Denver — What, no chips?

Potato-chip aficionados are discovering their cherished snack may be in short supply.

And if they find it, they’re likely to pay a bit more for it.

The problem: Not enough chipping spuds to supply manufacturers.

“I wouldn’t use the word shortage, but supplies are fairly limited,” said Tim O’Connor, president and chief executive of the Denver-based U.S. Potato Board. “I know there have been some (retail) outages where not all products are available every day.”

King Soopers has posted signs in snack aisles, warning customers that various brands of chips may be temporarily absent.

Potatoes of all varieties are in shorter supply than usual because many farmers are opting to replace potato acreage with corn, wheat and barley — crops whose prices have gone up faster than potatoes.

“There’s definitely a shortage of fresh potatoes,” said Katy Strohauer, who with her husband, Harry, grows russets, reds, Yukons and fingerlings near Greeley.

With the Strohauers and other northern Colorado farmers, the problem has been inadequate irrigation early in the summer and recent heavy rains that left standing water that damaged potatoes.

Colorado’s largest potato-growing region, the San Luis Valley, produces mainly russets and has few, if any, chipping potatoes.

Colorado is the nation’s fourth-largest potato producer with a crop value of $182 million in 2007.

But the supply problem has been particularly acute with chipping potatoes. Those special varieties are bred with hard, dense flesh and low moisture, qualities that enhance frying.

Because of the potatoes’ specialty nature, farmers will grow only enough chippers to fulfill sales contracts with chip makers.

But manufacturers, when planning last year for current crop contracts, failed to anticipate the depth of economic problems in the U.S.

“In a recessionary economy, people will stay home a little more,” O’Connor said. “There’s a tendency to just grab a bag of chips and a six-pack and stay put.”

O’Connor said snack-industry trackers have reported that the retail price of potato chips has risen 10 percent over the past year to $3.69 a pound.

The spot shortages may not ease until next year, after growers have had a chance to adjust their planted acreages.

“It’s a supply issue,” O’Connor said. “You can’t just grow a chipping potato tomorrow.”