Economic Impact of Zebra Chip Control Costs on Grower Returns in Seven US States

Abstract

Zebra Chip (ZC) disease exposes growers to the risk of large economic losses. Enterprise budgets are developed to evaluate how the competitive position of eight major US potato producing regions could be impacted by ZC infestations. When using three year (2010–2012) average marketing year prices for “all potatoes” and three year average (2010–2012) yields obtained from USDA-NASS, results highlight the inability of Pacific Northwest growers to sustain a profit if they adopt a routine insecticide program for ZC protection that begins at plant emergence. The uncertain threat of psyllid control costs are also considered within the context of processor contract price negotiations.