Thk Potato Industry of Colorado. 
5 
INTRODUCTION. 
THE POTATO CROP. 
More weight of food is produced by potatoes than by any other 
crop of the world. In number of bushels the potato far exceeds 
any of the great cereal crops of the world; wheat or corn or the 
rice of the Orient are far behind it in total production. 
Per Capita Consumption .—While the potato is universally used 
among American people, the consumption per capita is notably less 
than in Europe. According to the statistics of the Department of 
Agriculture, the crop of the United States is not far either way 
from 300,000,000 bushels per year, or 3J4 bushels per capita. Ger¬ 
many, a country that is a little more than twice as large as Colo¬ 
rado, produces 1,600,000,000 bushels, or from five to six times as 
many as the whole United States. The people of Germany, as well 
as the people of Ireland, in place of using 3bushels of potatoes 
per year, consume twenty-five busheis per capita. 
Where Grown .—By far the larger part of the potatoes of the 
United States is grown in a few of the northern states. In fact 
Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne¬ 
sota produced half of the immense crop of 1909. 
While Colorado is the 10th or nth state in production of 
potatoes, she is one of the leaders in the investigation and promo¬ 
tion of the industry. A little study of potato prices and possi¬ 
bilities of potato growing will show why Colorado is one of the 
leaders in this work. 
TABLE 1.—Average Yield of Potatoes per Acre, in bushels. 
(From U. S. Dept, of Agriculture, Yearbook.) 
Year: 
1904 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
Average 
Nebraska . 
120 
93 
87 
73 
78 
78 
88 
Wisconsin . 
126 
68 
97 
91 
80 
102 
94 
Michigan .. 
121 
67 
95 
90 
72 
105 
91 
Iowa . 
136 
80 
95 
85 
80 
89 
94 
Minnesota . 
102 
87 
92 
101 
76 
115 
95 
♦New York . 
93 
70 
105 
98 
82 
120 
94 
Colorado . 
159 
160 
125 
150 
125 
160 
146 
TABLE —Average Farm Value of Potatoes per Acre, ou Dec. 1. 
(From U. S. Dept, of Agriculture, Yearbook.) 
Year: | 1904 | 1905 j 1 906 [ 1907 | 1908 | 1909 [Average 
Michigan . 
$35 
09 
$37 
52 
$32 
36 
$40 
50 
$41 
76 
$36 
75 
$37 
33 
Minnesota ...... 
29 
.58 
41 
00 
34 
04 
41 
41 
42 
46 
42 
24 
38 
45 
Wisconsin . 
35 
28 
42 
16 
29 
10 
40 
95 
48 
00 
38 
39 
38 
96 
Nebraska . 
31 
20 
34 
41 
45 
25 
51 
10 
42 
90 
46 
80 
41 
94 
Iowa . 
38 
08 
39 
20 
40 
85 
46 
75 
48 
00 
48 
95 
43 
63 
♦New York . 
50 
22 
49 
00 
51 
45 
55 
86 
61 
50 
60 
00 
54 
67 
Colorado . 
58 
83 
91 
20 
56 
25 
99 
00 
75 
00 
91 
20 
78 
58 
*These states are direct competitors of Colorado, with the exception 
of New York, whose great acreage gives the state a large influence in the 
potato market of the United States. Maine alone, among the great 
potato producing states, exceeds Colorado in production per acre, but 
Maine’s geographical position and large costs of production are such as 
to exert little influence on the Colorado potato industry. 
