PRESQUE ISLE (AP) – Maine’s 2008 potato harvest will be among the smallest in decades, but industry officials say that’s not unexpected.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates production at about 1.4 billion pounds, down 14 percent from last year. Preliminary reports indicate that farmers harvested 54,500 acres. That compares to more than 100,000 acres a quarter-century ago.

Don Flannery of the Maine Potato Board says this year’s crop may have been small, but the market is strong and prices are stable. He said the worst thing they can do is farm too many acres, drive prices down and have a lot of potatoes left over.