Never before have two hurricanes caused such destruction and disruption in the peanut industry. • By Amanda Huber • Florence was a powerful storm that weakened before making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. Michael continued to grow in strength even a little while after landfall. Florence dumped buckets of rain and freshwater flooding was the primary impact. Michael’s 155 mile ... Read More »
Being the editor of The Peanut Grower magazine is more than a job for me. In fact, this year marks 20 years. At the American Research and Education Society Meeting in July, I had an occasion to count up all my years in the peanut industry, which I figure to be close to 25. In other words, I’ve been around ... Read More »
2018 Farm Bill The 2014 Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30, 2018. Congressional leaders now face the task of finding a compromise that can be approved by both chambers in a lame-duck session after the mid-term election. President Trump must sign the bill by the end of the calendar year. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) says the impasse is bigger than ... Read More »
What are the factors affecting final sprays and digging decisions? The decision of whether to spray or not or when to start digging is not always an easy one. The decision is made more difficult when a storm or bad weather is predicted. Last year’s active hurricane season made end-of-season planning and execution tricky. Based on early season conditions and ... Read More »
Properly inverted plants will form a uniform, fluffy, well-aerated windrow with few pods touching the soil. When to dig peanuts is one of the most important decisions growers make each year. The hull-scrape method of determining peanut maturity is an accurate way of judging when to harvest. County Extension agents routinely run crop maturity checks using the peanut profile board ... Read More »
Society meetings continue to foster collaborative efforts and creative solutions to industry challenges. • By Amanda Huber, Editor • The American Peanut Research Education Society celebrates 50 years of work, study, research, learning and accomplishments around one of the most important and beloved crops: the peanut. To mark the Golden Anniversary, a program highlighting the past accomplishments in the industry and ... Read More »
Peanuts are a shining star in the agricultural “tool box” as growers have been offered reasonable early contracts and the world is demanding more peanuts. Producers are usually optimistic when they smell fresh-plowed dirt and can look forward to a bountiful harvest at the end of the season, even when prices are not so good. However, peanut optimism is ... Read More »
Peanut farmers prepare for the 2017 peanut crop in good condition, marketing wise. There is no surplus of 2016 crop peanuts, except for a few lots with European Union edible quality, mostly jumbo runners. The market is very tight and that is likely to continue domestically until December 2017. Export markets will be influenced by the present crop in ... Read More »
The final numbers are almost in on U.S. peanut production from 2016. USDA predicted 2,842,305 farmer-stock tons, while the Federal Crop Inspection Service has counted 2,770,299 tons. The numbers are short of the October prediction of 3,155,100 tons. Lack of rain the last 90 days of the growing season caused both quality and quantity issues. The new numbers are ... Read More »
Down on the farm, producers are somewhat optimistic as domestic and export demand for peanuts remains strong. Other commodities do not produce such optimism, but prices have improved since Trump was elected President. Peanut producers need a strong crop for rotation. Early indications are for an acreage increase. The first estimate will be issued by USDA on March 30. ... Read More »
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