United States of America
potato
Year2007
Production
22 457 700 tons
Harvested area
1 129 039 acres
Yield
19.8 tons/acre
Although the potato was grown in South America for millennia, the first potato patch in North America was only planted in 1719, in New Hampshire (the first french fries were served at the White House during the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson some 80 years later).
In 2007, the USA harvested almost 22.5 million tons of potatoes, making it the world's fourth biggest producer after China, the Russian Federation and India. US potatoes are grown in nearly every state, although about half of the crop comes from Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, California and Michigan. Most potatoes are harvested in September and October.
Only about one third of US potatoes is consumed fresh. Around 60 percent of annual output is processed into frozen products (such as frozen fries and wedges), crisps, dehydrated potato and starch, while 6 percent is re-used as seed potato. Each American eats 120 lb of potatoes every year - boiled, baked, roasted, fried, scalloped, creamed, stuffed, and even raw. However, fresh potato consumption has declined from more than 48 lb per person in 1993 to just 35 lb in 2006.
Further information from the US Potato Board