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Harvest Tour Helps Spread Good News About Peanuts

Harvest Tour Helps Spread Good News About Peanuts

A group of food bloggers and culinary experts learned about peanuts, from farm to flavor, during the Alabama Peanut Producers Association (APPA) Harvest Tour Sept. 19-22.

 

The seven participants visited southeast Alabama peanut farms, toured the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center in Headland and experienced the inner workings of a buying and shelling facility in the area. They also heard from Dr. Samara Sterling of The Peanut Institute who discussed peanut nutrition and research relating to peanut consumption and cognitive benefits.

 

“Learning that peanuts contain many nutrients that help support our immune systems certainly makes me want to incorporate more peanuts into my diet,” said blogger and recipe developer Stacey Little of Prattville.

 

Little, a contributor to Neighbors magazine’s Farmhouse Kitchen, said the experience equipped him with tons of great information he’ll pass along to his readers.

 

“Being able to share about peanut harvest and processing, along with the health benefits of adding peanuts to your diet, will certainly allow my readers to make better informed decisions,” he said. “This tour has also helped me refocus on how important our farmers are. So many times, we lose sight of the work that goes into a product on the grocery store shelf. Seeing the level of effort and care each of these farmers puts into producing a healthy, nutritious and affordable crop has given me a new appreciation for something I often overlook.”

 

Lynda Self, a food and travel blogger from Decatur, shared Little’s appreciation for the tour.

 

“I might have seen peanuts driving down the road, but I had never actually been in a peanut field until now,” Self said. “The entire tour has been a great experience for me. Learning about the nutrition and health benefits of peanuts was especially fascinating. If I can eat a handful of nuts, instead of taking a pill to improve my health, who wouldn’t want to do that?”

 

Auburn University’s Dr. Mark Traynor was on the tour. He is a culinary science associate professor and program coordinator in the College of Human Sciences. He said he was fascinated by the research that’s being done to improve peanut production and studies to determine the health and nutritional benefits of peanuts.

 

“There’s a lot of work that goes into the humble peanut before consumers get them,” Traynor said. “It’s been interesting to profile the flavor from raw, fresh-from-the field peanuts and then them prepared in several ways.”

 

Peanut farmer Ed White of Headland was a tour host. Attendees observed his GPS-guided tractor dig and turn peanuts that they picked from the vines.

 

“I think they were especially interested in the technology we use on the farm,” said White, who is an APPA board member and Henry County Farmers Federation president. “I hope they help spread the good news about peanuts, and now they have some good first-hand experience to share.”

Article written by Debra Davis, Alabama Farmers Federation

 

The Alabama Farm-to-Table Peanut Harvest Tour was sponsored by the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, The Peanut Institute and National Peanut Board.

Wiregrass Pod Blast Schedule

Wiregrass Pod Blast Schedule

Peanut harvest season is just around the corner. Henry County Extension Coordinator, Jimmy Jones, has announced the 2021 pod blasting dates for the Wiregrass Area. The pod blasting will be held at the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center in Headland.

 

Click here for the schedule.

 

Don’t miss the opportunity to check your peanuts to determine the optimum maturity date. Digging your peanuts at the right time is one of the most important decisions you will make this season. This one management tool can make you 300-500 pounds more peanuts and 3-5 points on your grade putting more money on your bottom line this fall.

 

For more information, contact Jimmy Jones at 334-726-1804 or Sedrick Mack at 334-441-8384.

 

 

Applications are now being accepted for Peanut Leadership Academy Class XII

Applications are now being accepted for Peanut Leadership Academy Class XII

Applications are now being accepted for Class XII of the Peanut Leadership Academy. To be eligible for participation, candidates must derive their primary livelihood from farming and currently produce peanuts, make a commitment to the program and agree to attend all sessions except in times of illness or a family emergency, be between the ages of 22 and 45 and provide a completed application.

 

The Peanut Leadership Academy is a cooperative effort between Syngenta Crop Protection, the American Peanut Shellers Association and grower organizations. The program began in 1998 with the first class of 14 peanut growers from Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Since then, the academy has grown to include growers from Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and sheller representatives.

 

During the program, participants are taught how to become more effective spokespeople for the peanut industry, develop industry relationships and further grow their leadership skills. Five sessions take place throughout the 18-month class and require approximately 20 days of travel. During the sessions, activities are structured to give participants a thorough understanding of the United States peanut industry and include industry tours, meetings with industry leaders and professional development training. Each class also has one leadership session in Washington, D.C. where participants have an opportunity to visit with members of congress on issues affecting the peanut industry.

 

To download a copy of the upcoming class application, visit www.southernpeanutfarmers.org. Applications must be postmarked or emailed to jessie@gapeanuts.com by Oct. 1, 2021, for consideration. The first session will begin in December 2021.

 

Download Application HERE!

Alabama Ag Economic Update Newsletter

Alabama Ag Economic Update Newsletter

Dr. Adam Rabinowitz, Extension Economist for Alabama Cooperative Extension and Auburn Unversity, is sharing the first edition of the Ag Economic Update, a newsletter from the ACES Farm and Agribusiness Management team focused on providing information relevant to Alabama farmers, landowners, lenders, and other stakeholders in the state.

