Scott Farms in North Carolina: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Scott Farms of Lucama, North Carolina, is a sixth-generation family business that grows sweetpotatoes, tobacco and row crops and ships sweetpotatoes to the United Kingdom and Europe. Business North Carolina's 2025 Power List recognized co-owner Linwood Scott III, and Farm Progress reported that the company was named North Carolina Exporter of the Year.
| Location | Lucama, Wilson County area, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Sectors | Sweetpotatoes; tobacco; corn; wheat; soybeans |
| Scale | Published acreage varies by source: about 13,000 acres in one trade feature, and over 4,500 acres in the Power List report |
| Facilities | 60,000 sq. ft. automated packing facility (2015); 80,000 sq. ft. storage and curing facility (2016); about 2.2 million bushels of controlled storage, per a trade feature |
| Why it is elite | Sixth-generation sweetpotato grower and exporter; state Exporter of the Year coverage; Business NC Power List honoree |
| Ownership | Family-owned; incorporated 1980 per trade coverage |
| Official website | Perishable News feature on Scott Farms (no Scott Farms website found in research) |
History of Scott Farms
Trade coverage describes Scott Farms as a sixth-generation family farm that has been in continuous operation and expansion for about 150 years, incorporated in 1980. It sits in the sweetpotato and tobacco heartland of Wilson and surrounding counties in eastern North Carolina, the region that gives North Carolina its first-place national rank in sweetpotatoes.
International selling is part of the story. The company opened an office in the United Kingdom in 2005 and one in the Netherlands in 2016, and trade media reported an 80,000-square-foot facility that expanded its reach further into Europe. Business North Carolina's 2025 Power List named co-owner Linwood Scott III as an agriculture honoree for the fifth straight year, according to the Sweetpotato Commission's summary.
What Scott Farms Grows and Raises
Scott Farms grows corn, wheat, soybeans, tobacco and sweetpotatoes. In eastern North Carolina sweetpotatoes are typically rotated with grains and other crops to protect soil health and reduce disease, which is why a sweetpotato operation tends to be a diverse row-crop farm too. The company markets under its own identity and supplies grocery and foodservice customers.
Infrastructure is where it stands out. Trade coverage lists a 60,000-square-foot automated packing facility that opened in March 2015 and an 80,000-square-foot storage and curing facility that opened in October 2016, together supporting about 2.2 million bushels of environmentally controlled storage and curing. Curing and storage let the farm sell across the year rather than only at harvest.
How Scott Farms Makes Money
Packed sweetpotatoes
Packed sweetpotatoes sold to retail and foodservice are the core line. The farm does not publish revenue, but its investment in automated packing and curing suggests a volume business that depends on consistent grading and labor efficiency.
Export sales
Offices in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands give the company direct contact with European buyers. Farm Progress covered the company's North Carolina Exporter of the Year recognition.
Row crops and tobacco
Corn, wheat, soybeans and tobacco provide rotation partners and separate cash flows from the sweetpotato program.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Scott Farms
One lesson is to own the customer relationship in the markets you sell to. Overseas offices cost money, but they put the farm closer to buyers' specifications and schedules than a broker can.
A second lesson is to invest in curing and storage before chasing more acres. Sweetpotatoes gain eating quality when cured and can be sold across months, so storage raises the value of each bushel already grown.
A third is to treat acreage figures carefully when benchmarking. Sources for this farm disagree on acreage, which is a reminder to use a farm's own current statement of scale.
A farm that has been expanding for roughly 150 years has seen every kind of weather, market and tractor color war. The writers at farm.FM would call this farm satire gold: sweetpotatoes get curing rooms with better climate control than most offices. It is quality farm humor and ranch humor material, though the farm jokes about the Lucama break room thermostat remain strictly theoretical.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact Scott Farms
Website: https://perishablenews.com/?p=56163
No official website was found in research; the page linked is the best verified public source, November 2026. Confirm contact routes before traveling or sending inquiries.
Scott Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Perishable News feature - Trade profile of Scott Farms facilities and history
- Farm Progress on Exporter of the Year - Independent coverage of the export recognition
- NC State magazine on exports - Land-grant coverage of North Carolina export growth
- North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission - Producer association industry overview
- USDA NASS North Carolina highlights - State rankings including sweetpotatoes
Scott Farms FAQ
What does Scott Farms grow?
Trade coverage lists sweetpotatoes, tobacco, corn, wheat and soybeans.
How many generations?
It is described as a sixth-generation family business.
How big is it?
Sources differ: a trade feature says about 13,000 acres, while a Power List report says over 4,500 acres. Check with the company for a current figure.
How can I contact Scott Farms?
No official website was found in research. Use the trade profile for context and approach the company through the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission.
Scott Farms shows how a long-running eastern North Carolina family built a packing, storage and export business on top of ordinary row-crop rotation. Read the North Carolina farms guide for statewide context before moving on to the other profiles.