SPFF News & Resources

The 18th annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference is back on the Gulf Coast of Florida and the theme this year is Survivor: Managing the Challenge.

The meeting last year was held at Callaway Gardens in Georgia, after the longtime conference location in Panama City Beach was no longer an option, and those who attended that event were surveyed about potential future locations. “Our attendees overwhelmingly said we love beach locations,” said Florida Peanut Producers Association Executive Director Ken Barton. So, this year the conference is at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, Florida – which is basically Destin.

Malcolm Broome with the Mississippi Peanut Growers says they chose this year’s theme because of all the challenges facing the industry. “We’re hoping to give our growers information about how to survive in the next 3-4 years,” said Broome.

Listen to my interviews with Ken and Malcolm here and look forward to hearing more about surviving the challenges ahead in the peanut industry.

Interview with Ken Barton, FL Peanut Producers

Interview with Malcolm Broome, Mississippi Peanut Producers

2016 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Good financial and estate planning is important for everyone, but especially for farmers who want to keep their land and business in the family.

“Farm succession planning gives current owners and operators of farms and ranches the opportunity to really spell out their intentions and wishes and let their family understand that during their life,” said Taylor Spangler with the University of Florida, who gave some good advice during the afternoon session at the 2015 SPGC.

Taylor says it’s better for the whole family to take part in the planning during a non-stressful time and also to get the advice of experts in the field. She pointed to resources such as county extension offices and Annie’s Project, an educational program dedicated to strengthening women’s roles in the modern farm enterprise.

Learn more in this interview: Interview with Taylor Spangler, University of Florida (MP3)

2015 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

The president of the Georgia Farm Bureau visited the Southern Peanut Growers Conference this year for the first time, appropriately since it was held in his state for the first time.

“I’m with the peanut growers of Georgia and they are very dear to my heart,” said Zippy Duvall in an interview at the conference. “We’re number one in peanuts across the country and we’re very proud of that.”

Duvall recently announced his intention to run for president of the American Farm Bureau Federation next year as current president Bob Stallman is retiring. “I’m just so passionate about agriculture and I think I can bring that to the table,” said Duvall. “The other thing I can bring to the table is that I’m really good at building bridges and relationships and I think everything in life is accomplished through relationships.”

There have been AFBF presidents from South Carolina and Virginia but not from the lower Southeast and Duvall is hoping to be the first.

Listen to my interview with Zippy here: Interview with Zippy Duvall, Georgia Farm Bureau (MP3)

2015 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Each year at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference, John Altom with Valent USA Corporation has the pleasure of presenting the Valor award to someone in the industry who exhibits the definition of Valor according to Webster’s dictionary – “strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery.”

This year that award went to Bob Redding, longtime lobbyist in Washington DC for the peanut industry, a job that definitely requires personal bravery to fight political battles for farmers on Capitol Hill.

Redding gave his annual legislative update to the organization with a strong emphasis on the need for growers to be involved in the political process through contributions to political action committees (PACs). “The pressure for fundraising on members of Congress grows every cycle,” said Redding. “Growers need to participate more – it is what it is.”

Redding says financial support for members of Congress is critical to keep advocates for agriculture in office. “The House Ag Committee for us has never been stronger,” said Redding. “Senate Ag Committee’s been very good for us so we feel good about where we are.”

Interview with Bob Redding, peanut industry lobbyist (MP3)

2015 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Georgia Tech is new to the peanut research world but Doug Britton who manages the Agricultural Research Program at the university believes they are bringing a new perspective and expertise to the table.

“Georgia Tech has a great engineering and science faculty,” said Britton. “A lot of things that we develop are in manufacturing or other aspects of engineering and bringing some of those ideas, processes and approaches might be useful when we look at some of the agricultural spaces.”

That includes research into new technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sensor platforms that can provides meaningful data for farmers. Britton discussed some of his ideas on the potential for both of those during the opening panel of the 2015 Southern Peanut Growers Conference on Research – The Future is Now.

Listen to my interview with Doug here: Interview with Doug Britton, Georgia Tech (MP3)

2015 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Peanut acreage in the United States this year is up 18%, but in the southeast it’s more like 25% percent – with a 33% increase in Georgia alone.

University of Georgia extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort gave an overview of the crop at the 2015 Southern Peanut Growers Conference. “We started off kind of bumpy but it’s kind of come out of that and we look very good right now,” said Monfort. “We have a large crop and we are just encouraging growers to keep pushing forward and let’s try to keep this crop moving.”

The increased crop acres this year of course means more peanuts. “It means that we’re going to put some pressure on this industry on where to put this crop going into 2016,” Monfort said. “We’re going to have a tight time here trying to figure out what to do next year.”

Listen to my interview with Scott here:Interview with UGA extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort (MP3)

2015 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album