Decisions, decisions, decisions. A producer’s goals include protecting the land and crop potential production with recommended crop rotation, surviving the lowest commodity prices in recent memory while reducing the cost of production so a profit shows at harvest, and then growing quality peanuts for the market and not for the government. Those are great goals; however, each farmer is different ... Read More »
Producers have a better understanding of the 2014 Farm Bill after a full-year cycle under the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, which 99.7 percent of peanut producers chose. Farmers have always evaluated prices of commodities to determine the most profitable crop to plant. Other factors to evaluate include contract offers from shellers, cost of production and always with a watchful ... Read More »
Down on the family peanut farm, there is much unhappiness. Commodity prices are the lowest in two decades; peanut contracts are at or below the cost of production, and that’s if you can find one. Input costs were higher than last year, and the peanut program regulations have been almost impossible to fully understand. Just trying to survive, too many ... Read More »
The U.S. peanut industry has experienced an unusual start for 2015. Seed quantities were good and quality was mostly good as well. There were some problems getting accurate information on germination and the process was slower than normal. Weather was most unusual in Texas with flooding during planting season and the Southeast, where 80 percent of peanuts are grown, with ... Read More »
The peanut market seems to be singing the same song, second verse, and will likely remain quiet until the industry has a better handle on acreage. Until then, sunshine has arrived, and while producers feel the season is late, researchers and Extension specialists assure them the delay is okay. Most planting decisions have been made to determine the best planting ... Read More »
The peanut stage is set. Producers across America have studied the 2014 Farm Bill, selected their coverage options and worked to establish the facts they’ll work by. Federal Crop Insurance has been improved for peanuts, and agents have worked to sell their plans to farmers. Seed has been ordered, and Mother Nature has supplied mostly good winter rains and offered ... Read More »
Make sure your seed are certified and properly handled The American peanut industry is poised for growth and expansion. Analysts are predicting a 20 to 25 percent increase in acreage for the 2015 season. Since farmers learned more about Price Loss Coverage (PLC) in the new Farm Bill and hear predictions of a $100 per-acre payment in October after the ... Read More »
The real peanut market has been quiet as industry players strive to determine their future in the U.S. peanut business. Farmers have been studying the new Market Assistance Loan program and the new rules that were issued from the 2014 Farm Bill. USDA has done an excellent job in interpreting the new Farm Bill and smoothing out the explanations so ... Read More »
The U.S. peanut industry is poised for disaster if farmers plant wall to wall peanuts. All the talk is that peanut acreage will be back to 2012 levels or above, a 25 to 30 percent increase. Peanut prices are already dropping from $400 per ton in the Southeast to a floor of $380 per ton with limits on poundage per ... Read More »
It was an odd year in row-crop agriculture, especially in the Southeast. Some producers had two months of too much rain, then two months with little or no rain and two months of unusual harvest conditions ripe with various problems. Prices have fallen so low, the farmer may have to extend payback of loans to next year. In thinking about ... Read More »
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