Martian potatoes? Maybe

Jan 14, 2016

Potato farming on Mars is being studied

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

In the movie The Martian, Matt Damon plays a botanist who found himself alone on the red planet having to feed himself.

He did so by creating a potato garden and feasting on spuds until his….

We won’t spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it.

According to a report by BBC World, research is being done to study what type(s) of potatoes could survive on Mars.

Experiments are being carried out by NASA and the International Potato Center (CIP) to plant Peruvian potatoes in conditions similar to Mars. The organizations decided soil from Papas de la Joya desert in Southern Peru can simulate conditions found on Mars.

“The increased levels of carbon dioxide will benefit the crop, whose yield is two to four times that of a regular grain crop under normal Earth conditions. The Martian atmosphere is nearly 95% carbon dioxide,” CIP said in a press release.

Different potato varieties will be tested, then NASA technology will try to replicate the atmosphere on Mars and see any effects it would have on the plants. The hope is that the results give astronauts an idea of how possible it would be to produce potatoes on Mars.

Successful results may lead solutions facing the population on Earth.

“We need people to understand that if we can grow potatoes in extreme conditions like those on Mars, we can save lives on Earth,” said Joel Ranck, CIP head of communications.

Keeping with potatoes, a variety designed to withstand late blight, the pathogen responsible for the Irish potato famine, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Russet Burbank Generation 2, created by Idaho’s J.R. Simplot Co., will also allow potatoes to be stored in colder temperatures for longer periods of time to reduce waste.

“This will bring 24-hour protection to farmers’ fields and, in addition, has the potential to reduce pesticide spray by 25 to 45 percent,” Haven Baker, vice president of plant sciences at Simplot told the Associated Press.

Before the potato is cleared for consumers to purchase, Simplot must complete its registration with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts on NASA researching the possibility of potatoes on Mars or the FDA’s decision to approve the Russet Burbank Generation 2.

Video: 2025 USDA December Crop Report a “Dud” + Trump $12 Billion U.S. Farm Aid

The USDA December crop report was friendly corn, neutral soybeans and bearish wheat. The USDA did surprise and increase the 25/26 U.S. corn export forecast to a new record high at 3.2 billion bushels now up 12% vs. last year vs. prior at +9% vs. the export pace to date up 30% the best in 10 years even higher than 20/21! The USDA left the 25/26 U.S. soybean export pace unchanged at 1.635 billion bushels. Higher global wheat supplies will remain a weight and headwind for wheat into year end and start of 2026.
Mexico is now the #1 buyer of U.S. corn, soybeans (usually China), wheat and pork!
USDA also released its long-term early projections but expect more changes by February of 2026.
Trump announces a $12 billion U.S. farmer aid package to be paid out by February 28, 2026. This helps no one but the ag banks, farm equipment companies, seed and fertilizer companies. It does prevent more farmer bushels from being sold near-term but is not bullish grain prices long-term. The Trump administration should focus on increasing U.S. domestic demand and propping up grain futures so farmers can cover their higher costs, up since COVID of 2020.
The China U.S. soybean purchase tracker now stands at 4.521 mmt or 38% of the 12 mmt promised by China at year end or is it end of February or the growing season? Why the discrepancy vs. the fact sheet. The optics are poor for the Trump administration.
After surging to contract highs U.S. natural gas futures plunged over 30+% in just 5-trading days!
Silver traded to new record highs as the debasement and de dollarization trade continued but technicals remain overbought near-term.
Soybean futures remained in correction mode after the funds went record long futures on Nov. 19 +233,000 contracts but the $10.80 support should hold into year end when the fund profit taking/liquidation comes to an end from the year end, end of month and end of quarter selling.
The U.S. Fed cut interest rates for the 3rd time by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50 – 3.75% and they will only cut one more time in 2026 and once in 20267/ but when Powell is gone next April the replacement is willing to cut more aggressively and we could see U.S. interest rates fall to 2.0% very bullish for ag and stocks as it could reignite inflation into 2027.
After 2 months of being drier than normal in Brazil the rains have finally arrived for the 1st half of December, and a record crop is still in the cards but if this pattern continues and verifies it could start to delay the harvest. Argentina after being too wet has turned dry but they are too small, compared top Brazil in the grand picture.
The Canadian dollar surged to $0.73 after better-than-expected employment data with 180,000 new jobs in the past 3-months and 3rd quarter GDP at +2.6% but this could be short-lived.
The latest CFTC report as of 11-19-2025 reported a record long fund position in soybeans at +233,000 contracts when 2026 March soybean futures peaked on 11-19-25 at $11.724/bu.