Weather IQ: Drought conditions could mean smaller sweetpotatoes this fall across NC

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Central and eastern North Carolina's sandy soil, warm temperatures, and long growing season make it one of the best places to grow sweet potatoes in North Carolina. The state has led the nation in sweet potato production every year since 1971, producing around 60% of the entire [music] US crop. So, why here? It all comes down to geography and weather.

[00:00:25]Cliff Pilson, [music] fourth generation farmer from C.V.

[00:00:28]Pilson Farms, puts it [music] as It's just made for sweet potatoes. Yeah, I mean, you can tell since we grow so much here, it just it just does perfect. They like that sandy loam. The sandy stuff makes like really pretty skin, really pretty shape. Sweet [music] potatoes like the heat. Yeah, they like the heat.

[00:00:43]They like some rain, but they're very drought tolerant overall. This time of year in May, farmers are in the early stages of the season, the plant bed [music] stage. If everything goes well, the crop grows through the summer and it's harvested in early fall, usually mid-September. But this year, weather is creating some challenges. [music] Drought conditions have spread across parts of North Carolina, leaving soil unusually dry during a critical time in the growing season, which can lead to a delay in planting or relying on a drip irrigation system. And if they don't get enough water throughout the season, yeah, they'll come up and we'll have a lot of smaller [music] sweet potatoes.