It’s always good to hear from our presenters and sponsors but what about our growers? Let’s find out what a peanut farmer thinks about the conference. I spoke with Steve “Beaver” Yoder, Altha, FL. Steve brings his family as many peanut farmers do. They look forward to it as a “tradition” and it shows his children what he does and … Read More
Mississippi Peanut Growers Association
One of the newest peanut groups to participate in the conference is Mississippi Peanut Growers Association. Their president is Joe Morgan, M&M Farms. He says they have just hired a part time executive director. Joe says growers felt there was a real need to create an organization to represent them and help promote Mississippi peanuts. He says things are going … Read More
Changing The Culture Of Peanut Marketing
Today’s conference agenda includes several different sessions with multiple presenters per session. I’m interviewing several of them and will get started with our first session. Talking to attendees about marketing from the point of view of the manufacturer was Ben Smith, Lance, Inc. He spoke about “changing our culture on how we have marketed that product in past years.” That … Read More
Bayer CropScience Remains Committed To Industry
Our sponsor for the opening dinner was Bayer CropScience, represented by John Hand. He welcomed us before the evening’s entertainment got started. During a break today I spoke with John to learn what’s new with Bayer CropScience. He started out by saying how important the conference is to the company and that they are committed to creating new technologies for … Read More
Valor Award Presented To Leslie Wagner
Leslie Wagner, Executive Director, Southern Peanut Growers, was presented with this year’s Valor Award. The award was presented by John Altom, Valent. I spoke with Leslie prior to the award and you can listen to our conversation below. So congrats to Leslie because she’s also celebrating the 30th anniversary of Southern Peanut Growers. In fact, during registration yesterday there was … Read More
Grilling Peanut Butter and Jelly Sanwiches
Hot grilled PB&J’s are welcoming attendees once again to the conference. Thank you to the The Peanut Institute and the National Peanut Buying Points Association for grilling. One of the master grillers is Larry Cunningham, pictured center. I asked what makes a great grilled PB&J. He says it’s just like a grilled cheese sandwich only 10 times better. He says … Read More
Florida Peanut Producers Say Industry Is Healthy
One of the associations that puts on the Southern Peanut Growers Conference is the Florida Peanut Producers Association. Ken Barton is Executive Director for FPPA and was welcoming people as they registered. Ken provided me with an overview of the conference since it’s my first one. He says the content seems to get better each year. The registration room was … Read More
Getting the Message Out with Social Media
Communicating the message of agriculture to the public has gotten much more personal with the help of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and many agricultural groups, including peanut grower organizations, are already wetting their feet in the new media waters. A panel discussion at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference Tuesday featured communications staff members from the Alabama … Read More
Increasing Peanut Producer Profitability
This year is the 10th year for the Peanut Profitability Awards sponsored by Farm Press. Dr. Marshall Lamb and USDA’s National Peanut Research Laboratory, working with a national peanut advisory board, helped to bring in an outstanding amount of nominations this year – the most ever. Dr. Lamb says the program is not just about the winners. “This program gives … Read More
Speaking Up for Agriculture
Peanut growers heard from the dairy industry about how important it is to speak up for agriculture and be a good industry ambassador. Cheryl Hayn with the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association was on the program at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference to talk about what they are doing to get producers comfortable with speaking to the media and the … Read More