Rollins Nominated Secretary Of Ag
President-elect Donald Trump has named Brooke Rollins to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rollins, a Texas native, is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank launched in 2021 to promote Trump’s economic policies. A conservative lawyer, Rollins also served as acting director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council at the end of Trump’s first term.
Rollins is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where she received an undergraduate degree in agricultural leadership and development. She has also been involved with Future Farmers of America and 4-H, with the statement saying she guides “her four kids in their show cattle careers.” The American Farm Bureau Federation said Rollins has a “good relationship” with the Texas Farm Bureau, something the national group hopes to build on if she’s confirmed.
In a post on X, Rollins says, “It will be the honor of my life to fight for America’s farmers and our Nation’s agricultural communities. Who’s ready to make agriculture great again?”
Farm Bill Progress: Yes Or No?
With Congress’s return to the lame-duck session in late December, agricultural stakeholders once again urged legislators to consider important items before the end of the 118th Congress. Multiple initiatives being discussed are of high significance to the peanut industry, including economic assistance, the Farm Bill and disaster assistance.
With Republican’s sweeping victories on Election Day, including the President, House and Senate, the likelihood of a five-year Farm Bill was viewed as dim. Despite this, the Senate Ag Committee, still led by retiring Senator and committee chair Debbie Stabenow released their 1,397-page Farm Bill on Nov. 18, with merely weeks remaining before Congress adjourned.
With news that Sen. Stabenow had briefed democrats but not republicans on the committee, Senate Ag Committee ranking member John Boozman (R-Ark.) wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, “An 11th hour partisan proposal released 415 days after the expiration of the current Farm Bill is insulting. America’s farmers deserve better.”
The consensus was that Congress would pass an extension long enough to kick the Farm Bill deep into 2025, while looking to add disaster assistance and possibly help for farmers who’ve suffered from high costs and low commodity prices.
Peanut Leaders Push For Year-End Priorities
Knowing peanut growers need assistance before the 2025 crop year, representatives from the U.S. Peanut Federation again traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for assistance needed before the end of this year. During the trip, USPF representatives met with members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, as well as senior agricultural staff, to engage in discussions on economic assistance, natural disaster assistance and the Farm Bill.
The one-year extension, passed in November 2023, that authorized programs at the same levels as the 2018 Farm Bill, expired Sept. 30, 2024, and some federal programs became unavailable. Crop insurance, primary nutrition, disaster and other programs have been enacted as permanent law, and access to federal assistance will remain available.
Chris Chammoun, executive director of the American Peanut Shellers Association, attended with USPF. “We had great visits on Capitol Hill and were glad members of Congress took the time to hear the concerns of the peanut industry,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to work with members to address the current needs of the industry.”
Joe Boddiford, Georgia Peanut Commission president also attended the trip. “Times are hard back on the farm, and we haven’t seen an economic crisis like this since the early 1980s,” he said. “If financial assistance is not prompt, many farmers will be forced out of business and not be able to farm again.”
Sustainable U.S. Peanuts New Enrollment Year, Grower Toolkit
The American Peanut Council recently launched the 2024 crop enrollment for the Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative. Enrollment is available until April 2025 at Sustainablepeanuts.org.
In its fourth year, the initiative is supporting 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.
Additionally, a grower toolkit is now available to help answer growers’ questions, to offer grower testimonials on how sustainable practices have positively impacted their farm and community and to provide step-by-step instructions on enrolling.
“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 American Peanut Council.
Tackling Aflatoxin
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee previously approved the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies legislation, which would continue the peanut aflatoxin contamination research funding at the same level, $4 million, as FY 2024.
The American Peanut Shellers Association, National Peanut Buying Points Association, Southern Peanut Farmers Federation and United States Peanut Federation recently hosted an Aflatoxin Research Update at the University of Georgia Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. Eighteen presentations were offered by researchers from the USDA’s National Peanut Research Lab, Fort Valley State University, University of Georgia, University of Florida and Mississippi State University.
“The entire peanut supply chain benefits from the work these researchers are doing, but most importantly, their work will provide solutions for our farmers,” says Courtney Dorsett, Chair of the American Peanut Shellers Association Committee on Regulatory Compliance and Research Coordination. “Tackling the aflatoxin problem leads to peanut varieties that are more drought-tolerant and resistant to insects and diseases.”
