Peanut Buying Points Recognizes Service And Impact
The National Peanut Buying Points Association hosted their Annual Winter Conference at J.W. Marriott in Tampa, Florida, recently with 183 attendees.
The NPBPA’s Distinguished Service Award went to James Merritt, founder of Merritt Mechanical Fabrication in Cairo, Georgia. Merritt Mechanical is a family owned business spanning three generations. Kendall and Kim Taylor have been part of the company for 30 years. In 2021, Kasey Taylor joined the team. Their manufacturing shop has produced hydraulic lifts, drive-over unloading pits and elevator wells, conveyors, walkways, and the team is always busy helping buying points in the tri-state area.
The Impact Award was presented to Amy and David Dixon, the owners of the Dixon family farm and Dixon Peanut Company near Girard, Georgia. Amy and David’s buying point has three samplers installed with the automated tube on one of their samplers. The sampler with the automated tube was more consistent than the other two manual samplers. He made the decision to install the automated tube on those samplers as well. Their buying point graded 24,000 tons for the 2024 crop using all three samplers with the automated tube. They worked with Helton Electrical Services on the installation of the automated tubes for the samplers at their buying point.
The 2026 Peanut Buying Points Winter Conference will be Feb., 11-14, 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky, during the National Farm Machinery Show.
Federation Testifies At Committee Hearing
The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry recently held a hearing titled “Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy, Part 1.” Garrett Moore of Moore Family Farm LLC in Chancellor, Alabama, testified on behalf of the United States Peanut Federation and peanut farmers.
Moore’s testimony highlighted the struggles facing the peanut industry, including growers, shellers and buying points. He outlined the major financial challenges over the past few years, including supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, inflation, non-tariff trade barriers and low market prices. Despite the recently passed economic assistance package, farmers will still face significant deficits, with input costs rising dramatically.
Agricultural economists say that the cost of production in 2024 was approximately $656.80 per ton, which was a 20.17% increase over the course of three years compared to 2021’s $546.54 per ton.
During his testimony, Moore gave anecdotal evidence supporting the rising cost of production, stating, “On our farm alone, many of our expenses have almost doubled since 2018, and we are seeing no signs of relief in the cost of production area. For example, we need specific fertilizers to sustain nutrient levels in the soil, both for the peanuts we are growing and to protect the land for future crops. In the past few years, the significant increase in fertilizer costs has caused tough management decisions.”
Additionally, Moore emphasized the need for Congress to pass a new Farm Bill this year and to include an increase in the reference price for the peanut Price Loss Coverage program and a voluntary base update that will assist newer growing regions and younger growers.
“This testament to our current farm economy clearly conveys why we need a new Farm Bill. Peanut growers, shellers and buying points all support the PLC program as included in the 2018 Farm Bill, but with a reference price increase. While the 2018 Farm Bill’s PLC program has been beneficial for peanut growers in the past, the rise in cost of production requires a reference price increase if this program is to remain relevant and valuable as a farm safety net,” Moore said.
“Additionally, the U.S. Peanut Federation supports a voluntary base update that includes growers with and without peanut base acres. While the 2014 Farm Bill allowed for base updating for peanut growers that already had base acreage on their farms, it excluded many young farmers and new production areas,” Moore added.
In closing, he stressed the importance of the peanut industry in the global food supply and urged continued support for farmers to ensure the future of agriculture.
“I am proud to be an American peanut grower and am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to our nation’s food supply. I hope to continue my family’s farm for a 5th generation, which cannot be done without increased support for our industry,” Moore said.
Mana Contracts Reinstated
After the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency initially shut down all U.S. Agency for International Development contracts in their goal to eliminate wasteful spending, bipartisan support helped reinstate contracts for Mana Nutrition’s life-saving therapeutic food.
“We are thrilled and extremely grateful to share that our USAID contracts have been reinstated thanks to bipartisan support from all over the country!” they posted on the Mana Facebook page.
The Fitzgerald, Georgia, nonprofit that produces a fortified peanut paste shipped around the globe to fight malnutrition had millions of dollars in contracts canceled by the federal government.
“All of our contracts were canceled, which total nearly $50 million,” says Mark Moore, CEO and cofounder of Mana Nutrition.
Mana employs approximately 135 people in Fitzgerald, where the nonprofit has been operating since 2010. USAID accounts for more than 90% of Mana’s sales of the ready-to-use therapeutic food composed of peanut paste, milk and a mix of vitamins and minerals. The fortified paste is then packaged and distributed globally to treat children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. The Fitzgerald nonprofit is only one of two in the United States that makes RUTF packs. The other, Edesia Nutrition, is located in Rhode Island.
Mana reached a “remarkable milestone” in 2024 with feeding seven million children across the world. “This number represents more than just lifesaving treatments; it signifies lives saved and futures reclaimed. Over one billion packets of RUTF have traveled from Fitzgerald to 45 countries around the world, saving lives with Georgia peanuts,” Mana wrote on social media.
