"For the most part, we’ve been drier than average,” said Ted Kreis, marketing director for the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association in East Grand Forks, MN.
“Last year, we had a problem with crops getting drowned out. [This year,] we could have used some additional rain.”
The net effect of dryness during the current production season, Mr. Kreis went on to say, is that dirt lumps will come up with the potatoes as they are dug.