News Briefs

United Voice On Legislation Peanut growers, shellers and buying points have formed the United States Peanut Federation to serve as a unified voice in Washington, D.C., and advocate for strong agricultural policy. USPF’s mission is to protect, promote and improve business conditions for those in the peanut industry. U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, ... Read More »

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program By the first week of June, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program had distributed more than 5 million food boxes in support of American farmers and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Farmers to Families Food Box Program was designed to put ... Read More »

The Alabama Peanut Producers Association donated 14,400 jars of peanut butter to the Alabama Food Bank Association to assist eight regional food banks with feeding their communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on hunger-relief efforts around the state, and peanut butter is a favorite item for food banks, according to a news release. “Alabama peanut farmers are especially ... Read More »

More Assistance To Farmers, Ranchers Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee Chairman John Hoeven recently announced the approval of $19 billion for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program to support farmers and ranchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program includes $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers, and $3 billion in purchases of agriculture products, including meat, dairy and produce to ... Read More »

Loan Repayment Extension Producers now have more time to repay marketing assistance loans as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020. The loans now mature at 12 months rather than nine, and this flexibility is available for most commodities. The extension applies to nonrecourse loans for crop years ... Read More »

Farm Recovery Grant Approved 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 ... Read More »

Program Enrollment Deadline The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency encourages producers to enroll now in the agriculture risk or price loss coverage programs. Sign up for the 2019 crop year closes March 15, 2020, while sign up for the 2020 crop year closes June 30, 2020. Producers who have not yet enrolled for 2019 can enroll for both ... Read More »

Peanut production is forecast at 5.64 billion pounds for 2019, up 3% from 2018. Harvested area is expected to total 1.38 million acres, up 1% from 2018. The average yield is forecast at 4,080 pounds per acre, up 79 pounds from the 2018 average yield. Record yields were forecast in Florida and North Carolina. In the first week of January, ... Read More »

It was a star-studded event at the National Peanut Research Laboratory’s 50-year celebration. Guest speakers included U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Representative Sanford Bishop (D-Ga) and Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, the USDA Administrator for the Agricultural Marketing Service. Also speaking at the event was American Peanut Sheller Association President Karl Zimmer, and peanut producers Donald Chase and Casey Cox. Finally, ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation announced corrected 2019 crop loan rates. Loan rates published in June were incorrectly calculated. The 2014 Farm Bill established the national loan rate for peanuts at $355 per ton, which is unchanged from the previous Farm Bill. CCC calculated the price support levels for each peanut type using the same method as ... Read More »