United States: Sweet potato area in North Carolina reduced by 40%

North Carolina's sweet potato crop has been reduced for the 2023-2024 season. The state is responsible for 60 percent of the national harvest and is seeing its second consecutive year of reduced farmland; overall, the area has declined by about 40 percent in the past two years. “In 2021, the acreage was 42,068 hectares and in 2022 it dropped to approximately 33,961 hectares,” said Thomas Joyner, president of Nash Produce, indicating that the estimated 2023 acreage dropped to 26,300 hectares. “Although the quality of what we are harvesting is as good as we have had and yields are slightly above average.” The harvest started two weeks later than usual in North Carolina. The planting was postponed by two weeks due to the cold spring. The harvest is expected to end in mid-November. That is slightly earlier than normal due to the smaller area. Meanwhile, in other states, such as California, Mississippi and Louisiana, the acreage has remained relatively the same. Costs and areaThe ...