Peanut industry growers, shellers, and buying points have announced the formation of the United States Peanut Federation (USPF) to serve as a unified voice in Washington D.C. for all sectors of the peanut industry. USPF’s mission is to protect, promote, and improve business conditions for the peanut industry.

The Federation is comprised of the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, the American Peanut Shellers Association, and the National Peanut Buying Points Association. The organizations that make up the newly founded national federation have a rich history of serving its members and communities to support the peanut industry. Formed in 1998, the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation (SPFF) is a producer organization comprised of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, the Florida Peanut Producers Association, the Georgia Peanut Commission, and the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association. The American Peanut Shellers Association’s (APSA) was formed in 1919 and represents the peanut shelling industry. The APSA is made up of both active (commercial peanut shellers and crushers) and associate members (affiliated businesses). Finally, the National Peanut Buying Points Association represents America’s more than two hundred and fifty peanut buying locations that contract, receive, weigh, clean, dry, inspect, grade, and prepare peanuts for storage and later shelling. All U.S. produced peanuts must be inspected for quality by the Federal-State Inspection Service at a registered peanut buying point.

Karl Zimmer, President and CEO of Premium Peanut, will serve as the first Chairman of the USPF. “Now, more than ever, we are faced with many challenges. By working together in a coordinated fashion, I believe we can solve those challenges to the benefit of every segment of this industry,” said Zimmer.

Learn more about the new organization, as well as some of those challenges being faced right now by peanut growers, listen to this interview with Bob Redding, president of The Redding Firm, which has worked on behalf of the peanut industry in Washington for many years.