WINTER 2013
The President’s Message
by George Wooten , NC
T
his is my last newsletter as President of the Sweet Potato Council. It has been a pleasure serving you and I
hope that my words, positive or negative have been beneficial to our industry. I would like to make a correction from
my previous newsletter statement in regards to the 2012
North Carolina acreage remaining the same with just a slight
decrease — we have actually seen about a 10% decrease.
Even with this acreage decrease, the demand for sweet
potatoes continues to gain momentum. We are seeing steady
weekly growth as well as increased media coverage nationwide from Burger King and Carl’s Jr sweet potato fries promotions. It looks like 2013 will be another great year for us
in regards to increased growth in retail, food service, fast
food, school lunch programs and industrial uses. This is a
great time to maximize our hold on this growth and secure
the future of our industry.
(continued on Page 2)
2012 Sweet Potato Statistical Yearbook
Order Your Copy Now
USDA Sweet Potato Purchases:
A Very Strong Start
by Charles Walker, Executive Secretary
I
s Food and Nutrition Services of USDA finally recognizing the sweet potato as a
powerhouse of nutrition? Or,
did the Council have an effective meeting with USDA during its trip to Washington last
June? Could the assistance the
Council received from Peter
Gwynn-Sackson have been
effective?
(Note: Peter is a
legislative assistant in Louisiana
Senator Mary Landrieu’s Office.
At the request of the Council after
our meeting with him last June, he
contacted USDA on our behalf.)
Whatever the reason,
USDA sweet potato purchases
for the first month of the fiscal
year (October 1, 2012 through
September 1, 2013) already
exceeds the quantity purchased in all of the 2011-2012
fiscal year.
(continued on Page 2)
Next Board Meeting at
the 2013 Convention
in Charlotte
T
he next Board Meeting of
THE UNITED STATES
SWEET POTATO COUNCIL will
be held during the 2013 national
convention at 2:00 PM in the
Harris Room, 2nd Floor of the
Westin Hotel, on Sunday, January 20, 2013. The Board will also meet the next day (January
21) in the same location at 5:00

PM.
T
he 10th year of publication of the Council’s Sweet Potato
Statistical Yearbook has been expanded to include tables
and charts of :
(1) weekly FOB prices of U.S. #2 and Jumbo sweet potatoes;
(2) weighted average retail price of sweet potatoes appearing in
weekly retail ad circulars and the number of retail stores represented by those retail ad circulars for 2008-2011;
(3) weighted average retail prices of sweet potatoes represented
in weekly ad circulars for 2008-2011, vegetables appearing in retail ad circulars and the sum of the number of stores represented by those ad circulars for each vegetable for 2011;
(4) total monthly exports of sweet potatoes by quantity and value
(continued on Page 6)
Group rate available
until December 27, 2012.
Subject to Availability.
Recognition of 2012 Associate Members
Dr. Don La Bonte (left) and Scott Stoddard collect harvest weights
from a grower strip trial near Livingston, CA, on October 17, 2012.
We always bow down to the
Council’s Associate Members
and thank them over and over
for their financial contributions.
Associate Members are those
that not only have an interest in
the U.S. Sweet Potato Industry,
but are willing to confirm that
interest by making an additional
(continued on Page 3)
Page 2
National SWEET POTATO Newsletter
Sweet Potato Production in the U.S. Since 1932
by Charles Walker, Executive Secretary
S
weet potato production in
the U.S. peaked in the year
1932 at 4.76 billion pounds
when the population was about
125 million. Production has not
reached 4 billion pounds since
1935, and after 1932, it continued to decrease until it bottomed out at 1.09 billion
pounds in 1988.
For 38 years, 1965 through
2002, production remained
below 1.5 billion pounds. In
2003, production exceeded 1.5
billion pounds and has remained above 1.5 billion
pounds every year since 2002.
Since 2002, production has
increased by 111 percent, as
U.S. growers added 1.42 billion
pounds of production to reach
2.70 billion pounds in 2011,
when population was 312 million (see Figure 1, below).

USDA Purchases ……... (from Page 1)
For the full fiscal year, 2011-2012, USDA purchased
12,696,600 pounds. During this past October alone, USDA
has already purchased 12,892,176 pounds. This 12,892,176
pounds consist of: 2,255,376 pounds of canned; 316,800
pounds of frozen; 80,000 pounds of fresh sweet potatoes; and
10,240,000 pounds of bulk fresh sweet potatoes.
