April 2024 - Southeastern Peanut Farmer

Unstoppable DeVane continues to farm despite health challenges

6 | UNSTOPPABLE

Randolph County, Georgia, farmer

Dania DeVane is unstoppable at 86-years-old.

18 | PLA MEETS IN TIFTON

The Peanut Leadership Academy Class XIII met recently in Tifton, Georgia, for tours and workshops focusing on the future of the peanut industry.

20 | FPPA ANNUAL MEETING

A review of the 48th annual Florida Peanut Producers Association annual meeting in Marianna, Florida.

22 | NEW RESEARCH FACILITY

USDA and UGA break ground on new research facility in Tifton, Georgia.

8 | CHECKOFF REPORT

Alabama Peanut Producers Association

24 | WASHINGTON OUTLOOK

26 | SOUTHERN PEANUT GROWERS UPDATE

Photo credit: Becky Mills.

Editor’s thoughts Events

A Decline in Farms

This year planting time across the U.S. will include a few less farms according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Where are the farms going? Are the owners retiring, selling their farm land, passing the farm to the next generation, consolidating or just not able to get the needed financing to continue to farm. Regardless of the circumstance, farming is critical to our livelihood and one that every American should support in some form or fashion.

The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Even small plots of landwhether rural or urban - count if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. The Census of Agriculture, taken only once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures.

In 2022, 3.4 million producers operated 1.9 million farms covering 880.1 million acres that generated food, fuel and fiber for Americans and people around the world. The number of producers did not significantly change, while the number of farms decreased 6.9 percent since 2017 when the last ag census was conducted. The share of farms reporting more than one decision maker changed from 54 percent in 2017 to 60 percent in 2022. While the number of producers between the ages of 35-64 declined 9 percent, the number of producers 65 and over increased 12 percent, continuing the trend of an aging producer population. The number of young producers, those under 35, also increased slightly.

It is encouraging to see the number of young producers increase slightly. However, what is America doing to encourage these young farmers to continue farming? To make ends meet they have to continually expand their operations or look for niche markets. These young farmers are faced with high costs of production without a corresponding increase in market prices or a new farm bill that addresses these issues. All farmers need support during these trying times and passage of the farm bill would help.

Here are a few additional key facts when reviewing the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

• Between 2002 and 2022, the number of U.S. farms declined 11% and the amount of farmland declined 6.2 percent.

• In 2022, the largest 2 percent of U.S. farms (5,000 or more acres) controlled 42 percent of all farmland. Conversely, 42 percent of farms had less than 50 acres and controlled 2 percent of all farmland.

• Approximately three fourths of farmland was used by farms specializing in two commodity categories: oilseed and grain production (32 percent) and cattle and dairy production (41 percent).

• Thirty-nine percent of U.S. farmland is rented from others.

Information from the 2022 Census of Agriculture is available online at www.nass. usda.gov/AgCensus.

CROPS Conference

June 3-6, 2024, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Ala. For more information visit hudsonalpha.org.

USA Peanut Congress

June 10-13, 2024, Amelia Island, Fla. For more information call 229-888-2508 or visit peanut-shellers.org.

American Peanut Research and Education Society Annual Meeting

July 9-11, 2024, Oklahoma City, Okla. For more information visit apresinc.com.

Southern Peanut Growers Conference

July 17-19, 2024, Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, Savannah, Ga. For more information visit the conference website at southernpeanutfarmers.org.

Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day

July 18, 2024, Moultrie, Ga. For more information call 229-985-1968 or visit the Expo's website at sunbeltexpo.com.

American Peanut Shellers Association and National Peanut Buying Points Association Pre-Harvest Meeting

Aug. 20-21, 2024, Albany, Ga. For more information call 229-888-2508 or visit peanut-shellers.org.

Brooklet Peanut Festival

Sept. 21, 2024, Brooklet, Ga. For more information visit the festival's website at brookletpeanutfestival.com.

Plains Peanut Festival

Sept. 28, 2024, Plains, Ga. For more information call visit the festival's website at jimmycarterfriends.org.

Georgia National Fair

Oct. 3-13, 2024, Perry, Ga. For more info visit georgianationalfair.com.

Sunbelt Ag Expo

Oct. 15-17, 2024, Moultrie, Ga. For more info call 229-985-1968 or visit the Expo's website at sunbeltexpo.com.

Let us know about your event. Please send details to the editor at joycrosby@gapeanuts.com.

