Cindy isn’t the only sweet potato grower in North Carolina: this state produces more sweet potatoes than any other state in America. ‘I’m the second generation on this farm. I fell in love with growing sweet potatoes at a very tender age. Just look at this tiny plant. It may be small now, but it’s going to produce a lot of food later: Superfood! We not only grow them here, we also package and provide their transport.’
These sweet potato plants take more than three months to grow. We notice that not much is left to chance: every stage, from planting to harvest, is carefully monitored. ‘We have the latest machinery, software to keep track of the weather, and tractors equipped with GPS. I bet you hadn’t expected that, right?’ She shows us one of the machines. ‘These machines classify the potatoes according to length and diameter. This way, our sweet potatoes are sorted into uniform sizes.’