Republican Congressman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma still thinks it’s possible to get a farm bill before the end of 2024. “I don’t want to wait personally for January to do the farm bill… I want to do the farm bill as soon as possible,” the senior member of the House Agriculture Committee told the Southern Peanut Growers Conference on Friday … Read More

The former Governor of Georgia and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture came before the Southern Peanut Growers Conference Thursday in his newest role as University System of Georgia Chancellor. Sonny Perdue was named UGA Chancellor in 2022, a role which provides leadership in higher education, extension, and research priorities within the state university system, so he wanted to hear what … Read More

At the end of 2023, Bob Parker retired as President and CEO of the National Peanut Board after serving in that capacity for a decade. For his tenure and leadership, he was presented with the annual Valor Award by Valent at the 2024 Southern Peanut Growers Conference. “I tell people if you cut my arm, instead of blood, peanut butter … Read More

Many of his Republican colleagues are in Milwaukee this week for the convention, but Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia put peanut growers and his family ahead of attending his party’s big party. “It’s not that I don’t want to be there, it’s that I have a six year old and a ten year old and I had four other things … Read More

Peanut growers and industry representatives from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi are in Savannah, Georgia this week Rollin’ on the River for the 2024 Southern Peanut Growers Conference. Leaders of the state organizations, pictured here, gave us an update on the condition of their crops this year and what they are expecting as far as a farm bill after the … Read More

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) recently voted to request that Congress require a mandatory base acre update in the upcoming farm bill reauthorization, a proposal which is causing a lot of concern both in Washington DC and around the countryside. “This was new, certainly surprising to us and a lot of other commodities,” said Bob Redding, during his annual … Read More

Dr. Simer Virk, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension precision agriculture specialist, has been working on precision agriculture applications in peanuts for the past five years and he told the Southern Peanut Growers Conference that he sees a lot of promise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance peanut production. “Artificial intelligence in agriculture is already picking up,” said … Read More

Once again this year, the Farm Press 2023 Peanut Efficiency Award winners were honored at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference. The winner from the Lower Southeast states was Ryan Jenkins of Jay, Florida who farms 2,000 non-irrigated acres of peanuts, cotton, soybeans, corn, wheat and oats. Jenkins encouraged all peanut farmers to participate in the award program, if only for … Read More