Although harvested acreage for sweet potatoes in California was slightly higher in 2011 than in 2010, the state's production dipped from one year to the next.According to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report, production of sweet potatoes was 6.39 million cwt. in 2010. By the next year, that figure fell by 9 percent to 5.82 million cwt. That lower production comes despite a rise in harvested acreage of one percent from 2010 to 2011. The dip, then, comes as a result of a lower yield, which, at 320 cwt. per acre, is 10 percent below 2010's yield.
National production jumped by 13 percent from 2010 to 2011. Total U.S. production in 2011 totaled 27.0 million cwt. At 129,700 acres, harvested acreage was up 11 percent from 2010 to 2011. National yield per acre, at 208 cwt., was up slightly in 2011.