The Mississippi Peanut Growers are kind of the “little brother” in the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, still a baby organization themselves having only just started two years ago. Clayton Lawrence of southeast Mississippi is the second president of the association and he says they are proud to be a growing part of the industry. “We’re up to around 28,000 acres … Read More
Syngenta Part of the Peanut Growers Family
One of the sponsors that has been supporting the Southern Peanut Growers Conference for all ten years of its existence is Syngenta and district sales manager Lyle Stewart says its just part of their support for the industry. “We just appreciate having an opportunity to offer good quality products to peanut growers,” Lyle said. “A lot of the growers that … Read More
Peanuts and the World Food Crisis
Peanut growers heard from Scott Rawlins of Makhteshim Agan of North America, better known as MANA, about the global food crisis. Rawlins talked about the current situation and what the so-called “experts” are saying – and why agricultural producers seem to be getting left out of the equation. The “no-brainer” is that we need to increase food production worldwide. “Some … Read More
USDA Undersecretary is a Peanut Lover
USDA Undersecretary Dr. Gale Buchanan may work in Washington, DC but his heart is in the southeast. “I spent 21 years at Auburn University conducting research in peanuts and other crops,” said Buchanan. “Then went to the University of Georgia as the director of the Coastal Plain Experiment Station and dean at the college of agriculture.” He also attended the … Read More
Future Peanut Leadership
The Peanut Leadership Program is a cooperative effort between Syngenta Crop Protection, grower organizations and agricultural extension. Participants are nominated by agricultural leaders in their counties and then selected by a committee of state leaders. One of the program participants this year is Jeramie Grissom from Seminole, Texas who was attending his first Southern Peanut Growers Conference this week. Jeramie … Read More
Farm Press Peanut Profitability Winners
Three producers from the major peanut growing regions of the country were honored Tuesday morning as the 2008 Peanut Profitability Award Winners, presented by Farm Press/Penton Media and the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation. Left to right, the winners are William McElveen of Bishopville, SC; Otis Johnson of Seminole, TX; and Mike Nugent of Willacoochie, GA. Nugent farms 330 acres in … Read More
Ten Year Sponsors Recognized
Nine different companies have been sponsors of the Southern Peanut Growers Conference since the very beginning ten years ago. Those sponsors were recognized by the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation for their support on Monday prior to the opening general session. The ten year sponsors include Valent, Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, BASF, Farm Press, Farm Progress, Peanut Grower and First South Farm … Read More
Using New Media to Reach Growers
Farmers and others in agriculture are just like everyone else these days. For the vast majority of us, computer usage is becoming a part of our everyday lives, if it hasn’t already taken it over! That’s why all commodity organizations are becoming more adept at using the internet to reach out to growers and peanuts are no exception. That’s why … Read More
Congress 101
A great interactive session held on Monday at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference should be a required course for every agricultural producer in the country. Led by Cody Lyon with the American Farm Bureau and Keith Gray of Alabama Farmers Federation, several hundred peanut growers got a taste of what it is like to serve in Congress. Split into groups, … Read More
Peanuts Important to BASF
Peanuts are considered to be a specialty or minor crop to many chemical companies and often it is the case that minor use crops get the benefits of major crop developments. In the case of BASF Headline, it worked the other way. Regional sales manager William Reed (center) says that versitile fungicide – which is now labeled for use in … Read More