All sweet potato growers should be thankful for USDA. 
President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (from Page 1)
I would like to thank
Charles Walker for his help
this past year and especially
for his efforts with the sweet
potato Google search information. These searches provide us with good insight into
what our consumers are thinking and searching for in regards to our sweet potatoes.
I would also like to encourage everyone to work with us
in gaining new associate members. The extra revenue generated by additional memberships could assist us all with
joint promotions and addition-
al marketing opportunities.
With the increased interest in
our industry this is a great
time to encourage new partners to join and support us in
our efforts.
Please make sure that you
have marked your calendars
for the 51st National Sweet
Potato Convention on January 20-22, 2013, to be held at
the Westin in Charlotte, North
Carolina. I look forward to
seeing everyone.
All the best for a Merry
Christmas and an extraordinary New Year.

Figure 1. Total Production of U.S. Sweet Potatoes, 1932-2011
(in million cwt).
Source: 2012 Sweet Potato Statistical Yearbook
Winter 2013
National Sweet Potato Collaborators Group
to Meet in Orlando, FL
Specialty Crop Initiative Project,
they will meet on Friday,
February 1, 2013.
Venue
The venue for the meeting will
be the Wyndham Orlando Resort
(8001 International Drive,
Orlando, FL 32819).
Phone
number for the resort is (407)
351-2420. For reservations, call
1-800-421-8001.
Deadline for group rates is
January 11, 2013. Group rates
are $149 for single/double, and
$169 for triple/quad. To get the
group rate, just identify yourself
as part of the Southern
Association of Agricultural
Scientists.

A
ccording to Arnold Caylor,
Chairman of the Sweet
Potato Collaborators Group, the
Collaborators will be meeting in
Orlando, FL, in February 2013.
The Collaborators will be one of
8 different working groups that
will be part of a joint meeting with
the Southern Region of the
American Society for Horticulture
Science (SRASHS).
The SRASHS meeting will
take place February 2-5, 2013,
and the Sweet Potato
Collaborators Group will meet on
February 2-3 (Saturday and
Sunday). For attendees
participating and interested in the
Sweet Potato Exports by State
T
he growth in exports of
U.S. grown sweet potatoes
has been well publicized in previous issues of this newsletter
and in previous issues of the
Council’s Statistical Yearbook.
This is the first year that the
Council has had access to
sweet potato exports by state.
Table 1, below, provides
exports by state for the past 10
years. Newsletter readers can
get more details on exports by
referring to pages 34 through 39
in the Council’s 2012 Sweet
Potato Statistical Yearbook. 
Table 1. U.S. Exports of Sweet Potatoes by State, in metric tons,
2002 through 2011 (excluding Canada).
Year
CA
LA
MS
NC
Others
Total
2002
241
1,084
0
3,405
1,073
5,803
2003
989
1,518
198
2,734
1,838
7,277
2004
622
1,629
1,369
3,555
575
7,750
2005
606
397
0
8,315
99
9,417
2006
655
1,377
2,185
11,092
341
15,650
2007
1,611
385
2,667
12,252
5,078
21,993
2008
3,011
193
0
14,860
10,592
28,65
2009
309
138
0
20,937
13,278
34,662
2010
410
23
0
31,845
8,303
40,581
2011
193
0
159
40,991
4,723
46,066
Total
8,647
6,744
6,578
149,986
45,900
217,855
Alabama Crop Update
by Arnold Caylor, Superintendent
N. Alabama Horticulture Research Center
Cullman, AL
M
ost of Alabama’s crop has been
harvested. We had pretty good
growing conditions for most of the
year. The southern part of the state
received a considerable amount of
rainfall in certain parts of Baldwin
County. The northern part of the
state experienced about 3 weeks of
dry weather and high temperatures
during June. The weather has been
ideal during the harvest season.
Most of the crop has been harvested
and is in storage.
The main cultivars grown here are
Covington, Beauregard, and some
Evangeline. Growers have reported
good to better than good yields
throughout the state. Movement of
the crop has been good so far.

Winter 2013
National SWEET POTATO Newsletter
Recognition of 2012 Associate Members
Labor Issues Update
(from Page 1)
investment in our Industry and in the activities of the Council. (Note: Associate Memberships received after this issue of the Newsletter goes to press will be
recognized in a subsequent issue of the Newsletter.)
