As the storage supply of sweet potatoes in North Carolina is winding down, growers and shippers are looking ahead at the upcoming crop. "Some people are digging now which is rough because of all the rain. The sweet potatoes won't store as long," says Cliff Pilson of CV Pilson Farm.
CV Pilson will begin harvesting its sweet potatoes next month.
CV Pilson Farm starts with its new crop of sweet potatoes in mid-October, which it harvests for three weeks. As of now, the crop looks pretty good, says Pilson. "The rain affects the sweet potatoes at different stages. For those already digging because their potatoes are ready, they may have problems such as rot. When they're not ready yet, the rain is mostly going to wash your fertilizer out so you may have to put more out and it can slow down the sizing-up process," he says, adding that there may be a slight yield reduction given the rains did impact some of that fertilizer being reapplied. "Some people had wetter fields that needed to be dug now. Those being harvested between now and the first week of September will be affected more than the ones that are ready mid-September to mid-October."
Month of rain this summer
The rain has been significant in parts of North Carolina this summer. Pilson estimates that from mid-July to mid-August, his region in Cameron, NC received 16 inches of rain which impacted some of the fieldwork for that month. Then this week temperatures spiked in the region.
The grower is hoping that sweet potato pricing will be stronger than last year's pricing.
As for demand, it's anticipated to be good for sweet potatoes and Pilson hopes pricing will also be stronger than last year's pricing. "The market is always volatile. It can be high one year and then the next year, it bottoms out at $12/box. I'm a packer too and at the end, a market of $12/box is awful," he says, noting that at Christmas last year, box pricing was at about $14/box. "I'd like to think that since last year started a little light, it might be better this year. It's very difficult to grow sweet potatoes and get good yields and keep the operations going so we need good pricing."
For more information:
Cliff Pilson
CV Pilson Farm
Tel: +1 (910) 245-4285
https://cvpilsonfarm.com/