Sizes, packs and counts
Potato grades: US No. 1 vs No. 2 in plain terms
US No. 1 is USDA's standard fresh potato grade, fairly well shaped and free from serious defects with a 1 and 7/8 inch size floor, while US No. 2 allows more misshape and defect down to a 1 and 1/2 inch floor. Potatoes throw more No. 2 than most crops, and the No. 1 to No. 2 spread widens in a rough storage year as the grade-out rises.
Updated Jul 10, 2026
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US No. 1 is the workhorse potato grade, and US No. 2 is the step below it that shows up far more in potatoes than in most fresh crops. The two grades describe condition, not size, and the gap between them is a quality story. Knowing what each requires is how you read a grade split on a report line.
What US No. 1 requires
US No. 1 is USDA's standard fresh grade. In plain terms it means potatoes that are fairly well shaped, meaning not badly pointed, dumbbell-shaped or otherwise materially deformed, similar in varietal characteristics, and free from serious defects and from damage. The size floor is a diameter of at least 1 and 7/8 inches unless a pack states otherwise. It is not a perfection standard, it is a sound-commercial-potato standard, and it is the grade most fresh quotes reference. When a line says US No. 1 with no other note, that is the benchmark.
What knocks a lot to US No. 2
US No. 2 is a real, saleable grade, not a reject. It requires potatoes that are not seriously misshapen and free from serious damage, with a lower size floor of 1 and 1/2 inches, and it must still be free of the destructive problems like freezing, blackheart, late blight, bacterial wilt, ring rot and soft rot. The difference from No. 1 is tolerance: No. 2 allows more misshape and more surface and internal defect before a lot fails. USDA defines serious damage as a defect that seriously detracts, or one that cannot be trimmed without losing more than 10 percent of the potato. Rougher, more defected stock that still cooks fine grades No. 2.
Why the spread matters
Potatoes throw more No. 2 than most crops because a tuber grows underground and comes up with growth cracks, knobs, skin defects and the odd rot, so a normal field yields a real share of No. 2. In a rough storage year, when quality slips in the cellar, the grade-out rises and more of the pile falls to No. 2, which widens the price gap between the grades. The Idaho table above is the live FOB. Where an origin reports both grades, the No. 1 to No. 2 spread is the quality premium of the week. Lots with no grade stated show as field run, and this site keys those separately so an ungraded quote is never read as a graded one.
The Russet Report reports grades as USDA publishes them, straight off the shipping point line, following USDA's published grade standards.
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Common questions
What does US No. 1 mean for potatoes?
US No. 1 is USDA's standard fresh grade: potatoes that are fairly well shaped, similar in variety, free from serious defects and damage, and at least 1 and 7/8 inches in diameter unless a pack states otherwise. It is the grade most fresh quotes reference.
What is the difference between US No. 1 and US No. 2 potatoes?
US No. 2 allows more misshape and more defect than US No. 1 and has a lower size floor of 1 and 1/2 inches, though it must still be free from serious damage and the destructive rots. No. 2 is rougher stock that still cooks fine, not a reject.
Are US No. 2 potatoes bad?
No. US No. 2 is a saleable grade for sound potatoes with more surface or shape defects than No. 1. Potatoes throw more No. 2 than most crops because they grow underground and come up with cracks, knobs and skin defects.
What is field run?
Field run means potatoes packed without a grade stated, straight as they came from the field. This site keys field run lots separately so an ungraded quote is never read as a graded US No. 1 or No. 2 price.