The SPGC blog is ready for the 14th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference being held Thursday through Sunday, once again at the Edgewater Beach Resort, Panama City Beach, Fla. This will be the 5th year that the annual conference of peanut growers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi will be covered start to finish on this blog in photos, audio …
Georgia Peanut Referendum
Georgia peanut producers are being asked to vote in a referendum to reaffirm support for the Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC). The vote is being held March 15 through April 15 under the state law mandates that a referendum be held every three years. Georgia peanut producers invest $2 per ton to fund the commission and its research, education, promotion and …
Celebrating Georgia Peanut Commission 50th Anniversary
One of the things I did not get to participate in at Sunbelt Ag Expo was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Georgia Peanut Commission. Thanks to Willie Vogt, Farm Progress, I got this photo of the peanut cake that was cut and shared at the event. The Georgia Peanut Commission also broke ground recently on a new …
Many Attend 25th Georgia Peanut Tour
The 25th Georgia Peanut Tour this year hosted participants from 12 states and international attendees from Belgium, Canada and Argentina. The event, held at the end of September in the Southwest area of Georgia, allowed many first time attendees to actually walk through a peanut field and see peanuts plowed up with a digger at harvest. The tour included stops …
Georgia Peanut Commission Celebration
The Georgia Peanut Commission board of directors celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this week by lifting a shovel and tossing a little dirt at the site for the new headquarters of the Commission in Tifton, Ga. The event held Monday, Aug. 1, brought more than 125 attendees to witness the groundbreaking and to celebrate the Commission’s 50 years of representing …
MPK Teaches Peanut Industry Some New Moves
I had the opportunity to see the lovely and talented advocate for agriculture Michele Payn-Knoper in action last week at the 2011 Southern Peanut Growers Conference where she was the keynote luncheon speaker. “We have to engage with the 98 and a half percent of the population who are not farmers,” she said, encouraging the peanut growers to use the …
Peanut Proud Helping Tornado Victims
Peanut Proud was an effort started two years ago when the peanut industry faced the salmonella outbreak that threatened consumer perceptions of healthy peanut butter. When the industry came through the challenge stronger than before, Peanut Proud started looking for a way to give back to the people, and that opportunity came without warning when a string of tornadoes struck …
Farm Bill Forecasting at Peanut Meeting
Prospects for a new Farm Bill dominated a discussion at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Panama City over the weekend. Congressman Stephen Fincher (R-TN) of the freshman class in the House of Representatives for 2010 would like to see the next Farm Bill delayed until after the 2012 election. “We’ve got to make sure as we approach writing a …
Time for Peanuts on the Beach
It’s time once again for peanuts on the beach in Panama City, Florida – where it’s cooler than it is here in the Midwest! It’s the 13th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference (SPGC), being held once again at the beautiful Edgewater Beach Resort, July 21-23, and I will once again be the official SPGC blogger. This will be the fourth …
March is Peanut Month
March is National Peanut Month and to celebrate it, the Georgia peanut industry brought peanuts to the state capitol last week. In addition to providing plenty of grilled PB&J’s and boiled peanuts, the peanut industry put on a program about the importance of peanuts to the state. “Peanuts are Georgia’s Official State Crop and the state boasts the largest share …