Joy Carter Crosby

Unstoppable

DeVane continues to farm despite health challenges

by Becky Mills

When Dania DeVane had a heart attack in 2005, her cardiologist told her she was going to die. Her daughter, Yvonne, shook her head and told him her Mom had 150 hogs, 20 of them sows, and she delivered the pigs herself.

Then DeVane looked the doctor in the eye and said, "I castrate 'em, too! After that, we got along."

If you know DeVane, you know she didn't die, not from the heart attack or the following quadruple bypass, although she did give up her beloved hogs. However, that still left the peanuts, corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat.

"Harris, my son, came over every morning and put those stockings on me," DeVane says.

The compression socks were necessary after it took 66 stitches to close the wounds where the surgeon took veins out of her legs for the bypasses. As for the heart-shaped pillow the hospital sends home with

bypass patients, DeVane says, "I drove the tractor with one hand and held the pillow with the other. I was an idiot."

The bleeding ulcer she developed at the end of the 2022 harvest season didn’t kill her either, although it did take a supernatural visitor and two pints of blood to get her through.

"A black lady picked me up and said Jesus, please let her live a little longer." There wasn't an AfricanAmerican nurse on duty that night. "I believe Jesus wanted me to stay a little longer," DeVane says. Or maybe, Jesus just couldn't get up the nerve to deal with the pint-sized dynamo.

"Some people love money. I love my dirt. I love to see things grow. I love to see green. I want to keep farming as long as I live."

Dania DeVane

There's also the stumbling block of macular degeneration. The 86-yearold has been legally blind since 2018. However, with help from Yvonne and her employees, she's still on the job.

DeVane's early resume didn't exactly point toward a career as one of the area's oldest active peanut farmers, as well as one of the more successful ones. DeVane Farms earned the Outstanding Georgia Peanut Farmer of the Year for 2018, one of many awards the farm has won.

For starters, the Randolph County, Georgia, resident began life in Cuba. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a nurse. After going to a Catholic school in Saint Augustine, DeVane says, "I was headed to the University to be a doctor." Her mother, worried about Castro's political climb and the unrest in Cuba, sent her to Andrew College in Cuthbert in 1957 instead. "Bless her heart, she didn’t know what I was going to get into."

First on that list was Marvin

86-year-old Dania DeVane is determined to keep farming despite health challenges. DeVane checks her peanuts during harvest in 2023.

DeVane, her husband of 58 years. Dania was with her date on the Cuthbert square when Marvin showed up, and as Dania says, "Running his mouth like always."

After Dania graduated from Andrew in '59 with a business degree, she went back to Cuba and Marvin came for a visit. Her parents were not impressed with the boisterous Georgian, but Dania was still smitten.

Next, she went to New York City and worked in a factory as an interpreter. In six months, she saved enough money to return to Cuba and get a visa. Then, she got a job working for an insurance company in Jacksonville, Florida, while she lived with Marvin's aunt and uncle.

After a year, in 1960, she and Marvin went to Folkston where she persuaded the minister, formerly a missionary to Cuba, to marry them.

In '61, Marvin started farming. "He had two tractors," DeVane says. "I drove one and he drove the other."

Shellman

agribusinessman and farmer Jimmy Curry says, "She did anything that was needed, plus raising five children. The first time I saw her, they weren't even married yet and she was driving Marvin's truck, helping him out." He adds, "I can't imagine the courage it took for her to come over here when she couldn't go back to her home, then marry Marvin and start a family."

There was the house full of children, too. Besides Yvonne and Harris, there was Maria, Roxanne, and Andy, who has Down syndrome. DeVane recalls. "I worked with the farm hands, we pulled weeds and I had my children pulling weeds. We'd see Andy running back to the house."

After a full day, the farm hands would often wake DeVane to go get a midwife.

There is also DeVane's neverending work with farm organizations. She was a member of the local Farm Service Agency committee on and off for thirty years when she told them it was time to get a younger person. She's still a delegate to the state and national pork boards.

While she was often elected to a leader's role in farm organizations, DeVane, along with Marvin, often

planters became high tech, a person had to ride on a board on top to make sure they dispensed seed accurately. Yvonne says, "Mama would be so covered in dust that the only thing you could see was her teeth."

There was also the wear, tear and stress of farming – drought, hurricanes, tornadoes, the roller coaster of commodity prices, and of course, the inevitable drama when a family farms together. Plus, along with the deaths of Harris in 2018 and Marvin in 2019, her own health problems mounted. Lamb says, "Dania is inwardly strong. She has a lot of Christian faith that keeps her strong."

