The last day of the 2013 Southern Peanut Growers Conference started with a rainbow over stormy Gulf waters and ended with the annual dinner and entertainment sponsored by Syngenta. The weather was unpredictable enough that the golf tournament had to be canceled but there was sunshine on the beach much of the day. The rainbow in the morning was a … Read More
Sustaining Farm Policy for Peanuts
A policy update on the farm bill, or lack of one, was given by Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX) and peanut industry lobbyist Bob Redding (left) during the final session of the 2013 SPGC. Rep. Conaway, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, says there has been no shortage of controversy in this farm bill. “Convention wisdom was that you needed … Read More
Peanuts Up for ARMS
The last time peanuts were the subject of a USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) was 2004 but soon those outdated figures for peanut farmers financial and crop production practices will be updated. “This is a crucial time for us to get the information from the peanut industry because there’s been a lot of changes since 2004,” said Shiela Corley, … Read More
2013 Farm Press Profitability Winners
Three regional winners of the 14th annual Farm Press Peanut Profitability Awards were honored Saturday morning at the SPGC, but one was unable to be there to accept this year. Southwest Region winner Murray Phillips of Pearsall, Texas had to stay back home on the farm, but you can read all about him and the other two winners in the … Read More
Changes Coming for the UGA Peanut Team
Most folks in the peanut industry know the guy in the suit pictured here with a few other members of the University of Georgia Peanut Team. But as of the end of this year, Dr. John Beasley will be retiring from UGA after 30 years to become head of the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at Auburn University … Read More
BASF Acquisition Opens New Grower Options
BASF has been a big supporter of the Southern Peanut Growers Conference and so has Becker Underwood – but this year the two are a single team together. “With the acquisition of Becker Underwood, VAULT as a peanut inoculant is a very important product we’re looking forward to launching from the BASF platform,” said southeast BASF rep Chris Maurer (left). … Read More
Peanut Genomics Project Update
The peanut industry is working toward an important goal that will ultimately serve to make peanut production more sustainable than ever. That is the mapping of the peanut genome. “What we’re looking for is traits that will be resistant to diseases, nematode, leaf spot, or will have traits we want like high oil or improved protein content,” said George Birdsong, … Read More
Farm Bill Insight from Informa
The farm bill saga we’ve seen this year has left farm policy veterans like Jim Wiesemeyer of Informa Economics just shaking their heads in amazement. “It’s been the most bewildering, frustrating bill I’ve seen in over 36 years of watching,” Jim says. He gave a policy and general ag economics outlook for the peanut industry during lunch at the SPGC, … Read More
Energy Innovations for Sustainability
Improving energy efficiency on farming operations is one of the keys to a sustainable future and there are more options today than ever before. Take propane, for example. It’s common for propane to be used for peanut drying and on-farm heating use, but new opportunities for farming operations now include fleet vehicle conversions and irrigation. “With diesel running $3.50-3.60 a … Read More
Peanut Profitability Partner
Dr. Marshall Lamb with the USDA-ARS National Peanut Research Lab has been a fixture at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference for every one of the 15 years of its existence and a partner in the annual Farm Press Peanut Profitability Awards for nearly as long. This year he was honored by Farm Press for his commitment with the first ever … Read More