From livestock shows and farm animals to giant pumpkins and other commodities, the N.C. State Fair showcases our state’s number one industry in many ways each year, including the produce displayed inside the Agri Supply Expo Center. Did you know that sweet potatoes are entered by farmers across the state each year to be judged at the fair? “Farmers and home gardeners enter a variety of produce items into the fair each year to be judged, including peppers, watermelons, pumpkins and sweet potatoes,” said April Blazich, Horticulture Superintendent. “We like to keep our judges anonymous each year because we do use them for multiple years in a row where we can. All of our judges, including the ones from the 2025 N.C. State Fair, are experienced in both agriculture and horticulture, making them great individuals to judge these competitions.” We caught up with this year’s sweet potato judge to learn the ins-and-outs of choosing the most well-rounded sweet potatoes throughout the fair competition.
There are eight sweet potato classes at the N.C. State Fair for growers and home gardeners to participate in: (1) Commercial Display, (2) Single Box Display, (3) Any non-orange variety box, (4) Single box canning varieties, (5) Fresh Market variety, (6) Any variety plate of five, (7) Organic plate of five, and (8.) Giant sweet potatoes. “As one of our state’s top agricultural commodities, sweet potatoes are a major player in the N.C. State Fair competitions,” said this year’s judge. “Each year we have anywhere from fifteen to twenty families who enter sweet potatoes for judging. It’s neat to see the generational heritage of it as families enter sweet potatoes together and individually in the competition.” Each sweet potato class is judged on a variety of specifications and offers prize winnings for the top ten competitors. In fact, the Commercial Display Class offers $180 to the first-place winner, $100 to the tenth-place winner, and other varying cash amounts to the placings in between! All eight sweet potato classes function in the same way, presenting monetary winnings to the top ten competitors, but amounts vary between classes.
So how are sweet potatoes judged? For this year’s judge, it came down to symmetry, minimal blemishes, cleanliness, and consistency. “Essentially it is a beauty contest for the sweet potatoes,” said the judge. “Presentation is key. For many of these categories, it’s about which box of sweet potatoes a person would purchase from in a grocery store. In other words, which sweet potatoes catch your eye the fastest and have the overall best presentation.” Although judging can be subjective from year to year, there are specifications to follow for each category and each variety presented. “It’s really important for the judge to know their sweet potato varieties,” said the 2025 judge. “Especially when it comes to the classes that feature both the orange-flesh varieties, like Covington and Beauregard, as well as other white and purple flesh varieties, like Murasaki and Stokes Purple. Every variety has a different shape and style, so when compared with each other, it’s important to remember that they aren’t all meant to look the same.” Other specifications judges have to look for are canning size in Class #4 (single box canning varieties) and weight in Class #8 (giant sweet potatoes). Finally, to put a fun twist on things, the judge will also choose a winner for the Oddest Shaped Sweet Potato each year. Farmers will enter one sweet potato in for the category each year, and a lot of them come from the Giant Sweet Potato category. “It’s just a fun way to analyze the sweet potatoes that come out looking like a snake, or a person, or some other funky object,” the judge said. “It’s fascinating to see how hard these growers work each year and the pride they take in showcasing their products at the fair.”
Like a majority of the agriculture industry, the produce competition group is a tight knit family. Many of these individuals enter the competition(s) every year, as well as others across the United States. In fact, many families enter the competitions together, meaning several sweet potatoes could be from the same farm, but not the same grower. For example, a fourth-generation family farm could enter sweet potatoes from the matriarch grower (first generation), the current operator (second generation), and the upcoming farmer (third generation). “It is possible for farms and/or individuals to win multiple classes during the N.C. State Fair, and many of them do,” said this year’s judge. “We are not allowed to look at the tags or the names when we are judging, so all bias is removed from the process. We look at the sweet potatoes themselves. So, if Farm A has the best sweet potatoes overall, the members of that family likely won multiple classes.” Every year, the N.C. State Fair judges present the Grower Sweepstakes Award to the individual who has won the most points throughout the category, so winning multiple classes benefits them by giving more points towards winning this award. There is also a second sweet potato sweepstakes award to the county with the most points across classes.
Although judging sweet potatoes at the fair can sometimes feel like splitting hairs, our current judge loves seeing the pride on each grower’s face as they bring in their sweet potatoes and find out their placing(s). “Farmers work hard throughout the year and face many challenges that go unnoticed by others,” the judge said. “These sweet potatoes, as well as the other produce items shown at the fair, are the fruit of their labors. It’s a joy to see the pride that they take in showcasing their products at the fair, and it’s an honor for me to be a small part of that.” We are so thankful for all the farmers and growers who participate in these competitions every year. Be sure to check out all the produce next year inside the Agri Supply Expo Building during the N.C. State Fair, taking place October 15-25th! #NCAgriculture
