NORTH CAROLINA - The National Weather Service expects Hurricane Florence to touch down on the North Carolina coast this Thursday, September 13th, bringing violent winds and flooding rains to the Tar Heel State. The region is currently in the midst of sweet potato harvest, and we at AndNowUKnow reached out to several growers in the region to learn more about how the storm is expected to impact yield, transportation, and storage—as well as the safety and well-being of our North Carolinian produce pals.

“North Carolina Sweet Potato farmers across the state are working tirelessly to harvest their crops before Hurricane Florence makes her projected landfall along the North Carolina coast later this week. Farmers are working day and night to harvest as much of their crops as they can, along with preparing their facilities and personal property in the potential path of the storm,” Kelly McIver, Executive Director for the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, told me. “Following the storm, the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission will work closely with all of our farmers to access damages. “

As of Tuesday evening, several ports along the Carolina coast, including those in Wilmington and Morehead City, North Carolina, have been closed by the Coast Guard and many residents have evacuated. The National Hurricane Center has issued warnings—predicting winds in excess of 90 mph and moderate to high risk of flooding well inland throughout portions of North Carolina and Virginia—and throughout the North East as the storm progresses.

Jeff Thomas, Director of Marketing for Scott Farms, told me that while every precaution was in place, the grower/packer/shipper is taking Hurricane Florence extremely seriously.

“In North Carolina right now we have somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the total crop harvested, so the next few days are going to be very critical for the North Carolina sweet potato population,” said Jeff. “There’s been a lot of innovation at Scott Farms and expansion that has taken place here over the last several years—with new and improved environmentally controlled facilities, and we’re closely monitoring those. We’ve been through one hurricane in those already with Hurricane Matthew, and came through in good shape; we’re just hoping and praying that everyone is safe throughout the storm.”

Jeff also noted that Scott Farms has taken and is taking every possible step to ensure that its employees are safe and that customers will still be able count on Scott Farms for consistent quality product when the storm subsides.

“We’re taking a ‘hope for the best, expect the worst’ kind of stance. We’ve made all the precautions that we possibly could, and we’re closely monitoring where things go,” added Jeff. “A lot of the preparation is actually put in place prior to planting through our food safety program and our site selection process. We operate offices internationally, as well, and we’ve been in close contact with our other offices. We made some decisions based on the weather early on. As far as our domestic shipping operations, we’re closely monitoring the situation with the storm, right now, to make sure that all of our customers are taken care of.”

Tami Long, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Nash Produce, shared similar thoughts on the subject—noting that the company and its employees were in “wait-and-see mode” as the storm, projected to hit the Carolina coast Thursday, approaches.

“At Nash Produce, our employee’s safety is a top priority,” Tami told me. “We are letting everyone know that the office will be closed definitely on Friday, and possibly Thursday. We need to know more about the direction of the storm before that decision is made.”

While many ports in the region will suspend operation later this week as a precaution, Tami noted that domestic shipping operations are expected to continue—provided weather and safety permits.

“All our overseas shipments have been suspended. The Norfolk, Virginia, port is closing Wednesday at noon. We are still sending out U.S. shipments and plan to continue as long as it is safe for all involved,” said Tami, who noted that secondary effects of the storm—such as power outages—may be the biggest challenges for North Carolinians. “Power outages will be the biggest concern. Nash Produce does have generators to maintain all primary storage units. The generators are being checked and prepped for use.”

Though the tone is one of cautious optimism for many growers this Tuesday, they all noted that the next week will prove crucial for North Carolina’s sweet potato crop and North Carolinians in general. AndNowUKnow will keep you in the loop with updates as they occur.