Source: UNC DEMOGRAPHY, 11/17/17


North Carolina’s agricultural industry contributes $84 billion to the state’s economy and employs more than 1 in 6 North Carolina Workers, according to the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Two of the state’s lead agricultural products—sweet potatoes and turkeys—will grace many Thanksgiving tables on Thursday.

Here’s a quick look at sweet potatoes by the numbers:
1st
North Carolina’s rank in sweet potato production. North Carolina has led the nation in sweet potato production since 1971. Our state produces nearly three times as many sweet potatoes as California (629 million pounds), the second highest producing state. Mississippi (493 million) had the third highest production in 2016, followed by Louisiana (152 million). All other states combined produced just 180 million pounds of sweet potatoes in 2016.

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