Potatoes being transplanted using 8 row
“It's been cold during the first plantings, and the Covington variety, which is the early one, doesn't like cold weather,” said Bobby Daughtry with Farm Fresh Produce. “So production could be 25 to 30 percent shorter than where we'd like to be.”
But production could still reach expected levels by Labor Day, which is when harvesting usually gets underway. It just depends on how plants react to conditions over the next few months.“Everyone is saying the stands and the population are not as thick as we'd like them to be,” said Daughtry. “There's a lot of interest in planting more sweet potatoes, and there was to be more planting. But this situation may hold back growth a little. There were more plantings, but we just need the plants to be there.” Part of the reason for so much interest has been good export sales in Europe.
“The market for sweet potatoes in Europe has been good,” said Daughtry. “That's brought more players, though, and that means we have to be more competitive.”
For more information:
Bobby Daughtry
Farm Fresh Produce
Tel: +1 910 920 9871
bobby@farm-fresh-produce.com
www.farm-fresh-produce.com