1. Sweet Potatoes An Overview of the Sweet Potato Industry in Georgia
Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office
Dr. Frank Flanders and Catrina Kennedy
October 2006

2. Objectives Students will be able to:
Describe different varieties of Sweet Potatoes.
Identify Georgia’s ranking among other states in Sweet Potato production.
Identify different products that are made from Sweet Potatoes.

3. Why is the Sweet Potato Industry Important
Sweet potatoes are the sixth most important food crop in the world.
They are a popular vegetable and cash crop in Georgia
Sweet potatoes may also play an important role in the future energy supply from biomass production, approaching 782 gallons of alcohol/acre.

4. Sweet Potato Products Stock Feed Meal Flour Hog Feed Starch
Sugar Molasses
Tapioca
Chocolate
Dried
Powder Breakfast
Dinner Mints
Instant Coffee
Lemon Drops
Stock Feed Meal
Hog Feed  
Stains Dyes
Paints
Medicine
Paste
Alcohol
Ink
Cotton Synthetic
Silk Paper

5. Georgia’s Commodity Value
Item
Rank by
sale
Sales ($1000)
Percent of total
sales
Poultry and eggs 1
2,780,214
56.6
Vegetables, melons, and potatoes 2
383,556
7.8
Cotton and cotton seed 3
318,013
6.5
Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture 4
315,324
6.4
Other crops and hay 5
246,936
Cattle and calves 6
240,070
4.9
Milk and other dairy products from
cows 7
212,720
4.3
Fruits, tree nuts and berries 8
122,151
2.5
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry
peas 9
102,464
2.1
Tobacco 10
89,058
1.8

6. US Sweet Potato Production

7. Types of Sweet Potatoes
There are seven major varieties of sweet potatoes:
Jersey, Kotobuki (Japanese), Okinawan (Purple), Papa Doc, Beauregard, Garnet, and Jewel.
Beauregard, Garnet, and Jewel are normally called "yams" in the United States.

8. Interesting Facts
Sweet potatoes have the highest nutrient profile of all the fruits and vegetables.
There are two types of sweet potato: the pale yellow with a dry flesh and the dark orange (yam) with a moist flesh. Both are available year round.

9. Assessment
Sweet potatoes are the ___ most important food crop in the world.
Where does Georgia rank in the production of Sweet Potatoes?
Where do Sweet Potatoes rank among other commodities in Georgia?
Name three different types of Sweet Potatoes?
What are some products that have been made from Sweet Potatoes?

10. Answers
6th
2nd
Jersey, Kotobuki (Japanese), Okinawan (Purple), Papa Doc, Beauregard, Garnet, and Jewel.
Flour, Starch, Sugar Molasses, etc.