Source: USDA'S NASS, 11/18/16

Did you know two popular Thanksgiving dishes are likely rooted in North Carolina? If your family demands turkey or sweet potatoes this time of year, there’s a decent chance those commodities are North Carolina-grown. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, North Carolina comes in number one in the United States, based on 2015 total production for turkey and sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes
16,340,000 cwt (hundredweight) produced in 2015
$331,702,000 in cash receipts
46 percent – N.C. share of total U.S. sweet potato cash receipts 
415 sweet potato producers (according to 2012 Census of Agriculture)
96,000 acres planted in 2016; up 9,000 acres from 2015

Turkeys
1,091,200,000 pounds
$884,963,000 in cash receipts
15.5 percent of U.S.-raised turkeys come from North Carolina (production in pounds)
829 farms raise turkeys (according to 2012 Census of Agriculture)
2 million more head of turkeys raised in 2016 from the 31 million raised in 2015

One North Carolina farmer is doing his best to keep those sweet potatoes on your plates at Thanksgiving and the rest of the year, too. Jeff Tyson, 46, of Nashville, N.C., is the primary operator for his 4,500-acre farm spread over Nash, Halifax, Edgecombe, and Wilson counties. He grows corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, tobacco, cucumbers, and sweet potatoes – both organic and conventionally-grown varieties.

“(Sweet potatoes) have kind of always been there from when my dad operated the farm,” Tyson said. “The reason for staying with sweet potatoes is because they pretty much carry themselves year in and year out. They help pay the bills, and it is a crop that has been very stable over the years.” 

According to Tyson, increased marketing efforts over the years from the Sweet Potato Commission has gone a long way toward putting sweet potatoes on the map. The promotion of the crop and the value of the U.S. dollar has also helped sweet potatoes become an easier export commodity.

“(I got into organic sweet potatoes) primarily looking for a niche market to bring in more money,” Tyson said of his decision to begin growing 40 acres of organic sweet potatoes. “I was already growing sweet potatoes, and there are not a lot of chemicals used for sweet potatoes anyway, so converting to organic was not a difficult transition.”

Tyson also grows organic tobacco, filling a niche market and increasing the dollar per pound for a commodity they already produced.

Tyson is upfront about the challenges facing farmers today, whether it’s rising fuel and labor costs or government regulations, and has diversified his crops (including niche organic markets) in order to continue his demanding way of life that he says is just in his blood.

“There are a lot of better ways to make money,” Tyson joked. “(New farmers) need to learn the art of managing cash flow. Know your expenses, you don’t need new equipment, develop a good relationship with your lending institution, and be prepared for long hours and debt.”

Tyson isn’t in it alone, though, as his father and wife are actively involved in the family farm, along with a network of farm laborers ensuring efficient movement and work. He’s never without his cell phone, a necessity when as much as 70 miles stretches between his geographically-separated farms. 

“I must be in constant contact or available to everyone working on the farm,” Tyson said. “Even if there is a language barrier, you can use a cell phone to map the location they need to go to and everyone understands that. Cell phones are used in many different ways, to place orders, call in for parts, coordinate movement of equipment, etc.” 

Tyson doesn’t have a lot of free time, but he puts effort into advocating for farmers and their needs. To that end, Tyson is active in commodity associations and agricultural boards in his area. He’s the secretary for the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association, on the Nash County Farm Bureau board, the Nash County Agricultural Advisory Board, an advisor for the Nash County Soil and Water Board, and board member for the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association. 

“I spend the least busy farm times of the year traveling to commodity shows and working with policy makers,” he said. “(Farming) is in my blood, and it is hard to find something else that gives me the opportunities to do some of the things I am doing.”

The Tyson family enjoys eating the sweet potatoes grown right on their own farm, and Jeff can’t (or won’t) pick just one sweet potato recipe as his favorite.

“Do I have to narrow it down to one,” he asked. “Some of my favorite dishes include my mom’s candied yams and my wife’s deep fried sweet potato slices.”

For those looking to switch up a traditional sweet potato dish this holiday, Tyson’s wife’s deep fried sweet potato slices, might be just the new spin you’re looking for.  According to Tyson, the recipe is simple:  Thinly slice sweet potatoes, deep fry and salt to taste.

To learn more about NASS surveys and corresponding data in North Carolina, visit https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/North_Carolina/. To sign up to be counted in the Census and other surveys, visit https://www.agcounts.usda.gov/cgi-bin/counts/.