Growing Together: Hunter Gibbs

Hunter Gibbs co-founded Pamlico Shores Produce with his lifelong friend Dawson Pugh in 2012, fulfilling a dream to grow, pack, and ship quality produce.

Both men grew up in Hyde County, North Carolina, a coastal region with a long farming heritage. Before co-founding his company, Hunter worked in produce sales, spending winters in South Florida, spring and fall seasons in southern Georgia, and summers in North Carolina and Michigan.

“I traveled for three years and had some great experiences, but I didn’t see my family very often,” he said. “So, I wanted to get back home.”

Shortly after returning to North Carolina full-time, Hunter got married to his wife, Angi, and went into business with Dawson, who had just taken over his dad’s operation growing corn and soybeans. Hunter offered to cover the cost of anything needed for potato farming, and they rented land together to start growing them.

Farming runs deep in both families.

“I started out in the potato industry at 12 years old working in the back of a potato grader when my granddad did chipping potatoes,” Hunter said. “Dawson’s great-granddad grew potatoes in the ‘60s and ‘70s. My dad farmed for a while and became an extension agent for the county.”

Hunter and Dawson started with 150 acres of red potatoes and “actually made some money” in their first year, Hunter said. Over the next 17 years, they steadily expanded the business. Today, they grow 400 acres of potatoes and 100 acres of onions, and operate out of a 42,000-square-foot packing facility. They’ve also raised produce like watermelons, broccoli, and cabbage.

About 75% of their potatoes are sold to retailers in North Carolina and surrounding states, and the rest are sold up and down the East Coast from New Jersey to Florida. Pamlico Shores Produce sells red, yellow, purple, and russet potatoes.

“Our biggest challenge is heat,” Hunter said. “We harvest potatoes in the middle of summer when it’s 90 degrees.

When it comes to his favorite way to eat potatoes, Hunter said there are too many to list: “Stewed potatoes, diced potatoes, baked potatoes … I make really good mashed potatoes.”

It could be dry, or it could pour 6 inches of rain. There’s a lot of weather phenomena that happens during harvest. You can try to beat Mother Nature, but sometimes, she still gets you.”

Located just inland from North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Hunter’s farm has hot summers and significantly more rainfall than most other potato-growing regions in the United States. The challenges posed by nature can make the work more rewarding, he said.

“To me, sales and marketing are great, but what I really love is the growing aspect of it. Seeing your physical work end up on someone’s dinner table to feed their kids and their family is the best part.”

Hunter serves as chair of Potatoes USA’s Market Development Consumer Committee and previously chaired the Nutrition Committee.

“Potatoes are healthy, versatile, and one of the most affordable ways to nourish people,” he said. “They’re good for you. You can live off them. They’re part of a healthy, balanced diet.”

Hunter said educating consumers about potato nutrition is a critical service Potatoes USA does for the industry.

“Coming from a farming background, I used to think everyone understood what it takes to grow food – the inputs, the long hours, the sacrifices,” he said. “But a lot of people don’t realize what goes into getting a potato from the field to the store. Potatoes USA, and the growers and staff behind it, do a great job educating people about America’s favorite vegetable.”

What makes them so good? “It’s a secret,” he said.