California sweet potato yields up

Who doesn’t buy sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving? They’ll be widely consumed this week and over the weekend in everything from side dishes to desserts. Plus, yields seem to be up for California’s crop this season. “Our yields are up between 5 – 10% over last year,” said Larelle Miller, of Quail H Farms. “We had some excellent growing conditions and excellent harvest conditions which allowed us to extend our harvest season a little later than we would normally go. It gave the potatoes a chance to grow a little bit more to that optimum #1 size. We have a larger percentage of #1 availability this year.” About 90 percent of the farm’s volume is their own; the other 10% is from outside growers contracted within California. Distribution is centered around the Western United States and up into Canada.

Holiday pricing is reflected differently for the commodity compared to others, Miller says. Being right in the heart of Thanksgiving, prices are at their lowest for the biggest demand of their season. She says pricing in California is anywhere from $20 - $23. “We see really good demand from the end of October through December. January and February over the last couple of years have actually proven to be pretty good months in terms of movement,” she said. 

Harvest was completed last week and she anticipates good movement and good demand for the next few weeks. Regarding the recent severe weather in North Carolina after the effects of Hurricane Matthew she says they expect an increase in demand on the west coast. “We can help where they can’t. We can help fill those orders if they have shortages,” she said. “Nobody wishes any type of crop loss on anybody, but we are here if the industry needs us.”