Country Sweet Produce is taking proactive measures to deal with California’s ongoing drought. “The water shortage in California has definitely affected our decision making,” Commodity Manager Cody Rose told The Produce News. “We have extended the days between irrigation sets to help conserve. We have the water this year but are farming as if we didn’t. We are well aware of the impact for next year’s crop if we don’t get a significant amount of rain or a good snow pack over winter and through spring.”

The company is located in Bakersfield, growing and marketing conventional and organic California produce. Commodities include sweet potatoes, onions, watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, green and red cabbage and cauliflower.

“The 2014 sweet potato program is off to a very good start,” Rose continued. “We’ve made some adjustments to our cultural practices, and so far we are seeing positive results. From hot beds, to planting and now to harvest, the weather conditions for our area have been great.”

Rose expects the company’s sweet potato volume will increase this season. “Sweet potatoes are very popular right now due to the great effort growers, marketers, retailers and processors have done to educate consumers about the fantastic nutritional value they possess,” he explained. “Consumers are getting very creative with recipes to fit sweet potatoes into their families’ weekly meal plans.”

Country Sweet is very happy with quality and sizing this season, and Rose said there will not be any shortages on sizes as sweet potatoes are moved into the pipeline. The company markets sweet potatoes to all market sectors throughout the United States and into Canada.

“Our primary label to market sweet potatoes is ‘Bako Sweet’,” Rose said, indicating that ‘Bako’ is a nickname for Bakersfield, “[giving] us a locally grown identity for Southern California. We also market under the ‘Country Sweet’ and ‘California Cowboy’ labels.”

Rose said Country Sweet has strong relationships with its retail partners.

Country Sweet has received positive feedback for its Bako Sweet Microwavable Sweet Potato. “It is a 1.5-pound microwavable bag of sweet potatoes that cooks in 10 minutes. It is a perfect combination of taste, nutrition and convenience,” he said, adding that he expects the offering to continue to gain traction at the retail level.