The 15th annual Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show is set for Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 at the National Peanut Festival in Dothan.

Registration and doors open at 8:30 a.m. Attendees can enjoy a grilled PB&J sandwich and other refreshments while walking around the trade show. A complimentary lunch will be served at noon, along with a short program and announcement of door prize winners.

Over 60 exhibitors from the peanut industry will be on hand to help producers fine tune their farming operations for 2020. To see a list of registered exhibitors, click here.

The Grand Door Prize is sponsored by Kelley Manufacturing Co. The winner will be offered the use of a new model 74 series Peanut Combine, on the winner’s farm, for the 2020 peanut harvesting season, with the option of purchasing the combine through an authorized KMC dealer with $15,000 off the list price. The new and improved KMC model combine has several new features, including a new cleaning system to minimize foreign material. Also, with this new design eccentric bearings have been eliminated. The winner must be certified as a peanut grower with a FSA farm number, must have a minimum of 75 acres of peanuts, and must be present to win.

The Grower Prize is sponsored by Amadas Industries. The winner will receive a certificate good for the amount of $10,000 towards the purchase of a NEW Amadas Self-Propelled Peanut Combine, or $5,000 towards the purchase of a NEW Amadas 4-row or 6-row Pull-Type Peanut Combine or $2,000 towards the purchase of a NEW Amadas 6-row or 8-row Digger, or $1,000 towards the purchase of a NEW Amadas peanut dump cart. The winner must be a certified peanut grower with a FSA number.

Other popular door prizes include a trip to the 2020 Southern Peanut Growers Conference (registration and hotel for two) and a 12-gauge shotgun. Many exhibitors will give away door prizes throughout the show as well.

The Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show is sponsored by the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, Florida Peanut Producers Association and National Peanut Board.

In conjunction with the peanut trade show, the Alabama Peanut Producers Association will hold their annual meeting at 11:15 a.m. in the NPF Volunteer Building. All active Alabama peanut producers are invited to attend.

At the conclusion of lunch, Alabama producers will vote on their nominees for the National Peanut Board.

If you have questions about the Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show, the APPA annual meeting, or the National Peanut Board nominee vote, please contact the APPA office at 334-792-6482.

The Alabama Peanut Producers Association seeks eligible peanut producers who are interested in serving on the National Peanut Board. The Alabama Peanut Producers Association will hold a nominations election to select two nominees each for member and alternate to the National Peanut Board during a meeting on February 6, 2020, following the Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds, 5622 U.S. Highway 231 South, Dothan, AL 36301. All eligible peanut producers are encouraged to participate. Eligible producers are those who are engaged in the production and sale of peanuts and who own or share the ownership and risk of loss of the crop.

Tom Corcoran of Eufaula is the current Alabama National Peanut Board member and Thomas Adams of Newville serves as the alternate. The term for the current Alabama board member and alternate expires Dec. 31, 2020.

USDA requires two nominees from each state for each position of member and alternate. The National Peanut Board will submit Alabama’s slate of nominees to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who makes the appointments.

The National Peanut Board encourages inclusion of persons of any race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation and marital or family status. NPB encourages all persons who qualify as peanut producers to attend the meeting and run for nomination.

It is USDA’s policy that membership on industry-government boards and committees accurately reflect the diversity of individuals served by the programs.

About the Alabama Peanut Producers Association
The Alabama Peanut Producers Association is a grower funded organization whose purpose is to contribute toward programs in research, education, promotion and other methods designed to increase the consumption of peanuts and peanut products, as well as the general well-being of the peanut producers.

About the National Peanut Board
The National Peanut Board represents all USA peanut farmers and their families. The mission of the Board is to improve the economic condition of USA peanut farmers and their families through compelling promotion and groundbreaking research.

Some of the nation’s top chefs, food bloggers and culinary arts instructors dug into the heart of peanut country when they attended the farm-to-table Peanut Harvest Tour in Dothan, Oct. 20-23.

Sponsored by the Alabama Peanut Producers Association (APPA), Southern Peanut Growers and the National Peanut Board, the event included farm tours and stops at the Wiregrass Experiment Station in Headland, a peanut buying point, a shelling plant and Golden Boy Peanut Butter Plant in Troy.

A visit at APPA board member Thomas Adams’ farm in Henry County allowed the dozen participants to see peanut harvest in full swing.