DeVane relies on a thick Bible, written in Spanish and printed in large type, as well as her membership at Trinity Methodist Church, to feed that faith. "I talk to Jesus when I'm looking at the crops."

As for Marvin's end of the deal, Curry, who was a young boy when he first saw Dania, says, "I thought she was the prettiest thing I ever saw with those dark eyes."

Those who knew Marvin knew that trying to keep him straight was a full-time job. DeVane quotes Sam Torbet, the retired mechanic from the local John Deere dealership, as he made one of his many service calls to the farm. "Mr. Marvin, this isn't a racetrack!"

served their neighbors.

Shellman resident Marshall Lamb says, "I've known Mrs. Dania my whole life and I'm 58 years old. She and Mr. Marvin were two of the most caring people I've ever known. Whenever there was a death in the community or time of need, she and Mr. Marvin were usually the first ones there. They'd always bring a ham they'd cooked."

Marvin had called Dania out of the field to pick up a ham for a local family when she had her heart attack.

Her other duties didn't keep her out of the field, though. Before peanut

"It used to be a lot of fun farming. I loved it," DeVane adds. "But I'm getting old and can't do what I used to do and it upsets me. I'm not a perfectionist but when I do something I want to do it right."

She still refuses to quit. In late winter, DeVane rode through the wheat, then looked at the bare ground. "When I go to the field this time of year, I say rest, just rest. The peanuts are coming soon."

"Some people love money. I love my dirt. I love to see things grow. I love to see green. I want to keep farming as long as I live."

James Ferguson, Frank Lowe and Wayne Wall help keep Dania DeVane and DeVane Farms running.

Dania DeVane adjusts a planter during planting in 2023.

Checkoff Report

Investments Made by Growers for the Future of the Peanut Industry

APPA exhibits at Oregon School Nutrition Meeting

The Alabama Peanut Producers Association partnered with the National Peanut Board to promote serving peanuts and peanut butter in schools at the 2024 Oregon School Nutrition meeting in Salem, Oregon.

Kaye Lynn Hataway, APPA promotions coordinator, along with Joyce and Jason Weber, peanut farmers from Escambia County, Alabama, talked with attendees during the OSNA Food Expo. They shared how peanuts are grown and handed out Alabama peanuts, recipes, peanut butter spreader and peanut nutrition and allergy information.

Alabama legislators and Governor Ivey celebrate National Peanut Month

The Medders Family stands to the left of Gov. Kay Ivey while Carl Sanders holds the signed proclamation. Also pictured are Tate Hataway, Steven Hague, Libbie Johnson, Thomas Adams, Billy Hixon, and Garrett Dixon.

The Alabama Peanut Producers Association celebrated National Peanut Month with a proclamation from Gov. Kay Ivey at the Alabama Capitol and a peanut day at the Alabama State House on March 5, 2024.

"Peanut day at the Alabama State House helps remind our legislators that peanuts are an important crop for Alabama agriculture," says Carl Sanders, APPA president.

Throughout the morning, APPA board members handed out jars of Medders Family Farms’ peanut butter and Alabama peanuts to legislators and talked with them about topics concerning our Alabama peanut farmers.

Gov. Ivey’s proclamation recognized the peanut as the state legume of Alabama, as well as the impact the peanut industry has on the state's economy, the farmers who grow peanuts, the nutritional value, and environmentally friendly attributes. Gov. Ivey also received cans of peanuts from Sanders.

Georgia Peanuts featured on The VeryVera Show for National Peanut Month

Georgia Peanuts were highlighted in March on an episode of The VeryVera Show. The VeryVera Show, currently in its 12th season, airs in 42 metropolitan markets across 19 states. The show reaches 24 million U.S. households.

The segment which aired in March 2024, featured three peanut recipes using peanuts and peanut butter. The promotion was coordinated to promote National Peanut Month.

The featured recipes were Southern Peanut Coleslaw, Peanut Chicken Stir Fry and Blondies with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel. All of the recipes are available on the GPC website at gapeanuts.com. To view the episode, visit The VeryVera YouTube channel.

FPPA opens scholarship program

The Florida Peanut Producers Association announces the opening of their 2024 Scholarship Award Program. Two $1,200 scholarships will be awarded to deserving high school seniors and/or college students. The applicant or someone in the applicant’s family must be an actively producing peanut grower in Florida, not necessarily a member of FPPA. It is the intent of the Scholarship Award Committee, however, that the award recipients attend a Florida junior college or four-year university.