Our 2012 Associate Members are:
Name
Company, City and State
Gary Hamaguchi
Hamaguchi Family Farms, Hilmar, CA
Manuel Vieira
A. V. Thomas, Inc., Livingston, CA
Amount
50.00
1,000.00
Sarah Alvernaz
California Sweet Potato Growers, Livingston, CA
Bob Scheuerman
(retired) Merced, CA
50.00
Robert Chad
Chad Ranch, Winton, CA
50.00
250.00
Robert Chad
Kishi Brothers Farms, Inc., Winton, CA
50.00
Mac Johnson
Category Partners, Aurora, CO
50.00
Brian Stanley
Vidalia=s Best, Vidalia, GA
50.00
Kelsey McKoin
McHe Farms, Bonita, LA
Kalvin R. Keys
Conagra Foods Lamb Weston, Delhi, LA
750.00
250.00
50.00
Norman Brown, Jr.
Bruce Foods Corporation, New Iberia, LA
Walter G. Tuma
Libuse, LA
Tom Tallackson
Crary Industries, Lino Lakes, MN
Jimmy Turner
Pluck Produce, Belzoni, MS
David Hood
First South Farm Credit, Calhoun City, MS
Doug Jones
Vardaman, MS
Anthony Totta
Grow My Profits, Lees Summit, MO
50.00
Joe Donio
Joe Donio Farms, Hammonton, NJ
100.00
Jane McCormack
McCormack Farms, Middletown, NJ
400.00
Andy Penny
Angier, NC
William R. Keith
Crown Cork & Seal, Arden, NC
500.00
Chris Williford
C. Williford Farms, LLC., Benson, NC
500.00
Ronnie Jackson
Clinton Truck & Tractor Company, Clinton, NC
Henry Chancy
Millstream Farms, Dunn, NC
George Massengill
Hill Top Farms, Inc., Four Oaks, NC
250.00
Christopher C. Lee
Lee & Sons Farms, Four Oaks, NC
250.00
Frank Howell
Howell Farming Co., Goldsboro, NC
250.00
Fermer Lee Allen
Maury, NC
50.00
100.00
50.00
100.00
50.00
50.00
500.00
1,000.00
50.00
Donnell Kornegay, Jr. Kornegay Farms, Inc., Mt. Olive, NC
50.00
John W. Kimber
50.00
Kimber & Co., Raleigh, NC
Jimmy Robinson
Jimmy Robinson Truck Brokers, Rose Hill, NC
Garry M. Thomas
Gary Thomas Farms, Sanford, NC
Pender Sharp
Sharp Farms, Sims, NC
James W. McKenzie
McKenzie Farms, Smithfield, NC
John C. Barnes
Barnes Farming Corporation, Spring Hope, NC
Clay Strickland
Spring Acres Sales Co., Spring Hope, NC
50.00
Terry Strickland
Strickland Enterprises, Spring Hope, NC
250.00
Joseph D. Teachey
JDT Farming, LLC, Wallace, NC
250.00
50.00
150.00
50.00
1,000.00
50.00
Butch Parker
International Paper, Wilson, NC
50.00
M.L. Pridgen
Pridgen Farms, Inc., Wilson, NC
100.00
Jerome Vick
Vick Family Farms Partnership, Wilson, NC
Gregg Halverson
Blackgold Farms, Grand Forks, ND
Tom Tallackson
Lockwood, West Fargo, ND
Isaac Matthews
Lansing Trade Group, Maumee, OH
Jerry Gallop
Gallop Farm, Erhardt, SC
100.00
Mitt Carter
CSS Farms, Waterdown, SD
100.00
Vinson L. Dellinger
George=s Plant Farm, Martin, TX
50.00
Darin Borders
Darin Borders Farms, Center, TX
50.00
Warren Henninger
Ag World Support Systems, Moses Lake, WA
TOTAL
50.00
1,000.00
500.00
50.00
500.00
11,350.00
Page 3
by Brian Breaux
Public Policy Coordinator, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
F
or the last several years, the United States Sweet
Potato Council has worked to inform members of
Congress on the problems that exist with current labor
laws and regulations that make it difficult to employ
labor to produce sweet potatoes in the U.S. The
Council’s visits have been beneficial as several members of Congress have introduced legislation to address agricultural labor problems.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss introduced S. 1384, “The
Harvest Act” that would fix most of the problems in
the current H-2A Visa Program. Rep. Jack Kingston
introduced H.R. 3443, “The Barn Act” that would fix
several problems in the H-2A Visa Program and expand H-2A workers’ eligibility to work in agricultural
packing and processing. Rep. Lamar Smith introduced
H.R. 2847, “The American Specialty Agriculture Act”
that offered a new H-2C Visa Program, significantly
better than the current H-2A Visa Program. The H2C Program would replace the H-2A Program after 2
years with the only downside, an annual numerical
cap of 500,000 workers.
