Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Production Expense Ratio
Potato production expense ratio compares a defined set of farm expenses with gross potato revenue for the same scope and period. Procurement and finance teams can decompose the ratio into cost categories, yield, quality, and realized-price effects while keeping accounting definitions consistent.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato production-expense-ratio data compares a defined set of production expenses with gross potato revenue for the same farm, crop year, and accounting scope. The market object is the expense-to-revenue relationship, with costs separated into seed, fertilizer, labor, fuel, irrigation, machinery, land, storage, financing, or other categories as defined.
Use the ratio to identify cost pressure and stress supplier economics. Compare like-for-like scopes because cash inputs, depreciation, land, and finance can be included differently.
Data Module
Potato Production Expense Ratio
Market objectproduction expenses relative to revenue
Primary measureexpense-to-revenue ratio
Key dimensionsfarm, crop year, cost scope
Commercial usecost-pressure analysis
Cost contextyield, price, cost categories
Compare withhistorical and peer definitions
Analysis
Why this matters
The ratio can rise because costs increase, revenue falls, or both. A weather-driven yield loss can therefore worsen the metric even when input discipline is unchanged.
Commercial interpretation should decompose numerator and denominator and ensure accounting scope is consistent before comparing farms.
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 procurement, finance, and market-intelligence teams that need a potato production expense ratio. The ratio compares defined production expenses with gross potato revenue, showing how much revenue is consumed by the cost base. MassGain helps users make the numerator and denominator consistent and connect the result with crop, price, and operating conditions.
The suite can organize seed, fertilizer, chemicals, labor, fuel, irrigation, machinery, land, storage, insurance, interest, and other expenses by field or farm, while linking revenue to marketable yield, contracts, quality, and realized prices. Procurement can understand whether growers face a structural cost squeeze or a temporary poor crop. Lenders can monitor repayment capacity. Growers can compare production systems and identify whether cost increases are offset by yield or price. Analysts can separate variable-cost pressure from ownership and financing effects.
Expense ratios depend heavily on accounting scope and timing. A ratio including depreciation and land rent should not be compared with one using cash inputs only. MassGain does not prescribe farm accounting or determine profitability. It provides a transparent definition and market context so users can compare like with like, identify the components responsible for change, and stress the ratio under alternative yield and price scenarios.
Use Case
A lender sees a grower’s potato production expense ratio rise from 72% to 88%. MassGain shows fertilizer and interest increased, while lower marketable yield reduced revenue. The lender separates temporary weather effects from recurring leverage pressure and adjusts the operating plan rather than treating all costs as equally controllable.
FAQs
How is a potato production expense ratio calculated?
Divide the defined production expenses by gross potato revenue for the same scope and period.
Why must expense scope be consistent?
Cash inputs, depreciation, land, storage, and financing may be included differently and materially change the ratio.
How does MassGain explain movement?
It separates cost categories, yield, quality, acreage, realized price, contracts, and crop-year effects.
Put this market intelligence to work
Get historical data, regional detail, benchmarks, alerts, exports, and API access tailored to your procurement
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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.