Georgia Peanut Farm Show Planned
The 48th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference will be Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. The one-day show is free and open to all farmers and industry representatives.
Attendees will have the opportunity to visit nearly 100 agribusinesses and organizations in the peanut and agricultural industry. Farmers will be able to earn private and commercial pesticide applicator certification, as well as learn about cutting-edge research and developments during the University of Georgia Peanut Production Seminar and industry-wide sponsored Peanut Seed Seminar.
Rodney Dawson, show chairman, says, “I encourage farmers to attend this one-day show in Tifton. The knowledge they will gain from industry representatives and seminars is an investment in the future of their farm.”
The Georgia Peanut Commission, in cooperation with Oneblood, will host a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. At show close on Thursday, nearly $10,000 in door prizes will be awarded to farmers, including a grand door prize. For details, visit www.gapeanuts.com.
Appel Named Interim Dean At Auburn University College of Ag
Arthur Appel will serve as interim dean of the Auburn University College of Agriculture and interim director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, effective Jan. 1. Appel has served as associate dean for research and assistant director of the Experiment Station since 2021.
Appel previously served as interim dean and director from July 2015 to March 2016. He was interim associate dean for research and interim assistant director of the Experiment Station from Jan. 2014 to March 2016, and he chaired the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology from 2005 to 2014. He has been on faculty at Auburn since 1985.
“I am honored to lead our college and Experiment Station through this transition period,” Appel says. “These programs are in excellent positions, and we have great teams in place. My goal for the coming months is to continue our current trajectory while preparing the way for our next dean and director and assisting in a smooth, successful transition.”
Appel holds an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of California at Los Angeles and a master’s and Ph.D. in urban entomology from the University of California at Riverside. His research, teaching and scholarship have led to many honors and awards, including induction as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Make Plans To Attend The Alabama/Florida Peanut Farm Show
The Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show, hosted by the Alabama Peanut Producers Association and the Florida Peanut Producers Association since 2005, is scheduled for Jan. 30. Peanut growers from both states can learn about products and services from more than 60 exhibitors. At the “Research Corner,” growers can talk face-to-face with Extension and researchers from Auburn University and the University of Florida and see research being conducted to help their bottom line.
The show is held at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds in Dothan, Alabama. Doors open at 8 a.m.
Lunch is provided. For information, contact Alabama Peanut Producers Association, Kaye Lynn Hataway at 334-792-6482 at klhataway@alpeanuts.com or Florida Peanut Producers Association, Brittany Peacock at 850-526-2590 or brittany@flpeanuts.com.
PB&J Factory Opens In Alabama
The J.M. Smucker Co. recently celebrated the opening of its newest manufacturing facility in McCalla, Alabama, which will support production of one of the company’s fastest-growing brands, Uncrustables. Company leadership, including Chair of the Board, President and CEO, Mark Smucker, along with local and state leadership, including Governor Kay Ivey, were in attendance for the grand opening event.
The 900,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will increase the company’s current production capacity for its Uncrustables brand to help meet demand for the popular frozen sandwiches.
“The opening of our new facility in McCalla furthers our commitment to invest in our strategy to build leading brands in attractive categories,” says Mark Smucker. “We have grown Uncrustables from a $12 million brand to one delivering approximately $800 million in annual net sales last fiscal year. With the new facility now open, we are well positioned to realize our goal of $1 billion in annual net sales by the end of fiscal year 2026.
“I would like to extend our appreciation to the state of Alabama and Jefferson County officials for their partnership. I would also like to share my thanks to the tremendous team here in McCalla for their hard work to open the facility.”
The new facility marks the third manufacturing location dedicated to the Smucker’s Uncrustables brand, along with facilities in Scottsville, Kentucky, and Longmont, Colorado. The new facility, and a completed expansion at the Longmont location, will support the company’s strategy to more than double its production capacity.
Demand for the frozen handheld sandwich has driven the brand’s growth over time to approximately $500 million in annual net sales, demonstrating double-digit growth annually over the past decade.
