North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission and Rootsii are developing a first-of-its-kind sweetpotato milk from surplus crops. Backed by USD 1.82 million funding, the sustainable dairy alternative aims to reduce waste and create new markets for growers.

The problem for North Carolina’s sweet potato farmers is knowing whether the drenching rains unleashed by hurricane Florence will have the same effect as being inundated by a flooded pond or creek. Some sweet potato fields received as much as 30 inches.

Hurricane Florence, is making landfall in North Carolina, where 55 percent of the US sweet potatoes are grown (acreage) this year.

Kelly McIver was named the Executive Director of the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission (NCSPC) on August 17, following the retirement announcement earlier this year by longtime director Sue Johnson-Langdon.