US (NC): Dry conditions slow down sweet potato planting

“There's not much left of last year's crop,” said Steven Ceccarelli of Farm Fresh Produce. “This year, supply has been very short.” He cited a rainy July last year as the reason for the low volume, which he estimated was between 30 and 35 percent lower than the previous year's crop. Those wet conditions last year caused growers to hold off transplanting their crop for the month, and by the time conditions cleared up and were finally able to transplant, it was too late for growers, who feared it was too late in the season to risk the dangers of frost. As a result, fewer acres were planted last year and the effects of that can be seen in a tight market today.

“As a result, pricing has been at an all-time high,” said Ceccarelli. “Whether for the domestic or export market, I don't think any exporter of sweet potatoes has ever seen the sweet potato market be this active. This is an exceptional year, yet frustrating because you wish you had more.” In order to have more supplies for the upcoming harvest, growers are busy planting right now. But in a reversal from last year, where rain caused delays in planting, this year's lack of moisture has done something similar, though not to the same extent as last year.

“It's crucial that sweet potatoes have moisture when they're transplanted in the field,” explained Ceccarelli. “We had hot days with no rain last week, so we didn't want to introduce the plants to the field and have them stressed from the start, so we're just waiting for showers.” He noted that they're about two weeks behind in planting from where they'd like to be, and they're working hard to get caught up.

“Provided we don't have another weather anomaly like we had last year, we have the makings for a good crop,” said Ceccarelli. “It's still early, and it's not over until we have everything in storage, but once all the plants are in the ground everyone will feel a little relief.”

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Steven Ceccarelli

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