Lancaster Farms builds on long legacy with sweet potatoes
Wilson, N.C.-based Lancaster Farms has a strong, quality sweet potato harvest coming on, says Derek Lancaster, grower with the company.
“The 2022 growing season has been near-perfect and harvest is going great,” he said. The 2021 growing season was only “average,” while this season’s growing conditions have been better and the quality of the sweet potatoes harvested so far is excellent, Lancaster said.
While acreage for the company is down, yields may be up 10%, he said.
R.B. Lancaster and Sons Inc. family has lived and farmed in Wilson County, N.C., and the surrounding counties for seven generations, since the late 1700s, said Tracy Fowler, sales director for Wilson, N.C.-based Lancaster Farms.
“From their beginning as farmers well over 200 years ago, the Lancaster family has learned the value of producing quality food and fiber for their families, their neighbors and now for the entire world,” Fowler said.
The company has a four-year crop rotation, farming between 1,400 and 1,800 acres annually, he said.
In regard to sweet potatoes, the company only grows the covington variety, Fowler said.
Harvest for Lancaster Farms started harvest Aug. 26 for early plantings and began harvest again Sept. 16, with the finish of harvest expected Oct. 28.
Exports are important to the company, Fowler said.
“We are a large exporter of sweet potatoes to the United Kingdom and the European Union countries, but we plan to reduce those shipments by 15% to 20% this season,” Fowler said. “We feel this will give us more balance with a little less risk involved."
Whether for the domestic or export market, Fowler said he has seen sweet potato demand grow through new uses and recipes. Demand for sweet potato french fries has boomed in Europe. In the U.S., grilling and baking uses for sweet potatoes have also grown at a faster pace compared with traditional dessert-type recipes.
Retailers can help maximize sweet potato sales by giving the vegetable promotional awareness without reducing prices, Fowler said.
Younger consumers who love to cook and grill are a target market for sweet potatoes, he said.