Rep. Daniel Ludgren, introduced H.R. 2895, the
“Legal Agricultural Workforce Act” a different approach that creates a new W agricultural Visa where
foreign workers are authorized Visa entry into the
country based on U.S. farmers’ request agricultural
workers on a USDA registry. W workers could move
to work for any farmer who applied for workers on
the registry. The downside is W workers would not be
required to complete a work contract before departing
to work for another farmer and farmers who apply
would have no guarantee that W worker(s) would
show up to work at their farm. Farmers employing W
Visa workers would also have to pay FICA and FUTA taxes into a Trust Fund.
However, Rep.
Ludgren’s bill creates a new category of mobile visa
workers that would help producers with fluctuating
labor needs.
While all of these bills protect U.S. workers and
alleviate certain labor problems for some farmers,
with the 112th Congress drawing to a close, none of
these bills will become law in 2012.
However, there have been changes that affect agricultural labor. Earlier this year, the U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement issued a memo permitting
“prosecutorial discretion” or deferred action for young
illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. before the
age of 16 who are 30 years of age or younger. This
will allow some 800,000 previously undocumented
individuals who have been in the U.S. for the last 5
years who are in school or have graduated high school
or have a GED, or in military service and have no
more than 2 misdemeanor convictions a new authority
to get a work permit and remain in the U.S. and be
legally employed. The new work permit workers may
provide a new source of legal labor for farmers.
However, be aware that since work permit workers do
not have an I-94 (issued to visa workers) or U.S. legal
residency status, they fail to have the documents necessary to get a Driver’s License in most States.
Therefore, until States amend their Drivers License
laws to include this work permit, these workers can
work but will be unable to drive a vehicle.
(continued on Page 5)
Page 4
National SWEET POTATO Newsletter
Louisiana Producers Harvest Average Crop in 2012
North Carolina Sweetpotato
Industry Update, Fall 2012
LSU AgCenter Releases Two New Sweet Potato Varieties
by Tara P. Smith
by Dr. Jonathan R. Schultheis
Extension Specialist/Research Coordinator
LSU AgCenter Sweet Potato Research Station, Chase, LA
L
ouisiana sweet potato producers are harvesting an
average crop this year and as of
November 5, 2012 approximately 90% of the crop had
been harvested statewide.
Sweet potato planting in Louisiana began in late April and
extended into July in a few
cases. Planting conditions were
favorable for the majority of
plantings; however some producers dealt with heat and
drought conditions on a portion
of the planted crop.
Generally speaking, planting conditions were much improved compared to the 2011
season. Later plantings did require supplemental irrigation in
some cases to achieve adequate
soil moisture to plant the crop.
Approximately 75% of Louisiana’s sweet potato acreage can
be irrigated. Most producers
across the state received occasional rainfall throughout the
production season which benefited crop development. Louisiana producers planted approximately 11,000 acres of sweet
potatoes in 2012, a 15% decrease compared to 2011, according to USDA- NASS statistics.
Harvest of the crop began in
late August with most producers initiating harvest operations
around the 10th of September.
Rainfall received in conjunction with Hurricane Isaac
ranged from 1-5 inches across
the state. Losses attributed to
the storm were minimal with
some loss occurring in low
lying areas. Weather conditions
during the harvest season have
been favorable for the most
part. The majority of yields
reported thus far have been
average to slightly above average.
In-season insect pressure has
been light overall during 2012.
For the second consecutive
year, there have been few reports of sugarcane beetle damage. Many producers adjusted
their insect control programs
following the 2010 season,
when several producers realized excessive loss from this
insect. The LSU AgCenter was
awarded a $75,000 Specialty
Crop Grant from the Louisiana
Department of Agriculture and
Forestry in 2012. The proposed
research will focus on elucidating the biology and ecology
and further refining management strategies for the sugarcane beetle.