Cammack’s Fight For The Working Class Is Personal
Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL) was the featured speaker at the National Peanut Buying Points Association Annual Meeting in Tampa. She is a third-generation commercial sandblaster who grew up on a cattle ranch outside Denver, Colorado, participating in local 4-H programs and the local rodeo. After graduating from college at Metro State University in Denver, Cammack ran Ted Yoho’s successful congressional campaign in 2012 and served for nearly a decade as the deputy chief of staff for Florida’s Third Congressional District. While in that role, she advocated for small business owners, veterans and military families, agricultural producers and hardworking families like her own, motivated by her family’s story.
In her third term, she serves on the House Agriculture and House Energy and Commerce Committees. While serving on these committees, Cammack brings attention to the challenges faced by working-class families and Florida’s farmers, ranchers and producers with rising inflation, labor challenges and supply-chain issues. She also works to highlight the historic border crisis, visiting the southern border multiple times and sounding the alarm about the dangerous policies of the Biden-Harris administration. She also works to push back on the Chinese Communist Party’s threats to our national security through Big Tech information gathering and Chinese nationals’ purchases of American farmland. She consistently works to prioritize constituent advocacy and service, fighting for Florida families. She is an advocate for agriculture and a strong supporter of the peanut program.
U.S. Trade Representative Agrees To Help Peanuts
The U.S. Peanut Federation has shared concerns with the new U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, about peanut trading. U.S. peanut exports have struggled for several years, particularly with access to the European Union where we now export fewer peanuts than we did in the 1980s.
The Federation apprised Greer that even though U.S. peanut growers are subject to stringent aflatoxin testing by the USDA to assure our peanuts are safe to enter the food supply, the EU requires expanded testing for U.S. peanut imports, selecting 20% of U.S. shipments for additional testing.
“These requirements are far more extensive for the United States than for competitors, including China, and are costing the U.S. peanut industry hundreds of millions of dollars each year,” according to the Federation.
Greer says, when confirmed, he will help resolve this testing issue that is holding back U.S. exports to the EU.
“I will review the EU’s aflatoxin testing requirements and work to resolve discriminatory barriers that unfairly disadvantage U.S. peanut exporters,” he says.
Georgia Foundation For Agriculture Leads Fundraising
In the wake of devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, more than 40 agricultural organizations joined forces to establish a relief fund for farmers whose livelihoods were upended by the storm. With overwhelming support from hundreds of donors, the fund successfully raised $1.7 million in three months, providing vital aid to those who sustain our communities with locally grown food and fiber.
The “Weathered But Strong: Hurricane Relief Fund for Georgia Farmers” will provide direct assistance for agricultural losses, including damage to crops, livestock and farm infrastructure that is not covered under insurance, and 100% of the funds raised will be distributed directly to affected farmers, ensuring swift and meaningful support. Farmers were encouraged to apply for funds, and checks will be distributed based on needs outlined in their applications.
The relief effort was spearheaded by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture, which facilitated the collection of all donations and will be coordinating the distribution of the funds.
Washington D.C. Update
Bob Redding, executive director of the U.S. Peanut Federation offered an update from Washington D.C. at the National Peanut Buying Points Annual Conference that congressional members are aware of the present situation down on the farm with low commodity prices and increased cost of production. He says the American Relief Act of 2024 included the economic assistance package, agricultural disaster assistance and the 2024 Farm Bill extension.
The economic assistance package of $11 billion has made progress toward being released. It includes funds for all commodities, including a $76.30 per-acre payment for peanuts. The cotton payment is $87 per acre and corn is at $43 per acre. A 90-day deadline was included following approval by Congress with some estimating funds would be sent through the Farm Service Agency by the end of March.
Disaster assistance will take longer as farmers report damage. Disaster assistance includes $21 billion in natural disaster aid for farmers who are still reeling from hurricanes and other weather-related crises.
Redding also presented the January 2025 baseline for the allocations for the Farm Bill (2026-2035). The list includes nutrition (79%) at $1,124 billion; crop insurance (9%) at $132.8 billion; commodity programs (4%) at $57.4 billion followed by conservation (1%) for $16 billion, 1% was listed for trade, horticulture and research and a final 1% for administration.
Enroll In Sustainable Initiative
Enrollment for the Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative, now in its fourth year, is open through April 2025. The initiative supports America’s peanut industry with metrics on the most efficient use of production resources and encouraging farm operation sustainability practices that will help meet customer expectations, lead to increased demand for peanuts and set the stage for long-term economic viability.
“For peanut growers to be productive and profitable, the industry will need to increase demand for peanuts, and in our current market, one of the biggest drivers for demand is quickly becoming sustainability,” says American Peanut Council President and CEO Richard Owen. “Because consumers are demanding sustainable food production practices, manufacturers, retailers and our international trading partners have the same expectations. To be competitive, both domestically and internationally, the industry will need to prove and document peanut sustainability, which is the goal of the initiative.”
Sustainable U.S. Peanuts is supported by the peanut-industry and administered by the APC. It is the first of its kind, industry led and industry fed, peanut sustainability initiative. Relying on growers to input their verifiable sustainability practices, the initiative aggregates sustainability data from across the entire peanut industry. It is creating transparency that will serve the entire supply chain, from the people who love to grow peanuts to the people who love to eat them.
“The peanut industry has an incredible and evolving sustainability story to tell, and the industry-supported Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative is helping growers be part of the narrative,” said Owen.
Enroll or update information from previous crop years at sustainableuspeanuts.org/.
