The staff at Quail H Farms in Livingston, CA, looks to advance innovation and collaboration in the sweet potato business. In business since 2008, the company’s ownership and staff are “young” compared to other sweet potato companies. “We are fairly new to the industry when you consider a lot of the sweet potato companies in Livingston have been growing and shipping for 50 or 60 years,” explained Larelle Miller, sales manager. “We come into the industry with fresh eyes and we feel that brings innovation.”

Due to their sweetness and pleasant texture, sweet potatoes are a multipurpose vegetable that more consumers are starting to add to their grocery carts regularly—especially in the fall, when sweet potatoes’ scrumptious taste and vivid coloring perfectly represent the season when leaves drop to the ground.

And while sweet potatoes have been historically known as a dish served for Thanksgiving and Christmas, with increased consumer demand of healthy eating habits, sweet potatoes are no longer just a holiday food.

“We define sweets” is one of the mottos of Matthew Ridgeview Farms, but sweet potatoes define the company as well.

“Sweet potatoes are who we are and what we do,” said Autumn Campbell, sales manager for the Wynne, AR-based company, explaining the company has been farming sweet potatoes for more than 100 years.

The people at the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission are always hard at work promoting the growers and produce professionals who provide people with delicious and nutritious sweet potatoes. But 2022 is a particularly special year for the commission as it is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

“We’ve had a good year, we’ve promoted that, and we’ve done some new ads that really feature our farmers,” said René Simon, director of the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission.

Over the years, Farm Fresh Produce has established an outstanding reputation for providing its customers with excellent produce, and sweet potatoes are one of the key products that has made the company a success.

“We plan on growing and marketing 4,000 acres of sweet potatoes this year, which includes 2,000 acres of our own product,” said Steven Ceccarelli, president of Farm Fresh Produce, headquartered in Faison, NC.

Topashaw Farms, based in Vardaman, MS, grows sweet potatoes on 29,000 acres, packing and shipping MS Beauregard variety sweet potatoes year-round.

“Our main objective is to provide the industry with the highest quality sweet potato possible,” said Joe Edmondson, owner of the company. “Because our farm is family owned and operated, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that when a consumer purchases a Topashaw Farms sweet potato, their satisfaction is guaranteed.”