Details of production outlined at Wood Co. Ag Tour

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

Workers harvest sweet potatoes from Kelly Hamrick's farm near Golden where this year's crop came from the 90 acres planted. The farm and its storage warehouses were part of the recent Wood County Ag Tour. -- Staff photos by Montgomery

October 9, 2003 -- With East Texas' sweet potato harvest in full swing, people attending the Wood County Ag Tour on Sept. 30 were given a glimpse into sweet potato farmer Kelly Hamrick's life near Golden.

Hamrick, a third-generation farmer, showed the audience two storage warehouses, which held bins of Beauregard variety sweet potatoes, and a third warehouse used for grading and packing.

In the first warehouse Hamrick keeps seed potatoes, which are smaller potatoes that didn't make the grade, as well as Nos. 1 and 2 potatoes.

"I will save 150 bins for seed," Hamrick told the tour-goers.

At Hamrick's farm, the owner described how he plants, harvests, and sells the potatoes. -- Staff photos by Montgomery

Hamrick explained the seed potatoes are bedded in late March or early spring and covered with dirt and black plastic. Once the plant becomes good and thick underneath the plastic, the plastic is removed.

The plants continue to grow until they reach 10 to 12 inches and then they are pulled.

"The roots are cut off when the plant is pulled because I want to keep away any soil-borne diseases," Hamrick stated.

Planting takes place in mid-May to mid-June and harvest begins in late-August and may continue until late-October.

This year Hamrick and his family planted 90 acres of sweet potatoes.

The potatoes are graded when harvested, but the No. 1 potatoes are graded twice. These potatoes, which are found in grocery stories, are marketed by a broker in Des Moines, Iowa.

"Dad grew a lot of watermelons and hooked up with this guy at one of the conventions," Hamrick explained about the broker.

The No. 2 potatoes go to restaurants and "are usually the ones that roadside peddlers want."

Last but not least are the canners, which are the cull potatoes. Hamrick sells these type to Allen Canners in Lousiana.

Sweet potatoes are raised in a sandy soil and "less is better" rainfall is needed for good yields.

"Sweet potatoes need one inch to two inches of rainfall to get started, and then if we get 1/2-inch every two to three weeks, we are fine," Hamrick explained.

During the tour, Hamrick mentioned a problem for the sweet potatoes is the sweet potato weevil, a topic detailed by Dr. James Robinson, an Extension entomologist from Overton, during the tour.

Robinson said the sweet potato weevil limits production and the marketing scene.

"This area is weevil free," Robinson cited, "but about four years ago a heavy infestation of weevils were found. We had a plan to eradicate the weevils by trapping."

The plan worked.

"If it hadn't been for the producers doing what they needed to do, it would not have worked," Robinson continued.

The sweet potato weevil, which only likes sweet potatoes and morning glories, can't fly. It moves by hitchhiking on the plants.

"Producers weren't allowed to produce potatoes in that field (were the weevils were found) or within a 1/2 mile of the field," Robinson stated.

The audience also visited the fields were they got to watch some workers gathering the potatoes.