919. 
This tended to raise the price in the East sufficiently to create a 
strong demand for western potatoes. Accordingly the States of 
