Latest News From Sweet Potatoes

2021 has brought a year of celebration for the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission as they began celebrating their 60th anniversary milestone.

When I think of sweet potatoes, I think of calling my mom back in college, asking for her sweet potato biscuit recipe, which was my nana’s recipe written in her one-room-schoolhouse-neat teacherly cursive script.

Stokes Purple sweet potatoes are back in season, and it’s the ideal time to showcase these colorful tubers.

Progressive Produce is harvesting California Brussels sprouts and launching Mim’s Specialty Sweet Potatoes this fall.

Fall is all about the harvest bounty — bubbling hot jonathan apple pies adorned with sugary laced lattice tops, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, ornamental gourds, sweet fall grapes, hard squash and crunchy apples.

Sweet potato harvest is gearing up in Southern states, and market conditions were steady in mid-August.

Bland Farms LLC., Battleboro Produce, Boyette Brothers Produce LLC., and Sandyland Produce have announced a new partnership and sales company, Sand Candy Produce LLC. 

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission (NCSPC) named FullTilt Marketing its domestic agency for marketing and public relations.

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission (NCSPC) began celebrating a big milestone as they turned 60 on June 30th.

Although things weren't all red, white and blue on PMG in the week leading up to the July Fourth holiday, seasonal favorites still stacked the top 20.

Peebles Organic Farms LLC, Augusta, Ark., has experienced sustained growth for several years and Shawn Peebles expect that growth to continue.

As a sweet potato grower/distributor, Matthews Ridgeview Farms, Wynne, Ark., features a stable supply outlook and good prospects for the 2021 season.

Episode 48 of Tip of the Iceberg Podcast features an interview with Michelle Grainger, executive director of the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission.

North Carolina produce shipments dipped slightly from 2019, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics reveal.

Nash Produce LLC supplies sweet potatoes 52 weeks per year and the Nashville, N.C.-based company is preparing for the start of cucumber packing around mid-June, said Thomas Joyner, president.

Part two of The Packer's editor Tom Karst and the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission's Michelle Grainger.

With deep roots in the state, Michelle Grainger was a natural fit for the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission when she hired as executive director in August last year.

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission (NCSPC) announced today the release of its School Foodservice Video series.

Sweet potatoes were already doing well lately, and after a crazy 2020, consumers want them even more, according to The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2021 consumer survey.

Pandemic or not, sweet potato marketers expect a boost from spring holidays such as Easter.

Pummelo, oranges and strawberries carried the top three spots on PMG for the third week in a row, while lettuce rose three places to No. 4, and apples gained four spots to complete the top 5.

Avocados bounced from No. 7 the week of Nov. 30 to take the lead spot on PMG the week of Nov. 7.

The United Fresh Produce Association’s Fresh Insights for Foodservice fall issue highlights the traditional holiday meal mainstays, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic’s continued effects on the foodservice sector.

U.S. Fresh blueberries, dates, grapefruit and sweet potatoes are among U.S. agricultural products have been hit with 25% retaliatory tariffs by the European Union in mid-November.

Mann Packing Co. Inc. is launching new products — three microwaveable dishes marketed as Veggie Sides, and Better Crunch Lettuce.

Sweet potato grower-shipper Farm Fresh Produce, Faison, N.C., has added Davy van Ewijck in sales.

Despite a challenging season, North Carolina’s premium sweet potatoes are set to hit supermarket shelves and dinner tables in time for Thanksgiving and winter holidays. 

Growing sweet potatoes is a labor-intensive business

North Carolina sweet potatoes have achieved superfood status as more and more people around the world discover their sweet, nutrition-packed flavor.

Here's the latest news from The Packer about sweet potatoes!

Wildfires were causing a wide range of problems for the produce industry in the first two weeks of September.

Stokes Purple sweet potatoes are back in season and Frieda’s Specialty Produce is preparing for the holiday season.

See the 2020 Fresh Trends Data on sweet potatoes!

While peaches maintained their No. 1 spot on PMG the week of Aug. 24, the rest of the top 20 saw some shuffling as fall items rejoined the list.

The USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program gets mixed reviews from sweet potato growers across the country. 

Hurricane Laura slammed into Cameron, La., with winds of 150 m.p.h. at 1 a.m. Central on Aug. 27, leaving coastal areas nearby battered and bringing heavy winds and rains inland.

Chris Koger Church Brothers Farms, Salinas, Calif., is adding five Green Giant Fresh value-added products.

Farm Fresh Produce Inc., Faison, N.C., has hired Oscar Avila as its lead salesman specializing in sweet potatoes.

It’s the year nobody ever dreamed of, but thanks to good weather and healthy retail sales, sweet potato growers appear to be adapting well to their new world.  

Three-pound bags and microwavable sweet potatoes have been flying off supermarket shelves since COVID-19 struck in March. 

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission has named Michelle Grainger its new executive director.

Virtual tours and demos, an online wine auction and food box donations enabled the fresh produce industry to response to the realities caused by the pandemic.

This information, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, shows week-by-week shipments and f.o.b.s for commodities from shipments for the fresh market.

This information, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, shows week-by-week shipments and f.o.b.s for commodities from shipments for the fresh market.

The road to the new normal as the COVID-19 crisis continues is a rocky one for many in the fresh produce industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning on buying $470 million in surplus food, including $105 million worth of produce, as growers cope with disrupted supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A lot has happened in the sweet potato industry recently. Catch up here on the latest sweet potato news brought to you by The Packer.

According to 2020 Fresh Trends data, 26% of customers purchased sweet potatoes within the past 12 months. Read more data and research on sweet potatoes here.

Demand for the traditional orange-fleshed sweet potato during holiday dinners may be a constant, but disruption is creeping into this category.

Shoppers want variety and versatility with their sweet potatoes, says a survey touted by Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Frieda’s Specialty Produce.