Sweet Potatoes
North Carolina was by far and away the no. 1 state in fresh sweet potato shipments in 2021, according to USDA data.
About one in three consumers say they have purchased sweet potatoes in the last year, The Packer’s 2022 Fresh Trends survey reveals.
Mississippi’s biggest sweet potato grower expects a smooth transition between old crop and new crop supplies this year.
MONTEREY, Calif. — Despite very dry conditions, the North Carolina sweet potato crop for Vick Family Farms is looking good, says Charlotte Vick, partner and sales manager for the Wilson, N.C. produce marketer.
Sand Candy Produce LLC will feature good volume of sweet potatoes during the 2022-2023 marketing season, says Delbert Bland, Sand Candy partner and owner of Glennville, Ga.-based Bland Farms owner.
Nashville, N.C.-based Nash Produce expects to have a strong sweet potato supply this year, says Thomas Joyner, president.
Faison, N.C.-based Nature’s Way Farms is a year-round grower, packer, and shipper of North Carolina conventional and organic sweet potatoes.
With better moisture this year, Bethel, N.C.-based Corey Produce expects a slightly bigger sweet potato crop in 2022, says spokesman Lee Corey.
North Carolina’s sweet potato harvest season is starting with fresh pricing up substantially compared with a year ago.
Wilson, N.C.-based Lancaster Farms has a strong quality sweet potato harvest coming on, says Derek Lancaster, grower with the company.
North Carolina sweet potato acreage is down but the quality is very good, reports Norman Brown, director of sweet potato sales for Wada Farms Marketing Group, Raleigh, N.C.
The conventional and organic mesh sweet potato bag designs are being unveiled at The Global Produce & Floral Show in Orlando, Fla.
Country Sweet Produce’s Bako Sweet sweet potatoes are now certified by the American Heart Association just in time to celebrate American Heart Month and National Sweet Potato Month..
U.S. sweet potato area harvested in 2021 totaled 152,700 acres (data collected only in California, Mississippi and North Carolina), off just 2% from 155,300 acres in 2020 and 4% higher than 146,700 acres in 2019.
The Baton Rouge-based Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission is celebrating its 70-year anniversary in 2022, a milestone that doesn’t even tell the complete story of the roots of sweet potatoes in the state.
One in three people surveyed in The Packer’s 2022 Fresh Trends report said they purchased fresh sweet potatoes in the past 12 months.
The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission is celebrating 60 years and a big part of that celebration has come from RFD TV’s Chip Carter’s new TV series called “Where the Food Comes From.”
Wynne, Ark.-based Matthews Ridgeview Farms is growing and has no plans to slow down, said Autumn Campbell, sales manager, speaking at the SEPC Southern Exposure expo in early March.
Wynne, Ark.-based Matthews Ridgeview Farms is the state’s largest grower/shipper of sweet potatoes, and the firm is expanding acreage again this year, says sales manager Autumn Campbell.
Peebles Organic, Augusta, Ark., is a USDA-certified organic vegetable operation that farms about 2,000 acres, said Shawn Peebles, owner and general manager.
Bakersfield, Calif.-based Country Sweet Produce’s Bako Sweet brand will offer retailers plenty of merchandising efforts in the historically quiet season for the sweet potato category.
Bakersfield, Calif.-based Country Sweet Produce’s Bako Sweet consumer brand is giving shoppers brightly colored, triple-washed and consistently sized sweet potatoes for Easter sales.
Part of that hard-won dominance is due to the state’s perfect combination of soils and temperatures that sweet potatoes need, says the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
To put the magnitude of North Carolina’s sweet potato crop in context, picture more than 13,000 refrigerated truckloads lining up to distribute the crop all across the U.S.
The USDA on May 16 announced plans to purchase sweet potatoes for distribution to various food nutrition assistance programs.
Ocean Mist Farms is making a major effort to increase its value-added line, and Progressive Produce LLC has had a busy year.
Bakersfield, Calif.-based Country Sweet Produce’s Bako Sweet is celebrating American Heart Month, National Sweet Potato Month, Valentine’s Day and Cook a Sweet Potato Day in February.
The brand says the revamped website features an enhanced experience for shoppers while serving as a resource to highlight sweet potatoes from the southern San Joaquin Valley of California.
North Carolina sweetpotato growers are hopeful that a continuing drop in acreage will lead to tighter supplies and stronger markets, as well as help them cope with inflation and skyrocketing costs.
An annual Research Field Day is among the activities the Benson-based North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission has scheduled for sweetpotato growers during the fall/winter season.