1. Potato production in the United States in 1969 was estimated at 307,229,000 cwt from 1,403,800 acres. 2. Results of a comprehensive survey placed cost of weed control at $13.56 per acre, plus increased production and harvest costs of $14.81 per acre. In addition, there was an average loss of 8.7 cwt per acre in yield assigned to lack of weed control. Total loss to the industry was approximately $65,000,000. 3. Mechanical tillage was the primary method of weed control on 60% of the acreage. The importance of this method has been decreasing; combination tillage and herbicide treatments have been rapidly increasing. 4. Herbicides were used, in varying degrees, on approximately 600,000 acres. Five materials—EPTC, dinoseb, dalapon, linuron, and trifluralin, alone or in combination—accounted for 93% of the acreage treated. A number of other herbicides have looked promising in research trials. 5. Major weed projects underway and requiring increased attention include the following: basic life history studies on weeds, herbicide residues in the soil, control of weeds on organic soils, control of late germinating annuals—especially grasses, control of broadleaf perennials, plus control of six to eight individual problem species in the various production areas.