PENDLETON (AP) - The recently announced closure of the Simplot factory in Hermiston has potato farmers throughout the state worried.

The J.R. Simplot Co., one of the world's biggest french fry manufacturers, announced it would close its only Oregon plant by the end of the year. The company will let go 125 employees by June, with 500 to follow in November.

But in addition to leaving hundreds at the plant jobless, the move will also leave millions of pounds of potatoes with nowhere to go after this growing season, producers say.

That could translate into a loss in the millions not just for growers, but for the area economy.