I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but it used to be that I could get those 10lb sacks of small-ish russet baking potatoes for ~$1.99 regular price and often ~$.99 on sale (at least quarterly). But as of abooooout 2-3 years ago (ish?) they stopped going on sale for ~$.99 (mayybe as a loss leader for the thanksgiving/christmas runup), and then shortly after that, the regular price jumped up to ~$2.50, and then further to ~$3. And now, potatoes are going for a 5lb bag on sale for $1.99! I haven't noticed a jump in price for the giant size russets (still ~$.50/lb, as they've been for ages). Only the bulk bags of smaller ones.
Now, when I saw the price jump a couple years ago on the price of vanilla extract (from ~$8/pint to ~$30/pint), I researched and found about the crop failures leading to supply shortages. But I have had no such luck with potato prices. No-one on the internet seems to be talking about this. What gives?