Since it started in 2008, this Southern Peanut Growers Conference blog has been sponsored by Ag Technologies and Trimble. We sincerely appreciate their support in helping to provide both those in attendance and those unable to attend the conference with photos and audio interviews of the various participants. I spoke with Robbie Tabb and Christy Bryan, both with Ag Technologies, … Read More
Georgia High Yielders
Each year at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference, the University of Georgia Peanut Team recognizes high yielding growers in the state with the Georgia Peanut Achievement Awards, sponsored by BASF and Syngenta. This year’s overall high yield award for the state went to John Gaines and Ricky Dowdy of Baker County with 7267 pounds per acre on 304 acres, which … Read More
BASF Proud to Support Peanut Growers
BASF has been a proud supporter of the Southern Peanut Growers Conference since the beginning 14 years ago. The company, which makes products for peanut growers like Headline fungicide, sponsors the luncheon and speaker for the event as well as providing other support for this very important group of farmers. “Making our customer more successful really is what we do,” … Read More
State Peanut Group Updates
We already heard from Don Koehler about the conference and what is going on with the Georgia Peanut Commission, now we’ll hear from the other three states that are a part of the Southern Peanut Growers. Alabama Peanut Producers Executive Director Randy Griggs is very pleased with this year’s record attendance and sponsors, as well as a fantastic program. “It … Read More
Speaker Says Consumers are From Venus
“Consumers are from Venus, Farmers are from Mars” was the title of the talk by luncheon speaker Charlie Arnot with the Center for Food Integrity, sponsored by BASF at the SPGC. “There’s a huge disconnect between what consumers think and what farmers think about what’s going on in agriculture,” Arnot said. “We simply aren’t speaking the same language.” Arnot told … Read More
Research Update at SPGC
Researchers from universities in the southern peanut growing region presented updates on the latest R&D to help farmers fight pests and disease and increase production. Agronomist Dr. Scott Tubbs with the University of Georgia talked about the role of peanuts in a cropping system, including the interesting history of how the peanut came to be a commercially produced crop, which … Read More
Spotlight on New Sponsor Colombo North America
Southern peanut farmers got to learn more about the harvesters offered by Colombo North America, as a new sponsor for the conference this year. “We’ve been on the market for 37 years in Brazil and about 8 years ago we decided to move to the US in the peanut market,” said Lee Santos with the company. The Colombo Group is … Read More
Chairman Lucas Speaks to Peanut Growers
At a very critical time during the process of getting a new farm bill passed, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee came and spoke to peanut producers attending the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Panama City Beach. Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) went through the process of how his committee worked to mark up a farm bill, technically called the … Read More
First Florida Peanut Profitability Winners
Farm Press has been presenting the Peanut Profitability Awards at the SPGC for 13 years, and this year was the first time a winner from the Southeast has come from Florida. Ross, William and James Terry of I.C. Terry Farms in Lake City are this year’s winners based on 2011 average peanut yield of 5800 pounds per acre during a … Read More
Uncontrollables That Peanut Growers Face
Weather, water, fuel and fertilizer are the big four areas that are out of the control of any farmer when it comes to the cost of doing business. Weather is a given, but the other variables can change almost as quickly and have just as devastating an impact on the bottom line. Mark Masters of Albany State University with the … Read More