WE’RE WORLDWIDE SWEETPOTATO MARKETERS
Farm Pak Products was formed in 1969, as a sales team for the produce grown at Barnes Farming. We began selling sweetpotatoes directly to buyers along the East Coast. Since our humble beginnings, Farm Pak has grown into one of the largest and most reliable marketers of sweet potatoes worldwide.
Our packing facilities are deeply rooted in the heart of North Carolina’s sweetpotato growing region, near I-95 in Nash County. Farm Pak has now grown into one of the largest marketers of sweetpotatoes and produce. We, the owners of Farm Pak, promise to provide you with the very best sweetpotatoes. We are dedicated to our motto – “Providing the Best in Quality, Service, and Price.” Please give us a chance to show you why we are the best.
Farm Pak provides sweetpotatoes for grocery, produce, and foodservice outlets across the country. Whatever your needs, we are committed to providing you with great sweetpotatoes and outstanding service. Our packing operation includes four packing lines and is one of the most modern vegetable packing firms in the U.S. We also have refrigeration capacity for twenty truckloads of sweetpotatoes. Plus, temperature-controlled storage will accommodate 2 million bushels. Our packing and storage facilities are located in Spring Hope, NC and we have additional packing and storage facilities near Benson, NC, and multiple storage facilities in eastern NC.
THE FAMILY BEHIND THE FARM
Barnes Farming was founded when Carson Barnes decided to grow tobacco and less than half an acre of sweetpotatoes in the early ‘60s. With much hard work from Carson and his family over the past 50 years, Barnes Farming has grown to become the world’s largest sweet potato producer, managing more than 20,000 acres of prime, cultivated land. Today, Barnes Farming grows more than 7,000 acres of sweetpotatoes, 1,000 acres of flue-cured tobacco, 3,500 acres of peanuts, 7,500 acres of soybeans, 2,000 acres of wheat, and 500 acres of watermelons.
Barnes Farming has been listed in American Vegetable Grower magazine’s Top 100 Grower list for 18 consecutive years. The operation also ranks in the Top 10 vegetable growers in the Southeastern United States.
Despite the large growth, Barnes Farming is still a family-owned business. Today, the farm is managed by Johnny Barnes as President. Johnny’s mom, Maxine, was also instrumental in the foundation of the company and continues her involvement with the farm as corporate secretary.
MEET OUR TEAM
OUR HISTORY
1969
After a few short years of growing sweetpotatoes on his family’s small farm in eastern NC, Carson Barnes founded Farm Pak Products.
1970s
As he grew Farm Pak, Carson was instrumental in planting the seed for the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission’s creation. The NCSWC was and still is very instrumental in increasing the consumption of North Carolina-grown sweetpotatoes.
1980s
Carson saw a need to spread the deliciousness of sweetpotatoes to Europe and was one of the first farmers to export sweetpotatoes abroad. Today, about 30% of sweetpotatoes grown in the U.S. are exported to Europe.
1986
Carson’s son, Johnny, returned to work with his father after graduating from N.C. State. Together, Johnny and Carson continued to build Farm Pak as a leading supplier of sweetpotatoes.
2000s
Just as he and his sisters did, Johnny’s children helped out on the farm at a young age. Johnny’s daughter, Bethany, began growing watermelons as a summer project and eventually coined the brand Bethany’s Best - a brand that Farm Pak still markets watermelons under today.
2006
Johnny’s son, Josh, also began his own farm project and planted a persimmon orchard that he managed throughout his high school and college career. Josh joined Farm Pak full-time in 2018 and continues to supply persimmons to top retailers.
2009
Farm Pak was awarded “Exporter of the Year” by the N.C. Department of Agriculture.
2010
Remodeled sweetpotato packing facilities to incorporate a state-of-the-art ten-lane electronic sizer.
2013
Farm Pak tripled sales since 2007 with an emphasis on expanding our international markets.
2017
Exports increased to nearly 40% of our sweetpotato production, shipping to six different countries.
2021
Johnny joined C12, a group that encourages business leaders to treat their companies as a ministry. With this group, Barnes Farming offers a chaplain to all employees to confide in.