For an application contact the FPPA office at 850-526-2590 or visit the FPPA website at www.flpeanuts. com. The scholarship applications must be postmarked no later than July 1, 2024.

Georgia Peanut Commission promotes peanuts

for National Peanut Month

The Georgia Peanut Commission promoted peanuts throughout the month of March through a variety of promotions. GPC sponsored a special series, "Proud to be a Georgia Farmer," with WTOC-TV in Savannah and WALB-TV in Albany. The program featured a special 30-minute show about the Georgia peanut industry including farmer interviews and information on production, research, peanut nutrition and more.

GPC provided peanuts and recipes to the state's 11 welcome centers for tourists. Throughout the month, GPC promoted peanuts through television ads with the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, a digital billboard in Times Square and South Georgia, social media influencer, The Feast Kings and more. Digital banner ads and a geo-fence campaign ran through iHeart Media which reached an estimated 1.2 million consumers.

Joyce Weber, Jason Weber, Tarrah Westercamp, and Kaye Lynn Hataway stand at their booth.

NASCAR Cup Series Driver Todd Gilliland leads most laps in Atlanta with Georgia Peanuts

The Georgia Peanut Commission returned to support NASCAR Cup Series driver, Todd Gilliland, and the No. 38 car with the Front Row Motorsports team in February at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400. The Commission continued their sponsorship after running their colors with Gilliland in Atlanta and Talladega during 2023.

During the race in Atlanta, Gilliland led a career and race-high 58 of 260 laps until his involvement in a wreck near the end of the race resulting in a 26th place finish. Despite the placing, the exposure throughout the race provided Georgia Peanuts with 16 minutes total airtime on FOX resulting in more than a $2 million total value. Additional exposure was reached through social media totaling 507,020 impressions, more than 8,000 impressions on YouTube and 202,192 impressions through a geo-fencing campaign with iHeart Media. The exposure also peaked an interest in the Georgia Peanuts website and online gift store resulting in nearly $3,000 net sales.

In addition to the race, the Georgia Peanut Commission exhibited in the Fan Zone where Gilliland met fans and signed autographs at the GPC exhibit on Sunday. GPC distributed samples of Georgia Peanuts to fans entering the speedway and Levy Foods at Atlanta Motor Speedway offered the 5.5 snack bag of Georgia Peanuts for sale throughout the concessions during the race.

Georgia Peanut Commission hosts PB&J Day at State Capitol

Gov. Brian Kemp presents a proclamation for Georgia Peanut Month to the Georgia Peanut Commission on March 5, 2024.

The annual Georgia PB&J Day was held March 5, 2024, at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. Exhibitors from the peanut industry served grilled PB&Js, country-fried peanuts, peanut candy and more. During the special program, Sen. Russ Goodman and Rep. Robert Dickey presented resolutions highlighting the importance of peanuts to Georgia’s economy. Gov. Brian Kemp proclaimed the month of March as Georgia Peanut Month in the state with a proclamation. Exhibitors and sponsors of the event include the Georgia Peanut Commission, National Peanut Buying Points Association, Kroger, Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service, National Peanut Board, Peanut Proud, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Premium Peanut and the University of Georgia Peanut Team.

GPC donates peanut butter to Atlanta Community Food Bank

The Georgia Peanut Commission donated 10,080 jars of Peanut Proud peanut butter to the Atlanta Community Food Bank to celebrate National Peanut Month in March. The Atlanta Community Food Bank provides food and grocery products to more than 700 nonprofit partner agencies with hunger relief programs throughout 29 counties in metro Atlanta and north Georgia.

"One jar can make several meals for a family or individual in need," says Ben Burgess, corporate relations manager with the food bank. "This donation will help the 10 percent of Georgian residents and the one in eight children who are food insecure in the state." The Georgia Peanut Commission donated 10,080 jars of peanut butter to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

GPC approves FY24-25 funding of research projects

The Georgia Peanut Commission board of directors has approved $791,639 in research project funding for the 2024-25 research budget year. The research projects approved include 40 project proposals submitted from the University of Georgia, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

The research programs primarily focus on peanut breeding, conservation methods, irrigation and water management, as well as pests, weed and disease management. The GPC board of directors approved additional projects focusing on nonfood uses of peanuts. The projects aim to provide a new opportunity for growth within the peanut industry. The new projects are looking at utilizing high-oleic peanuts in poultry feed, converting peanut oil from a nondrying oil to a drying oil for timber oils and coatings, reviewing George Washington Carver’s peanut uses for application in today’s world and finding new non-food applications of peanuts and by-products.

