NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RFD-TV) — Sweet potatoes remain one of the South’s most recognizable specialty crops, and they hold a prominent place on holiday tables across the United States. For U.S. producers, the crop represents both cultural heritage and an increasingly important revenue stream, driven by steady domestic consumption and expanding export markets.
According to Josh Maples with Mississippi State University, national sweet potato acreage topped 150,000 acres in 2024, with North Carolina planting 87,000 acres — 58 percent of U.S. acreage — and Mississippi following at 32,000 acres. California added another 18,000. Production in Mississippi is concentrated around Vardaman, while eastern counties anchor North Carolina’s supply chain. Louisiana, once a major producer, has declined sharply due to high costs, pest pressure, and an aging grower base.
Marketing remains a core challenge. Premium U.S. No. 1 roots capture the best prices, while canners and jumbos bring lower returns. This year, Mississippi growers faced higher shares of small roots, tightening margins.
Export growth offers a bright spot: shipments rose from 3 percent of total use in 2000 to 21 percent by 2022, with Canada, the U.K., and the Netherlands leading demand.
Looking ahead, producers remain focused on quality grades, marketing opportunities, and input cost management, which continue to shape the crop’s profitability.
Farm-Level Takeaway: Strong demand supports sweet potatoes, but grading challenges and rising costs weigh on returns for Southeastern growers.
Tony St. James, RFD-TV Markets Specialist
Splenda’s new stevia farm in Florida is the first of its kind in the United States. Thousands of plants produce millions of leaves that are then turned into plant-based stevia sweetener products. But how do they get the sweet stuff out?
October 31, 2023 09:00 AM
·
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke with RFD-TV’s own Susan Alexander this Monday morning on the Market Day Report to explain Arkansas’s recently passed giving lawmakers greater authority to sanction foreign ag-land ownership within the state.
October 30, 2023 12:51 PM
·
What does Splenda have to do with farming? Sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia are plant-based — so they are just not sugar, but are comprised of those other plants also grown on farms.
October 30, 2023 09:00 AM
·
Where the Food Comes From producer Donna Sanders takes us along on a behind-the-scenes look at filming the show’s newest episode, “Clemson Blue,” where university cheesemakers reveal how they put the “blue” in their award-winning blue cheese.
October 26, 2023 09:00 AM
·
It is in there, the mold — those rich blue veins in creamy blue cheese that make you either love it or loathe it — but how does it get there? This bonus scene from “Clemson Dairy,” Season 4, Episode 4 of
Where the Food Comes From, explains how and why that happens.
October 25, 2023 09:00 AM
·
No, it is not some new college course — Clemson has been making blue cheese since 1941, and the product has developed a worldwide following and won some pretty big awards. With good reason — it is fantastic stuff. It is also fascinating to see how it is made. Check out this sneak peek look at the latest episode of Where the Food Comes From, “Clemson Blue.”
October 24, 2023 11:32 AM
·
The machines do all the work at Hickory Hill Milk in South Carolina, and the pampered cows get on-demand service. The team at Where the Food Comes From shares a special, behind-the-scenes account filming the show’s newest episode, Robot Dairy, premiering this Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at 9:30 p.m. ET on RFD-TV!
October 19, 2023 09:00 AM
·
How does a robot milk a cow?
October 18, 2023 09:00 AM
·
The machines do all the work at Hickory Hill Milk in South Carolina, where the pampered cows get on-demand service. They make a premium cream line of milk you still have to shake. It is so good it is used to make the world-famous Clemson blue cheese.
October 17, 2023 01:55 PM
·
