Two of the most commonly eaten foods at Thanksgiving are big business in North Carolina — turkeys (the centerpiece of the traditional meal) and sweet potatoes (both as an essential side dish and for those sweet potato pies).
North Carolina raised 34 million turkeys in 2013, making us second in the nation behind Minnesota’s 44 million. However, when measured by dollar value, North Carolina exceeded Minnesota ($769 million vs. $749 million). This might be because North Carolina’s turkeys are bigger. North Carolina raised 1.2 billion pounds of turkey compared to Minnesota’s 1.1 billion pounds, or an average 34 pounds versus Minnesota’s 25.6 pounds per turkey.
Now when it comes to sweet potatoes, there is no doubt about our position — North Carolina farmers grew more than 1 billion pounds of sweet potatoes in 2013 for a value of nearly $229 million, making North Carolina the number one producer by a long shot. California, the second-largest producer, yielded 684 million pounds for a value of nearly $169 million. In 2012, North Carolina’s sweet potato production accounted for 46.8 percent of the U.S. total.
So, as you and your family gather around the table to give thanks this year, remember to raise a fork to North Carolina’s farmers for the roasted turkey and sweet potato casserole that you'll enjoy. Oh, and you may just want to give an extra thanks to the 3,398 workers in the state’s Nonupholstered Wood Household Furniture manufacturing industry for your table and chairs, too.
Sources: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service; NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.