For more information and a list of the research projects funded by GPC visit gapeanuts.com.

2024 Peanut disease & insect Guidebook

peanut Disease management for 2024

By Joy Crosby

Diseases will be a threat to every peanut grower's crop in 2024. Management steps taken by growers will be the key to minimizing their risk of disease and managing disease when it occurs.

University of Georgia Extension plant pathologist Bob Kemerait is thankful for the El Niño winter the Southeastern United States had in 2023-24. This system of cooler and wetter weather came after three La Niña winters. During the La Niña winters, the weather was generally not

cold enough, long enough and set farmers up for increased disease and nematode pressure the last few years.

Some of the disease pathogens like those that cause late leaf spot, early leaf spot, CBR and white mold overwinter in peanut debris left in the field. Wetter conditions help to rot peanut debris, which can reduce risk to leaf spot. The cooler temperatures help slow nematodes down, Kemerait adds.

"When you start talking about diseases and especially about nematodes, the bottom line is, a grower can cut corners, but recklessly cutting corners often ends up cutting yield. This is true for both management of disease and of nematodes," Kemerait says.

According to Kemerait, farmers still can use the same disease control program, an inexpensive program by today's standards, they used in 1994. However, when disease pressure in the field is intense, as it was for many growers in 2023, and the 1994 program may only make 1994 yields, which were around 4,000 pounds per acre in some fields. Today's varieties have the potential to yield much more than 4,000 pounds per acre In order

to reach this potential, Kemerait says, farmers need to fight disease with the better fungicides that are now available to growers.

"My message for all growers is that they have one chance to do some important things going into the 2024 season," Kemerait says. "For those farmers who do not do them, then you can sit on the sidelines for the rest of the season."

Things peanut growers have "one chance" to manage before the furrow is closed in 2024 include tomato spotted wilt, nematodes (with additional control at pegging), seedling disease and CBR.

Some common issues Kemerait noticed that impacted growers’ success in disease management programs in 2023 were getting a late start, applying the wrong product at the wrong time or at the wrong rate, inadequate rainfall or irrigation to wash fungicides to the crown of the plant and insufficient spray volume. Kemerait encourages farmers to slow down when spraying and to use at least 10-12 gallons per acre mix volume when applying fungicides.

Overall, Kemerait reminds farmers that they cannot save their way out of

University of Georgia Extension plant pathologist Bob Kemerait encourages farmers to utilize an effective nematicide and fungicide program throughout the 2024 season.

disease and nematode management in peanuts by cutting corners without careful planning.

"All farmers would like to find ways to reduce input costs; however simply deploying a less expensive program may not bring more profit at harvest," Kemerait says. "You must have an effective nematicide and fungicide program; white mold, leaf spot, and perhaps nematodes are

going to attack your crop regardless of whatever else is happening in the world."

Where farmers are planting into a field infested with the peanut rootknot nematodes, Kemerait encourages them to consider planting a resistant variety such as TifNV-HiOL or Georgia14N. If the growers have seed for TifNV-HG, this is also a very promising new variety. If farmers do not use a

nematode resistant variety in such a situation, he strongly encourages them to use an effective nematicide to protect the crop.

Lastly, Kemerait encourages farmers to scout their fields, or to hire a consultant to help with early detection and identification of diseases in the field.

The above chart are examples of fungicide programs and the list does not include all possible products. Generic azoxystrobin products exist as do many generic formulations of tebuconazole. Further information on all products can be obtained from the local Extension office.

hidden dangers of White mold

Night spraying offers protection for dryland fields

By Joy Crosby

Lush green peanut canopies line the Southeast. However, underneath the lush green vines a silent killer is threatening the crop. The culprit, white mold, creeps along the crown of the plant chewing the vine and damaging overall yield for farmers.

How can farmers protect against the silent killer? Rotation and timeliness of fungicide spray applications followed by irrigation or rainfall are ways to fight white mold, says University of Georgia Extension plant pathologist Bob Kemerait. However, in years with very hot and dry conditions, when the disease rises, peanut yield plummets.

Hot and Dry Conditions

This was the case in 2023 where hot and dry conditions continued throughout the summer. Farmers without irrigation or rainfall were in desperate straits and some even had to abandon fields due to the white spongy disease.

According to Ethan Carter, regional Extension agent with the University of Florida, there is not a lot of irrigation in the panhandle area of Florida and specifically in Santa Rosa County.

