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July 30, 2010 |
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Southern Peanut Farmers' Federation The latest organization that APPA was instrumental in forming was the Southern Peanut Farmers' Federation. Formed in 1998, SPFF was established to allow southeastern peanut producers to speak with a unified voice. Often, particularly in Washington, state representatives are asked the position of other southeastern states on policy issues. In order to avoid follow-up from each state, a position by the SPFF has become a position of all three states. It has, also, become an umbrella for other activities and projects, besides promotion, that the three organizations undertake collectively. Approximately, $350,000 annually is generated to support various projects. SPFF is comprised of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, the Florida Peanut Producers Association and the Georgia Peanut Commission. These are the respective "check-off" organizations in each state. The SPFF board consist of 6 members comprised of the chief elected officer and the executive director of each organization. Action requires unanimous agreement. The success of this coalition cannot be questioned. In the three years since its inception, a number of issues have been resolved as a direct result of the cooperative efforts within the southeast. The major issues included: A. Seg III Clean & Regrade Issue: Regulation changes were obtained to allow peanuts determined to contain aflavous mold to be cleaned and regarded before marketing. B. Allergy Research Funding: Obtained $500K for Alabama A&M, the University of Georgia and the University of Florida to conduct breeding research on allergy proteins. C. Peanut Production Research Funding: $3 million has been obtained for the USDA peanut research lab in Dawson, Ga to expand projects. D. Market Deficit Payment: Alabama initiated the 5% market deficit payment that growers received in 1999 and 2000 E. Program Loss Assessment: Peanut program losses in 1999 would have resulted in a $49 per ton assessment on peanut producers in the southeast alone. Other production areas would not have been affected. This assessment would have been assessed on the 2000 year crop had it not been avoided through efforts of the Federation. F. Structure of the 2002 Farm Bill and regulations G. Disaster legislation in 2003 Activities currently coordinated by the Federation include:
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