Southern Peanut Growers Conference Set for July

 Mark your calendars for the 27th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference, July 21-23, 2026, at the Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort, Panama City Beach, Florida. This year’s conference offers farmers an opportunity to learn more about legislative issues, peanut promotions and production issues.

The registration fee for growers is $275 which includes all conference events and meals. The registration deadline is June 15. The registration fee increases by $75 on June 16.

The theme for this year’s conference, “Farming is a Circus,” plans to focus on the struggles farmers face with health, weather, mental health and a Washington update.

The conference schedule and registration information is available at www.southernpeanutfarmers.org.

2026 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Schedule

Tuesday, July 21

3:00 – 5:00 p.m.            

• Conference Registration

6:30 p.m.

• Welcoming Reception

7:00 p.m.   

•  Welcome Dinner and A Night at the Peanut Circus

• Sponsored by Syngenta

• Featuring AscenDance Entertainment

Wednesday, July 22

7:00 a.m.

• Prayer Breakfast When It’s Too Bad to Bring in the Clowns, Pray!

• Don Koehler, senior executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission

8:30 a.m. 

• General Session I

  Juggling it All: Stress, Strength and Health in Farm Life

• Dr. Marsha Davis, Dean of the University of Georgia College of Public Health

• Dr. Lisa M. Renzi Hammond, Professor of Innovation in Public Health and Aging

• Dr. Jenay Beer, Associate Professor at the UGA Institute of Gerontology

• Dr. Christina Proctor, Clinical Associate Professor, UGA College of Public Health

10:00 a.m. 

• Refreshment Break

10:30 a.m.   

• Ladies Program   Circus of Flavors by Mallory’s Munchies

• Features a Charcuterie Board Demo with Mallory Thompson

10:30 a.m.

• General Session II. Under the Big Top of Uncertainty: Weather in Modern Farming

• Dr. David Zierden, Florida State University

• Dr. Simer Virk, Auburn University

• Dr. Marshall Lamb, USDA-ARS National Peanut Research Lab

Noon

• Luncheon Under the Big Top: A Story of Pressure, Pride and Mental Health

• Marshal Sewell, Mind Your Melon

Thursday, July 23

7:00 a.m.

• Farm Press Peanut Efficiency Awards Breakfast

9:00 a.m.     

• General Session III     Tightrope Talks: From the Field to Capitol Hill

• Bob Redding, The Redding Firm

• High-wire Dreams: Featuring young farmers in a panel discussion
  

• Garrett Moore, Alabama       – Jeffery Pittman, Florida

• Adam Curles, Georgia            – Mary Katherine Harrington, South Carolina

10:15 a.m.                          

• Refreshment Break

• Conference concludes

Have a safe trip home!