Mother Nature continually sends the message out to produce growers about who’s in charge. The recent hot and dry weather in North Carolina, a good example, has slowed harvests by a week to 10 days.

George Wooten, president of Wayne E. Bailey, a leading producer of sweet potatoes in Chadburn, NC, told The Produce News that he believes the total volume once harvesting is completed by Nov. 5 will be slightly less or about the same as a year ago.       

Far right; George Wooten, president and chief executive officer of Wayne E. Bailey, checks on line workers sorting sweet potatoes.“The great news is that the demand is growing at a rapid rate,” said Wooten. “Today sweet potatoes are in high demand at retail, foodservice, exports and especially strong on the processed side.”

He noted that the U.S. Sweet Potato Council, along with Wayne E. Bailey and others in the industry, have worked hard for over a decade to promote the use of sweet potatoes in every sector, and that hard work is finally coming to fruition.

“It was really slow starting, but it has taken hold now,” he said. “With anticipated volumes at about the same as last year, and demand continually growing, we expect prices to stay strong throughout the winter. They may even increase heading into summer, depending on how inventory stacks up.”

Wayne E. Bailey does some exporting to the E.U., but Wooten explained that the current weakened euro against the U.S. dollar is creating a problem at the consumer end.

“The stronger dollar results in higher prices at the cash register,” he said. “And people will only pay so much for commodity items like potatoes and onions. However, we are in talks with some producers overseas who are looking for an extension of their product line.”

Wooten said he is looking forward to 2016 because it marks the company’s 80th year in business.

“And it marks my 40th year being with Wayne E. Bailey,” he said. “During my tenure here the company has grown tremendously, and my enthusiasm is just as great today as it was that many years ago. We’re doing so well that I feel we’ve opened some nice doors for our competitors, and we’re happy to have been in a position to do that for them.”

Wooten also announced that the company hired Candace Flemming as its new director of foodservice.

“Candace came on board in July,” said Wooten. “She has a strong background in sales and marketing, and she’s doing a great job for us. We want to make sure that we’re covered in all customer segments, so it’s important to have someone to focus strongly on foodservice.”

The company also continues to push sweet potato fingerlings. Wooten said it has broken through the barrier of getting people to accept the item.

“We’re getting solid response from home cooks all the way to high-end corporate chefs,” said Wooten.

“Last year was a pretty tough year, but this year our acreage is up by about 10 percent and we’re back on track with volumes, quality and service.”