U.S. domestic sweet potato shipments continue entering the last half of the shipping season which will wind down in late summer, just a the new harvest gets underway.
U.S. sweet potato harvested acreage rose by 23,300 acres in 2024 to 148,200, according to the USDA. And the U.S. Sweet potato Council Inc. of Dillsburg, PA, is expecting 2025’s acreage to be similar to last year’s.
North Carolina, Mississippi and California continue to be the leading U.S. producers of sweetpotatoes.
Vick Family Farms of Wilson, NC is celebrating 50 years.
The company broke ground last year for a new storage facility that should be in operation when new-crop potatoes arrive in the fall. The new crop will start planting in May, but the company has sweet potatoes stored in controlled-atmosphere buildings year-round.
During the 2024 season there was a drought early in the growing season, followed by excessive rain. As a result some areas reported from a 10% to 50% reduction in yields, the company reported.
USDA said the North Carolina harvested acreage rose to 86,500, up from 76,900 in 2023, but yields dropped to 150 cwt per acre, down from 195 cwt per acre.
Mississippi State University of Starkville, MS reported growers in Mississippi have tried to capitalize on the diminished yields in North Carolina this season.
MSU said harvested acreage should be the same or more this year than last year’s 31,500 acres, which was up from 29,000 acres in 2023.
AV Thomas of Livingston, CA ships sweet potatoes year-round but had sold out of its specialty Stokes purple sweet potatoes.
The company still had its four primary varieties on hand: red, orange, white and Japanese sweetpotatoes.
The company was finishing its hotbeds in mid-March. That’s where it grows transplants that will produce cuttings to be planted six or eight weeks later for its sweet potato crop, which will be harvested 90 to 120 days later.
The 2024 storage crop still was putting out good quality.
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