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U.S. Production Of Sweet Potatoes Continues To Grow

U.S. sweet potato production reached a record high 29 million hundredweight (cwt) in 2014, extending production gains that have continued for more than 15 years. Since 1971, North Carolina has been the top sweet potato producer in the United States, and in 2014 it produced 53 percent of all sweet potatoes grown in the country.

North Carolina’s production of sweet potatoes in 2000 was 5.6 million cwt, and by 2014 it had had expanded to 15.8 million cwt. The 185-percent increase in North Carolina’s production has led the growth of the U.S. sweet potato industry, but production has expanded in many other states, including California (where production has doubled since 2000) and Mississippi (where production is up by 155 percent).

Source:usda.gov


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Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.