The new Dean of the College of Agriculture at Auburn University, Bill Batchelor, joined us this morning. I spoke to him about his new position on a break. Bill comes from an ag engineering background and sees dealing with the realities of the economic downturn as a priority for the school. He says that they have to learn how to … Read More
Investing Farmer Checkoff Dollars
One of the sponsors of the conference is the National Peanut Board. I spoke with Marie Fenn, President and Managing Director, about the ways the Board is investing farmer dollars. She says it’s on two fronts. One is production research. She points out that the profitability winners announced here are using technology and information that comes out of research projects … Read More
Peanut Profitability Winners
The Farm Press Peanut Profitability Awards were announced this morning. A winner is selected from each of the three main peanut producing regions. Pictured are (l-r) Richard Rentz, South Carolina, Greg Frey, Publisher, Farm Press, Rusty Strickland, Texas and Al Sudderth, Georgia. I spoke to each of the winners and asked them what the award means to them, what makes … Read More
Determining Peanut Maturity
We heard from National Peanut Research Laboratory, representative, Wilson Faircloth during a question and answer session all about research and production. He was part of a large panel for growers to pose questions to. Wilson says that he’s working on irrigation since we’re at that peak time when peanuts need moisture. He says they’re refining models and encourages to use … Read More
Supporting County Extension Agents
According to the peanut farmers I’ve spoken with here at the conference, their local county extension agent is a very important resource for them. The Georgia Peanut Commission made sure that some of them could be here. One of the ones I met was Rusty Harris, Wirth Co., GA. He was participating in the Georgia Peanut Achievement Team meeting yesterday. … Read More
Enclosure Approved For Devgen
A new sponsor at the conference this year is Devgen, makers of Enclosure, a new nematicide. Here with us is Jim Cartwright and Deborah Meier. They told me it has a dual activity that also controls some other pathogens. By reducing the nematode population it will increase yield. University research has been done of course and more is going on … Read More
Syngenta Wants You To Get Your Peanut Rx
What’s new with Syngenta? That’s what I asked one of our major sponsors today. Representing Syngenta is Lyle Stewart. Lyle says they have a full portfolio of products for the peanut producer and points them to Peanut Rx which is a program they support that can be found at most peanut state land grant universities. He says it will provide … Read More
Taking Care of Feral Pigs
A serious problem for growers is what to do about feral pigs. One of our presenters is working on a project to make that problem go away. Steve Ditchkoff, Auburn University, is several years into a project to create the first species specific contraceptive that can be administered orally. He says there are no effective options at this point since … Read More
Protect The Crop At Mid Season
We are not going hungry here at the conference thanks to our sponsors. Lunch today was sponsored by BASF and representing them is William Reed. He would like to remind growers about using Headline fungicide as we hit the midterm for the crop for its plant protection qualities. He says peanuts was the first market for the product. He points … Read More
Using Peanuts To Feed The Hungry
A very interesting session this morning was titled, “An Industry That Feeds The World.” On the stage were Jeff Johnson, Birdsong Peanut Company, Stephanie Grunenfelder, American Peanut Council and Sally Wells, Birdsong Peanut Company. I spoke to Jeff and Stephanie afterward. Jeff spoke about Plumpy Nut, a peanut butter based product that has been called “miraculous” as a cure for … Read More