California Winegrapes Too Good and 2023 Potato Harvest Data

**California winegrape growers may be victims of their own success after harvesting a larger than average crop last fall that has experts optimistic about the vintage’s quality.

The 2023 crop came in at nearly 3.7 million tons, up from 3.3 million in ‘22.

But the production increase comes as U.S. wine sales dropped 9% in 2023, the third consecutive year after more than a decade of growth.

**A new report from the Ag Departments of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada reveals the 2023 North American Potato harvest data.

The 2023 potato production for the U.S. and Canada combined is estimated at 570 million per hundredweight, up 8% from the 2022 estimate.

American potato production is estimated at 441 million hundredweight, up 10% from last year.

Canada's potato growers harvested 129 million, up 4%.

**Technological developments in agriculture have allowed continued output growth without requiring much additional inputs, according to a new USDA Economic Research Service report.

Innovations in animal and crop genetics, chemicals, equipment, and farm organization have made it possible for ag output to nearly triple since 1948.

During that time, input use declined slightly, meaning the growth in agricultural output has depended on increases in total factor productivity, the efficiency which inputs are transformed into outputs.