New Varieties
The LSU AgCenter released
two new sweet potato varieties
in 2012 out of Dr. Don LaBonte’s breeding program. ‘LA
07-146’ is a deep orange flesh,
red to slightly purple skinned
sweet potato. The red color is
attractive, but untested in the
fresh market. Sugar content is
similar to the Evangeline variety; however it has a more firm
texture when baked. Production
characteristics in plant beds are
similar to ‘Beauregard’. Its
most salient attribute is yield- it
consistently yields 15-20 %
higher in comparison to
‘Beauregard’ (U.S. #1 and Total yield) – an obvious strength.
However, shape is not as consistent as ‘Orleans’; some striations (grooves) and flat sides
are found due to heavy storage
root set. Shape is slightly improved over ‘Beauregard’, but
root to root variability does
exist. The days to harvest are
similar to ‘Beauregard’. Disease characteristics are similar
to ‘Beauregard’ except for
higher levels of resistance to
root knot nematode.
‘LA 07-146’ is new in many
ways. It is licensed to ConAgra
Foods given its superior processing characteristics. In LA,
it can also be grown as a fresh
market variety. Out of state
production is restricted and
requires a license from
ConAgra Foods. A name will
be given once it is sold in the
fresh market.
‘Orleans’ is an orange flesh,
light rose skinned sweet potato
(see photo on Page 6). It is a
twin to ‘Beauregard’ in many
ways. Skin and flesh color are
similar to ‘Beauregard’ and the
sugar profiles are identical to
‘Beauregard’ so flavor is unchanged. Production character(continued on Page 5)
Winter 2013
Professor & Extension Specialist, Dept. Horticultural Science
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
A
s of the end of October,
about 85 to 90% of the 2012
North Carolina sweetpotato crop
had been harvested. The 2012
season started out very hot until
about mid-July after which temperatures were mild. Rainfall was
abundant through out the growing season and in some production areas it was too wet. The
early planting of the sweetpotato
crop began in mid-May and most
planting was completed in June.
Yield from the early planting and
early harvest was below average
due to relatively low root set per
plant. Later harvests were generally better with average to
slightly above average yields for
most North Carolina sweetpotato
growers. North Carolina anticipates an average yielding crop.
Planted acreage for 2012 was
comparable to 2011 acreage
which was about 65,000 acres.
The good news is that with the
increased acreage, there are
new and more sweetpotato products being marketed at the grocery store with certainly much
more selection than just a few
short years ago. There is not
just one sweetpotato chip product, but many; ridged, salted,
baked, cinnamon flavor, and a
variety of other seasonings.
There are a number of sweetpotato French fry products, steak
fry cut, waffle and the more traditional cuts, as well as various
package quantities of product.
No fry products or maybe one or
two fry products were available
10 years ago. Today, there are
convenience products; frozen
sweetpotato casserole and frozen sweetpotato mash to name
just two. And finally, there are
beverages such as sweetpotato
beer and sweetpotato is included
in various health drinks.
There has been an explosion
of sweetpotato products offered
at the retail level, but also it has
become more common to see
sweetpotato products offered at
restaurants and even fast food
chains like Burger King. There is
also good demand for fresh market sweetpotatoes internationally,
especially in Europe. This is all
good news as sweetpotato acreage continues to increase nationally and especially in North Carolina.
As mentioned in the previous
newsletter, the NC 07-847 clone
is very much being considered
for release as a variety. Craig
Yencho, NC State University
sweetpotato breeder, is very
bullish on its release. To reiterate, when this variety is cut fresh,
it has a dark yellow to light orange flesh color. However, when
it is cooked it turns an attractive
yellow. It has excellent eating
quality as its texture is much
smoother and drier than orange
flesh sweetpotatoes.
Research Programs
Other research and extension
programs at NC State University
continue to evaluate ways to
better and more consistently
produce sweetpotatoes. This
involves our seed and micropropation program headed by Dr.
Pesic van-Esbroeck; our cultural
management program which
evaluates such things as plant
bed management, stand establishment, irrigation and fertilization directed by Dr. Schultheis;
weed management headed by
Dr. Jennings; and insect management directed by Dr. Abney.
