Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Harvest Contractor Rates
Potato harvest contractor rates compare custom-harvest offers by acre, tonne, hour, load, or bundled operation and the services each price includes. Growers can combine field conditions, yield, equipment, crew, trucking, weather windows, loss risk, and processor deadlines to compare expected cost per marketable tonne.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato harvest-contractor-rate data records custom-harvest charges by acre, tonne, hour, load, or bundled operation and the services included. The market object is the contractor offer by field conditions, expected yield, equipment, crew, fuel basis, trucking, travel, minimums, capacity, weather window, and loss responsibility.
Use the data to compare custom hiring with alternative contractors or owned equipment and to convert quoted rates into expected cost per marketable tonne. Include timing, field loss, and processor delivery obligations when evaluating the harvest option.
Data Module
Potato Harvest Contractor Rates
Market objectcustom-harvest service offer
Primary measuresrate, capacity, expected total cost
Key dimensionsfield, yield, equipment, hauling
Commercial useharvest sourcing and budgeting
Risk contextweather window, field loss, reliability
Compare withowned equipment and delivery deadlines
Analysis
Why this matters
A low per-acre rate can become expensive when contractor capacity is weak, hauling is excluded, or late harvest raises field loss and quality damage. The crop's weather window gives time a direct economic value.
Commercial interpretation should compare expected marketable recovery and completion risk, not rate alone. A higher-priced crew can be the cheaper option if it protects yield and processor delivery.
Signal 01
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index
UCUI translates crop and market complexity into a simple uncertainty signal. Higher readings indicate greater uncertainty—not necessarily higher prices.
Understand uncertainty. Anticipate risk. Act earlier.
UCUI is designed to analyze potato-industry publications and data signals across regions, varieties, weather, disease, storage, supply, and demand.
WeatherHigh
DiseaseHigh
StorageMedium
SupplyMedium
Single-day snapshot based on a scan of 11,500+ web and social signals. Get historical and real-time data by clicking the button below.
The MassGain Daily
Today’s market analysis.
A daily editorial synthesis of physical potato data, crop signals, market reporting, and what participants should watch next.
September 16, 2026Latest MassGain publication
Potato market steady for now; Russia’s smaller crop is the salient risk
Spot prices are flat and USDA terminal reports read ‘market steady,’ but a renewed forecast for a smaller Russian harvest and recent regional harvest stress leave seasonal import timing and storage losses as the key uncertainty.
Signal 02
MassGain Potato Index
Independent physical-pricing intelligence and market-trend analysis for procurement, forecasting, contracting, and scenario planning.
Core Russet Carton Median
312.45 USD/MT
Latest qualifying physical-market observation
+4.75 (+1.55%)
Price discovery for the physical potato market
MPI is designed to track physical pricing data, price trends, deltas, and divergences across regions and potato types.
Series window45 days
Current public coverageCore russet cartons
Primary source basisQualifying USDA physical rows
UnitUSD per metric tonne
Single-day snapshot based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varieties by clicking the button below.
Signal 03
MassGain Spot Reference
An independent spot reference designed for price discovery, contract discussions, procurement comparisons, and risk modeling.
Russet Burbank — U.S. Midsize
305 USD/MT
Demonstration reference format
+1.6% WoW · Confidence: High
A trusted benchmark for pricing, contracts, and risk
MSR is intended to use real transactions and verifiable physical-market data to support negotiations, price checks, contracting, and risk models.
ProductRusset Burbank
SpecificationU.S. midsize, 40–70 count
Reference typePhysical spot benchmark
StatusIn development
Based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varities by clicking the button below. Full access also includes historical data -- including depreciated NYMEX/CBOE/EEX spot references -- projections, trends, and AI-driven insights.
The MassGain Product Ladder
From insight to intelligence to action
Four integrated products built for the physical potato market, delivered through public pages, reports, exports, dashboards, and API access.
1
Content
Original research, commentary, aggregated news, and market updates.
- What matters right now?
- What is happening out there?
2
UCUI™
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index: an AI-powered signal of crop risk and market uncertainty.
- Understand uncertainty
- Anticipate risk
- Act earlier
3
MPI™
MassGain Potato Index: independent physical-pricing intelligence and trend analysis.
- Price discovery
- Regional trends
- Procurement planning
4
MSR™
MassGain Spot Reference: an independent benchmark for price discovery and risk modeling.
- Contracts
- Negotiations
- Risk models
Content + UCUI + MPI + MSR + API access
Get historical series, regional detail, constituent data, exports, alerts, and direct data access.
Overview
Who is this for?
This page is for growers and producers that need to benchmark potato harvest contractor rates. Custom-harvest charges can be quoted per acre, tonne, hour, load, or complete operation and may include equipment, labor, fuel, transport, maintenance, supervision, and risk. MassGain helps users compare proposals on a consistent scope and connect the rate with field and harvest conditions.
The suite can organize acreage, expected yield, soil, field size, travel, digging difficulty, weather window, equipment type, crew, fuel basis, trucking, minimum charges, and loss responsibility. Growers can compare custom hiring with owned machinery. Finance can model cash requirements and harvest sensitivity. Processors can understand whether contractor capacity threatens supplier delivery. Market intelligence can identify regional scarcity in crews or equipment.
A low rate can become expensive if it excludes hauling, carries weak capacity, or increases field loss. MassGain does not recommend contractors or interpret service contracts. It provides a transparent total-cost framework that compares rate, capacity, timing, field loss, quality, and reliability so growers can secure the harvest option that protects crop value.
Use Case
A grower compares two harvest contractors: one offers a low per-acre rate but limited trucking, while the other includes haulage and a larger crew. MassGain models weather-window risk, expected yield, field loss, and processor deadlines. The higher quoted rate produces the lower expected cost by finishing before rain.
FAQs
How are potato harvest contractor rates quoted?
They may be quoted per acre, tonne, hour, load, machine, or bundled harvest operation.
What should be included in comparison?
Equipment, labor, fuel, hauling, travel, minimums, capacity, timing, and loss risk should be included.
How does MassGain evaluate contractor value?
It combines rate with field conditions, yield, weather, reliability, quality, and delivery obligations.
Put this market intelligence to work
Get historical data, regional detail, benchmarks, alerts, exports, and API access tailored to your procurement
and market-analysis needs.
Data and Methodology
Professional market-data standards
MassGain is building transparent public market infrastructure. Each live metric will identify its date, unit, coverage, methodology, and source basis.
Data provenance
MassGain uses public, licensed, contributed, and independently derived physical-market information. Source availability and publication schedules vary.
Timing and revisions
Figures may reflect the latest available observation rather than a same-day transaction. Source data and MassGain calculations may be corrected, restated, or revised.
Not transactional pricing
MassGain figures are informational reference values and do not constitute executable bids, offers, settlements, or guarantees that a transaction can occur at the displayed value.
No individualized advice
Content and data are provided for informational and analytical purposes and do not constitute financial, investment, legal, trading, or individualized procurement advice.
Independent publication
Certain observations may be derived from USDA reports. MassGain is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USDA.
Commercial use and licensing
Public display does not grant rights to reproduce, redistribute, republish, or incorporate MassGain indices or references into commercial products or contracts without authorization.