Sweet potato growers in California have just completed planting. They say the planting season was about two weeks behind schedule due to the cool and rainy weather in spring. However, this is not expected to affect harvest dates too much as some fields should be ready in time for the scheduled first picking dates towards the end of July.
"Planting was about two weeks behind schedule due to the cool and rainy spring," said Darren Barfield of Quail H Farms. "It started off well, but then it got cooler and as a result, the plants weren't quite ready in time for when we got going, pushing everything back. Some of the fields did get planted early enough to meet the late July, early August first harvest dates. The bulk of the harvest occurs from the end of August through to October.
Darren Barfield
Barfield, who also serves as the President of the California Sweet Potato Council, expects the state's overall volume to be consistent with previous years. "No significant new acreage has been planted and there is nothing to indicate whether yields will be higher or lower this year, so we can expect consistent volume for the upcoming season," he said.
Storage crop should last to new crop
Unlike their counterparts in the eastern United States, California sweet potato producers expect their storage crop to last until the new crop arrives. A good season last year bolstered supplies. "We have a good amount of storage supply remaining," Barfield noted. "Our goal is to continue selling storage potatoes up until we get the new crop in."
He added that the market has been soft up until this point, which is surprising given the relatively short supply in the broader market. However, this is set to change within the next month. "The market has been a bit soft which was unexpected. But in the last two weeks, we have started to get phone calls from customers that don't normally source from California. There is a good chance that as supplies get tighter nationally, prices will steadily increase."
Quail H Farms grows a number of different sweet potato varieties, including Diane, Covington, Bellevue, Murasaki and Bonita. "We also trial specialty varieties at times," Barfield shared. "Additionally, around 35 - 40 percent of our crop is made up of organic sweet potatoes, a category where we have maintained steady supplies in recent years."
For more information:
Darren Barfield
Quail H Farms
Ph: +1 (209) 394-8001
dbarfield@quailhfarms.com
www.quailhfarms.com