Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Planting Progress
Potato planting progress measures how much intended acreage has entered the ground by a defined date and region. MassGain compares the pace with weather, soil, seed, varieties, historical timing, storage carryover, and processor needs to refine new-crop transition expectations.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato Planting Progress measures the share of intended acreage planted by a defined date and region. It should be read with soil conditions, weather, seed availability, variety, end use, and the local crop calendar because the same percentage can imply different development risk across basins.
Use planting progress to refine crop timing and new-crop transition assumptions, not as a direct production forecast. Compare delays or acceleration with historical planting windows, expected growing season, storage carryover, processor contracts, and the regions serving the relevant buyer.
Data Module
Potato Planting Progress Monitor
Regiongrowing basin
Areaintended versus planted
Timingdate and historical pace
Driverssoil, weather, seed availability
Market linknew-crop transition
Decision useearly supply timing
Analysis
Why this matters
Delayed planting does not guarantee lower production, but it can compress development and harvest or extend dependence on old-crop storage. Rapid planting can also hide poor field conditions. The useful signal is the likely timing and quality consequence for the affected sourcing basin.
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 food processors, procurement planners, growers, seed suppliers, and lenders that need to track potato planting progress. Planting progress shows how much intended acreage has entered the ground and whether fieldwork is ahead of or behind normal timing. MassGain connects the reported pace with regional weather, soil conditions, seed availability, crop calendars, historical yield relationships, and the delivery periods that matter to processors.
Delayed planting does not automatically create a crop shortfall, but it can shorten the growing season, change variety performance, delay harvest, and increase dependence on stored old-crop potatoes. Rapid planting can also conceal poor field conditions or later emergence problems. MassGain helps users compare progress by region and end use and identify whether the delay affects the actual basin or variety supplying a plant. Processors can update new-crop transition dates and supplemental coverage, growers can coordinate field and contract plans, and finance teams can revise timing assumptions. The result is an early supply indicator connected to practical decisions rather than a percentage viewed in isolation. MassGain does not replace field reports; it supplies the historical and market context needed to judge whether planting progress is ordinary, recoverable, or materially disruptive.
Use Case
A frozen-potato processor sees national planting nearly complete but MassGain shows its main sourcing basin is two weeks behind after repeated rain. Procurement extends stored-crop coverage, reserves a small alternate-region tranche, and moves the expected contract transition date instead of relying on the national headline.
FAQs
What does potato planting progress measure?
It measures the share of intended acreage planted by a defined date and region.
Does delayed planting guarantee lower production?
No. Later weather, variety, crop duration, management, and harvest conditions determine the final outcome.
How does MassGain support processor planning?
It maps regional planting timing to crop transitions, contracts, storage coverage, yield risk, and expected intake.
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.