Several research studies in
2012 focused on drip irrigation as
a means to improve production
and quality of sweetpotatoes,
and a method to apply herbicides
and insecticides, and control
pests. Preliminary results indicate that there was likely not
much yield advantage to using
drip irrigation; however, it was an
unusually wet year. Results for
this and the other drip irrigation
studies will be presented at winter NC sweetpotato grower meetings. We will be able to begin to
determine the relationship between soil moisture and root set,
which is one of the primary goals
of the Specialty Crops Research
grant that has been ongoing for
three years.
Probably one of the keenest
areas of interest is finding ways
to reduce harvest labor costs.
Most of the sweetpotatoes in
North Carolina are harvested
with a disk plow. In other words,
the sweetpotatoes are turned up
in the row and laborers come
behind with buckets and pick up
the roots. With labor continuing
to increase in cost and becoming
(continued on Page 5)
Winter 2013
National SWEET POTATO Newsletter
T
he warm, dry fall that central California has had this
year is supposed to end Friday,
November 9, when a cold storm
is predicted. There are still a lot
of sweetpotatoes to harvest,
however, and so the race is on to
finish the season before then.
California grows a lot more
acres than it did just 10 years
ago, which makes it very difficult to finish harvest before October 31, the traditional end of
the season. In fact, it rarely
happens anymore, and sometimes we are still digging even
after Thanksgiving.
I am guilty of delayed harvest
as well – two major test plots, an
irrigation trial and a large fumigation test, are still in the
ground. One of these is planted
to Diane, a variety that is very
sensitive to cold temperatures
that usually occur with a delayed
harvest. Diane roots harvested
cold store poorly, and if used for
seed, are much more likely to rot
in the bed or produce weak
transplants.
Central California experienced a very hot summer this
year, with both August and September going down in the record
books as the hottest months on
record. According to the California Irrigation Management
Information System (CIMIS) for
Merced, June through October
evapotranspiration (ET) was
10% greater than long-tem averages; August was almost 20%
above average. The practical
implications of this are that additional water was needed to grow
a crop for maximum potential
yield, of course. But since
sweetpotatoes are very heat tolerant, it is more difficult to say
how the extra heat affected the
crop.
Overall, I estimate crop
yields to be better than last year
Labor Issues
(from Page 3)
As we move into 2013, there
are high hopes for a new comprehensive agricultural labor proposal recently released by the
American Farm Bureau Federation. The proposal would create a
new Ag Card for legal employment of previously undocumented
agricultural workers and two Visa
categories to employ either Contract or At-Will (mobile) Visa workers. All U.S. farmers with worker
shortages would be eligible. The
Farm Bureau proposal may be the
silver bullet we have been looking
for in the 113th Congress.

California Sweet Potato Update
by C. Scott Stoddard
Farm Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, Merced, CA
for all varieties except Diane:
the hot summer followed by a
very warm (and dry for now) fall
allowed fields to fully mature. I
estimate overall production
slightly more than 650 million
pounds. Covington fields I have
seen have looked very good,
with excellent yield and quality.
This was the first year of
commercial production for
Bonita, and most growers have
given it satisfactory marks, with
improved quality and production
as compared to O’Henry. Depending on how well it does in
storage, I expect rapid adoption
of this new cultivar in 2013.
Even with marginal storage
characteristics, most growers
will happily replace O’Henry,
which has had very erratic production in the last few years.
In response to the over supply situation of last year, Murasaki was grown on substantially
less acreage, and prices have
risen to more sustainable levels
as a result. The higher price that
Murasaki commands is necessary, as this variety produces
less yield than any other, and
needs at least 140 days of good
growing weather to fully mature.
New Release
A promising new release that
certainly does not need a long
time to develop is a new red
skinned cultivar from Don La
Bonte called L-04-175. Based
on strip tests in multiple locations this year, I estimate this
one could be harvested in as
little as 100 days, with signifi-
cant jumbo production when left
in the ground for more than 125
days.
Overall yield potential is very
good; skin color is maroon with
deep orange flesh; shape is
chunky but can get bally depending on the soil; appears to
be highly resistant to root knot
nematodes. Eating quality is
similar to Beauregard, so it
lacks the sweetness that characterized Garnet, but otherwise
looks competitive with Diane.
But whether it will replace this
variety, which has been a stalwart of the red yam market for
more than 20 years, will depend
much on its storage characteristics — something we won’t really know until after next year and
there is limited commercial production.