“I’ve had several tours on my farm, but those tours were usually people from within the farm industry,” said Adams, who raises peanuts, cotton, hay, cattle and poultry on his farm near Newville. “This group was very interested in the equipment and entire process of planting and harvesting peanuts.”

But the tour taught more than just how peanuts are grown, said culinary arts teacher Dan Wagner of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.

“Learning about the roots of the peanuts also gave me a symbolic connection of how the farmers are rooted in their faith and family,” he said. “It was refreshing to spend time with these farmers, share a meal with them and watch them pray before our meal to thank God for rain. It was an emotional experience.”

Likewise, Polynesian Cultural Center executive chef Felix Tai of Oahu, Hawaii, said his first trip to the South was filled with pleasant surprises.

“I’ve heard about Southern hospitality, and it’s a real thing,” Tai said. “For me, food is love. In Hawaii, we call that feeling the aloha spirit. It’s the exact same feeling here. I could tell from talking to the farmers that they care about what they do, and they love it.

“Really, I’m just a cook, but the love I put into dishes I prepare, and the joy of knowing that people like what I cook, is what makes my job special. I think it’s the same for farmers. Being able to walk through the fields with them, share a meal and get a real look into their lives was something I could never get from reading a book. It has to be experienced to really understand it.”

Adams said the sustainability of peanuts also piqued the interest of the group, who learned that once peanuts are harvested nothing goes to waste.

“We discussed how the best peanuts are used in candy and peanut butter, while lesser-grade peanuts are crushed for high-quality cooking oil,” Adams said. “The vines are rolled up for cattle feed, and even after the peanuts are shelled, the hulls are used for poultry house bedding.”

The massive equipment, monetary investment and enormous faith farmers have wasn’t lost on Kathleen Phillips of Gardendale, Alabama, who was among the tour participants. As a food blogger, professional food stylist and cookbook author, it was her first time to share a meal with a farmer.

“My heart broke for the farmers as I listened to one of them tell how devastating this year’s drought had been to his dry land crop,” said Phillips, whose blog Grits and Gouda specializes in shortcut recipes. “Farmers put countless hours into these crops for months, working night and day, only to have their profits shriveled in the heat of the sun.”

But Phillips said she’s also optimistic about the future of farming.

“We met a farmer who introduced us to his 17-year-old son that was operating the large machinery equipped with GPS-guided controls,” she said. “I was encouraged for the future of peanut farming to hear this young man planned to continue his family’s tradition of farming as his occupation.”

The tour’s goal was to immerse culinarians and food bloggers in the entire peanut industry from farm-to-table in authentic Southern style, said Kaye Lynn Hataway, the APPA’s project coordinator.

“We wanted participants to spend time with family farmers digging up peanuts and learning about farming practices, today’s technology and the sustainability of peanut crops,” she said. “This tour exceeded all our expectations! It ended up being about more than the peanut industry. The attendees discovered the heart of our peanut farmers and their love for their families, farming and feeding the world.”

Attendees were asked to create recipes using peanuts, blog or write articles about their experiences and share the tour on social media.

“We want them to not only eat more peanuts but promote peanuts and spread the word about peanuts with all the people they influence,” Hataway said.

Click here for a list of attendees.

Article written by Debra Davis, Alabama Farmers Federation

As the 2019 peanut growing season comes to an end, we have continued to see the differences in growing conditions from one year to the next, like the extreme temperatures and the spotted and sparsely scattered rain showers we have experienced this year. Even Alabama’s peanut acreage has been reduced from 163,000 acres in 2018 to around 158,000 in 2019, according to USDA.

This year has shown us probably the most Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) pressure in the past 10 years. It has not only been in GA O6G’s, but across all varieties around the state. The new FloRun 331 has also had double the amount of TSWV hits compared to other varieties. We need to take notice of that so we don’t place FloRun 331 in a susceptible situation in the future. In addition to TSWV pressure, many growers have battled weeds all season long due to the lack of rainfall to incorporate residual herbicides.

Over 30 percent of the Alabama peanut crop has been harvested. We still need adequate moisture for digging peanuts and finishing up harvest. Even with the extreme weather conditions, the crop still seems to be on time (140 dap), with the pod blast method, for the fields that we have checked with the exception of some that are really dry.

(Information provided by Kris Balkcom, Auburn University, Extension Specialist)