Mississippi's 2025 sweet potato crop is expected to finish well below average, with yields down 20% to 30% compared to last year, according to the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Dry conditions, delayed planting, and limited irrigation have reduced root size and overall crop value.
Lorin Harvey, sweet potato specialist with the MSU Extension Service in Pontotoc, said about 70% of the state's crop had been harvested by mid-October. "We definitely had a bumper crop last year, and this year will end up being below average. Several operations have reported a 20% to 30% drop in yield compared to last year's crop," Harvey said. "It's a combination of things."
Rainfall shortages were the primary challenge. Some areas went more than 70 days without measurable rain, and only about 10% to 15% of the state's sweet potato acreage, around 13,000 hectares out of 32,000 acres, has access to irrigation. The MSU Extension weather station in Houston, Mississippi, recorded 6.5 inches of rain since late June, less than half the historical average of 15 inches.
"You can't go that long and grow a decent crop," Harvey said. The season was also delayed by rain during planting, which pushed schedules back several weeks. Harvesting began in late August and is expected to continue through the first week of November.
"The root numbers and quality are there, but the potatoes are very small," Harvey said. "Small size reduces their value. Plus, sweet potatoes are sold by weight. Smaller potatoes mean there is less weight overall of the crop to sell."
Harvest has been about 10 days behind schedule as growers waited for rainfall to help improve sizing. Even late in the season, Harvey said, rain helped sweet potato vines fill out and improve tuber development.
Insect and disease pressures were typical for the year, and high temperatures caused less damage than the extended drought. Most of the crop is now being washed and prepared for sale, with peak demand around Thanksgiving.
Prices initially started strong following a crop failure in North Carolina, the nation's largest sweet potato producer, after Hurricane Helene in 2024. However, prices have since fallen as Mississippi's harvest progressed.
Caleb Englert, president of both the Mississippi and U.S. Sweet Potato Councils, said growers are facing pressure from low prices and rising input costs. "Just like any farmers out there, they're feeling the pressure from the banks, the crops, and the low prices," Englert said. "Some growers are throwing Hail Marys, hoping to live to fight another year."
Englert, who farms about 60 hectares of sweet potatoes in Chickasaw County, said most producers in the state rely on the H-2A visa program for seasonal labor. "We go through the right channels," he said. "It's too much of a risk to run and not do it the right way."
Source: FarmProgress