 

If you would like to receive future issues published quarterly, subscribe at this link http://eepurl.com/hDTFVT .

 

Click on the link below to read the first edition of the Ag Economic Update:

https://mailchi.mp/063fab3e27d7/ag-economic-update-july-2021?e=22ae712198

 

 

Weed Management Tours for Peanuts and Cotton

Weed Management Tours for Peanuts and Cotton

Peanut and cotton growers in Southeast and Southwest Alabama have the opportunity to visit weed management test plots in July. These tours give growers a look at which chemicals are working in the fields, and an opportunity to learn about new options for weed management. The peanut research is funded by growers check-off dollars through the Alabama Peanut Producers Association and National Peanut Board.

 

The Gulf Coast Research & Extension Center in Fairhope will host the Weed Management Tour on Thursday,  July 8, 2021. The tour is scheduled for 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Breakfast will be provided. Contact Guilherme Morata at gtm0009@aces.edu for more information.

 

 

 

 

The Wiregrass Weed Tour is scheduled for Monday, July 12, 2021 at the Wiregrass Research & Extension Center in Headland. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Tour begins at 9:00 a.m. A lunch will be served. Please RSVP for lunch to the Wiregrass Research & Extension Center at 334-693-2363 or Agronomic REA Sedrick Mack:334-441-8384.

Tropical Storm Claudette Leaves Peanut Fields Soggy

Tropical Storm Claudette Leaves Peanut Fields Soggy

While the rain many received from Tropical Storm Claudette is appreciated, it has been said you can have too much of a good thing.

 

Peanut growers in Southeast Alabama received the majority of the rainfall. Mark Kaiser, a Baldwin County peanut farmer and APPA vice president, received over 7 inches of rain. Escambia County peanut farmer and APPA board member, Sammy Gibbs, has reported receiving over 10 inches on his farm. Other parts of the state’s peanut growing areas did not receive quite as much – Wendy Yeager, peanut farmer in Dallas County, reports only receiving 3 inches from Tropical Storm Claudette.

 

Kris Balkcom, Auburn University peanut specialist, weighs in on the impact of receiving large amounts of rain during the current peanut growing season:

 

“Obviously we don’t need 10 inches at one time. However, we seem to get these bigger rainfall events more often now than the smaller more frequent rains. My first concern is that peanuts don’t like saturated soils. Most years we would have a larger percentage of the crop at the fruiting stage than what we have currently this year. The crop was delayed at planting this year so it is at least two weeks further behind than what we would like and to get a big benefit from the heavy rainfall amount.”

 

“An older crop would have bigger plants, larger root mass and a higher water demand. Therefore, the bigger rainfall amount is not as critical with these smaller young plants. For the most part, this rain is just replenishing the sub soil moisture because not many producers got to plant as early as they wanted and the crop isn’t in the heavy fruiting stage.”

 

“Watch out for those wetter natured areas of fields and the fields that are flatter with heavier soils. If you see the peanuts yellowing, you may have to cultivate them. The cultivation will help aerate the soil to allow oxygen to get to the roots. The plants will then begin to green back up relatively quickly. Also, with the later planting date many producers are trying to apply herbicides currently to the crop. This particular rainfall event will hinder that, delaying the spray application and effecting the timing of application causing us to miss an opportunity to kill some of the weeds at the right time.”

 

 

Steve Li, Alabama Extension weed specialist, shares how this rainfall event can hinder weed control:

 

“Every growing season is different and unique, and this year is no different. Since late spring, we experienced very wet conditions until mid-May, then very dry, then very wet again. It is almost like in a blink of an eye, field conditions are totally switched from one extreme to the other. Many cotton and peanut fields in south Alabama were planted during the dry spell. Growers were concerned that their residuals behind the planter might be wasted. The concern is real because I have seen Palmer amaranth and sicklepod break though almost any type of herbicide I have put out behind the planter in my research plots. Without adequate and timely rainfall, the herbicides are not helping weed control much.”

 

“Before growers have time to deal with escapes from PRE application, the intense rainfalls in the last several days may throw more people off the weed control bus as they cannot get back to their fields for a while. Palmer, grasses, sicklepod and other weeds are fully utilizing this period to grow as fast as they can. By the time farmers can spray them, they might be too big to control by any herbicides. This is an unfortunate situation that someone will need to deal with.”

 

Do you already have big weeds in your peanut fields? Dr. Li shares his recommendations for getting rid of them and cleaning up your fields after all this rain.

 

Click here to read his recommendations: Peanut weed control update June 22

 

2020 Estimated Peanut Production for Alabama Released

2020 Estimated Peanut Production for Alabama Released

The USDA National Agricultural Statistic Service (NASS) has published the 2020 estimated peanut production for Alabama. NASS has estimated that Alabama peanut growers produced 637 million pounds of peanuts in 2020. That makes Alabama 2nd in the nation in peanut production, with Georgia ranking first. The U.S. produced 6.13 billion pounds of peanuts in 2020.

Houston County is estimated as the top peanut producing county with 105,930,000 pounds of peanuts produced, and Baldwin County comes in next at 96,070,000 pounds of peanuts produced. The top five is rounded out by Geneva County, Escambia County and Henry County, respectively.

 

View the USDA NASS report here – ALPeanut2020

Released May 2021 by USDA, NASS