Harvest Field Day
New lines continue to be
evaluated in the Advanced Line
Trial, which generates a lot of
grower interest. I again held a
harvest field day and BBQ this
year on October 17 so that growers could see new (and newer)
lines as they come up from the
ground. Don La Bonte and Joon
from LSU were also in attendance to take notes on the roots
and go over the licensing policies being implemented for new
releases.
Tara Smith will be happy to
know that food safety issues
were also discussed as part of
the overall goals of the SCRI
project. About 35 growers and
consultants took time from their
Louisiana Update . . . . . . . . . . (from Page 4)
istics in plant beds and the
field (days to harvest) are similar to ‘Beauregard’. Same for
disease resistance – just like
‘Beauregard’. Even the plant
canopy is similar in appearance.
So what makes ‘Orleans’
different? Well, yield is not really any different from
‘Beauregard’ – in fact you
might see fewer jumbos, but the
grade out is improved due to
quality. It is more uniform in
shape so what we see is an improvement in “rank”. ‘Orleans’
more often than not will edge
out ‘Beauregard’ in yield of
U.S. #1’s. This is important because the fresh market industry
is demanding greater root to
root consistency in shape.
‘Orleans’ has a remarkable
similarity to ‘Beauregard’ in
the way it is grown – a plus to
growers. The improved shape
should give producers and advantage in the markets and ultimately contribute to improved
profits.
‘Orleans’ is also a patented
and protected variety that is being licensed through the LSU
AgCenter. There are no restrictions on marketing the variety into fresh market or processing venues. Please contact
the LSU AgCenter for more in
formation.
Page 5
busy days to attend. The California sweetpotato industry is
very appreciative of the collaborative breeding programs with
both LSU and NCSU.

NC Update
(from Page 4)
more difficult to find, alternative
harvest strategies are being investigated and deployed. Some of the
first dedicated sweetpotato harvesters were delivered to NC in
August from Europe and the industry was able to see an on-farm
demonstration of this new equipment in action a month later at
NC’s sweetpotato field day.
The idea that stuck with me
most was that the initial estimate
provided by the grower in which
he indicated that cost per bushel
of sweetpotato was reduced 80%
with the machine harvester versus
using hand harvest. In time, we
will see whether this number is accurate or needs to be revised.
However, I think that this venture
into machine harvest is likely the
beginning of where a significant
part of the industry may be headed over the next few years, and
may change the sweetpotato industry forever.
There are many questions regarding sweetpotato machine harvest yet to be answered. For example, we still need to determine
whether machine harvested
sweetpotato damage is minimal
enough to allow for fresh market
sales.
One other piece of equipment
that is being used on more NC
farms is a harvester modeled after
the one used for harvesting white
potatoes; in other words, a chain
digger. This would be used instead of the disk plow and lay the
roots on the soil surface as opposed to inverting the roots in the
row. The advantage being found
with a chain digger is that the labor can more easily find the
sweetpotatoes and thus 10-15%
more product is picked up and not
left in the field. Although this efficiency appears to be realized, the
draw back seems to be the potential or reality of increased skinning
of the sweetpotatoes.
This continues to be an exciting time for the sweetpotato industry as we move forward. We hope
you will attend the USA Sweet Potato Council which will be hosted
in North Carolina by the North
Carolina Sweet Potato Commission in January. We look forward
to hosting the event and visiting

with you in Charlotte, NC.
Page 6
National SWEET POTATO Newsletter
A new patented sweet potato
variety the LSU AgCenter released in 2012, the Orleans (right)
has more uniform shape consistency than the Beauregard.
Winter 2013
Yearbook …….... (from Page 1)
by exporting state and recipient country
for the years 2002-2011; and
(5) a summary of Mexican sweet potato
production, 1961-2010, and trade, 19612009.
For more information about the
National Sweet Potato Newsletter or THE UNITED STATES
SWEET POTATO COUNCIL,
To order your copy, make a check for
$20.00 payable to: THE UNITES STATES
SWEET POTATO COUNCIL and mail to:
THE UNITED STATES
SWEET POTATO COUNCIL
12 Nicklaus Lane, Suite 101
Columbia, SC 29229
contact: Charles Walker
Tel (803) 788-7101
CWalker12@ bellsouth.net
www.SweetPotatoUSA.org
12 Nicklaus Lane, Suite 101
Columbia, SC 29229
Merry Christmas & a Happy and Prosperous New Year To All Sweet Potato Growers