Peanut growers say they plan to plant nearly 1.53 million acres this season, up 7% from the 1.42 million acres planted in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently released Planting Intentions Report. Growers in nearly every peanut-producing state are expected to increase acreage slightly except for Oklahoma, where they are expected to decrease plantings to 12,000 acres, ... Read More »

Planting into a weed-free field, applying residual herbicides and knocking back that first weed flush reduces competition and yield loss. • By Amanda Huber • A big part of getting the crop off to a good start is managing weeds. The key is planting into a clean field and then applying preemergence herbicides as quickly as possible behind the planter. ... Read More »

Does a higher seeding rate pay dividends? • By Amanda Huber • If some is good, then more is better is not a mantra for peanut seeding rates. Producers need to plant enough seed to provide at least four plants per foot of row. To do this, seeding rates of six seed per foot of row on singles and six ... Read More »

Know the factors important for setting the correct downforce. Georgia farmers with reduced plant stands in 2019 may be able to correct those problems in 2020 by properly setting and using downforce on their planters, says Wes Porter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist and precision agriculture expert. Downforce is the pressure farmers apply to their row unit to ... Read More »

William “Bill” Branch, a professor in the University of Georgia Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and a peanut breeder, has been named to the Georgia Seed Development Professorship in Peanut Breeding and Genetics. Since joining the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 1978, Branch has worked to develop new peanut varieties to help with the battle against ... Read More »

As best I can, I’m an optimist. I look for the silver lining in clouds, make lemonade from lemons when possible and always count my blessings one by one. But the truth is, this situation of sheltering in place doesn’t change what I do nearly as much as it does many people. I have been working from home since becoming ... Read More »

Never before has the U.S. peanut market been in such disarray with so many unusual circumstances as it is in 2020. The peanut market continues to rise with very thin trading volume. Prices for peanuts testing negative for aflatoxin are about 68 cents per pound for whole peanuts. Blanched material is priced in the mid-70s to low 80 cents per ... Read More »

In 2018, Georgia agriculture suffered a $2.5-billion economic loss from Hurricane Michael. Since then, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and commodity commissions have worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reach an agreement on a disaster relief package. In November 2019, USDA allocated $347 million for Georgia farmers and landowners. The GDA is now accepting applications for the block ... Read More »

For early season pest management, this is an investment you can bank on. As the 2019 growing season fades into the past, growers are making key decisions for the upcoming crop. As always, it’s a balancing act between investment and potential return. “It’s always a difficult decision to make,” says Ken Craft, a grower in the Damascus, Georgia. “In the ... Read More »

Even though spring 2018 and 2019 were opposite in growing conditions, both proved that being aggressive early and planting as soon as the soil temperatures warmed up was good. Being timely last year paid off in getting a good stand and a solid start before going into six weeks of drought that followed. Planting before the third week of May ... Read More »