Jimmy Burch, Sr., a longtime North Carolina sweet potato grower, has died.
Burch, 65, partner and co-owner of Faison, NC’s Burch Farms, died at his home on Dec. 24.
Burch is survived by his wife, Teresa Burch; two sons, Jimmy Burch, Jr., and Jared Hines Burch; brothers Bill Burch and Ted Burch. All, including Teresa, are involved in the company.
Through its own and others’ acreage, Burch Farms packs millions of bushels of sweet potatoes. Burch Farms also grows asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, greens, hard squash, peppers, spinach as well as organics.
George Wooten, the former president of Wayne E. Bailey Produce, characterized Jimmy Burch as a great husband and father who was key to the North Carolina sweet potato industry’s acreage expansion in the late 1990s.
“When he first started, he was more in the greens business but became a factor and a major player in the sweet potato industry,” says Wooten. “He was really good and very innovative, especially on the farming side. He was a vital part of the industry and the industry’s growth.”
Burch Farms’ roots trace to 1775, when North Carolina issued 600 acres of land to a Burch ancestor. The family settled in eastern North Carolina in the mid-1600s and farmed corn, cotton, tobacco, hogs, cattle and poultry as well as other crops. It became more active in sweet potatoes during the 1980s, says Wooten.
Burch Farms was officially established in 1950 by Jimmy Burch’s parents, William and Georgiana Hines Burch, who grew on 35 acres. The company’s Georgiana label honors Jimmy Burch’s mother. Run by Jimmy Burch’s brothers, children and cousins, Burch Farms became one of North Carolina’s largest vegetable growers.
The family-run company is also involved in logistics, value-added packaging and sweet potato puree processing. In 2006, Burch Farms partnered with area growers and founded Yamco, a natural foods processing facility.
Jimmy Burch was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, David Burch and Herbert Burch.
Services were Dec. 28. In lieu of flowers, the family recommends memorial gifts be made to Cures for the Colors, c/o Southeastern Medical Oncology Center, 203 Cox Blvd., Goldsboro, NC 27534.