"We had problems with white mold all over the panhandle but especially in Santa Rosa County," Carter says. "The fields looked beautiful on top of the ground but the white mold wreaked havoc to the peanuts underground with little to no pods present."

Some farmers even had to abandon fields where white mold affected the entire crop and there was near-complete pod loss.

"The farmers where we recommended them to abandon and

no longer spray are good farmers who usually boast 5,500 pounds per acre," Carter adds.

A lot of the widespread issues resulted from the lack of irrigation or rainfall.

According to Kemerait, critical components of a white mold fungicide program includes timeliness of application and timeliness of irrigation or rainfall following applications, preferably within 12-24 hours.

"White mold was more severe in 2023 than in 2022 likely because of the drier and hotter conditions," Kemerait says. "Also, with peanuts staying in the ground for nearly 160 days, more attention must be given to protecting the crop from white mold even after the traditional 4-block, 60 to 104 days after planting window ends."

In 2023, hot soil temperatures mid-season fueled an increase in white

mold. Additionally, sparse rainfall hampered movement of fungicide to the crown of the peanut plant.

Night Spraying

In non-irrigated fields and areas with limited rainfall, night spraying may be the key to offering white mold protection. Continued research from plant pathologist Tim Brenneman at the University of Georgia, shows night spraying is the best way to get the fungicide down into the plant crown and to the pegs and pods where it is needed.

"I feel like night spraying has been forgotten by growers," Brenneman says. "Even though farmers may not be willing to spray at night, this option could be the key in fighting white mold in dryland fields."

According to Brenneman, when the leaves are folded up and the

White mold chews on the peanut vine damaging overall yield. Many dryland producers lost yield in 2023 due to the hot and dry conditions with little rainfall to help push the fungicide to the crown of the plant.

humidity is higher, farmers can get more and larger droplets of fungicide deeper into the crown. Some fungicides also break down in sunlight, so they will last longer in the shaded part of the canopy.

"Night spraying is the only consistent tool, we have to really give us a good level of control of white mold underground on non-irrigated peanuts," Brenneman says. "And that's mainly in the years when we don't get the rainfall in the latter part of the season."

2023 was the perfect storm with rain early in the season helping to grow a large vine. In late July and August 2023, the rain stopped but farmers were left with a large vine which makes it difficult to get the fungicide down through the dense canopy of leaves which intercepts most of the spray.

"If a farmer is in a dryland situation and knows they have white mold, then even one or two key sprays with our good fungicides at night could be the key to a better outcome and save a lot of peanuts."

Tim Brenneman University of Georgia Plant Pathologist

"There's nothing special about night spraying," Brenneman adds. "Farmers use the same equipment and fungicides. They just spray at a different time of day."

However, even with research backing night spraying, the method of night spraying is not widely used. "Apparently most farmers would rather sleep at night," Brenneman says.

"However, if a farmer is in a dryland situation and knows they have white mold, then even one or two key sprays with our good fungicides at night could be the key to a better outcome and save a lot of peanuts," Brenneman says. "Night spraying is a really valuable tool in the toolbox, especially in those types of circumstances."

According to Brenneman, it's not the fungicides that are not working. The fungicides are just not getting where they need to be to fight the white mold.

Every day after the sun goes down and darkness falls, the peanut leaves fold up. The leaves have a phototropic response, and close up on themselves.

According to Brenneman, from that point until the sun comes up, farmers can spray a lot more effectively down through the canopy because the leaves aren't open and intercepting the fungicide.

"However, a lot of mornings there will be dew on the peanut leaves so if a farmer chooses to spray early in the morning, then they will have even better control of white mold by spraying in the morning after the dew falls," Brenneman says.

During early morning sprays, the fungicide goes into the water on the surface of the leaves. As the tractor moves through the field shaking the foliage, the fungicide mixed in with the water will travel down to the canopy and pods of the plant.

"This facilitates even more redistribution down to the soil into the crown of the plant," Brenneman adds. "It also runs down the pegs and down to the pod which is exactly where you need the fungicide to be."

"So, a night spray in general is significantly better early morning than in the evening right after dusk, but both are more effective than spraying during the day," Brenneman adds.

Resistance

When disease control failures arise like the case with white mold in 2023, the first thought is that the pathogen has become resistant to the chemical. However, Brenneman says resistance does not appear to be involved.

Brenneman and doctorate student Jessica Bell took several hundred samples from "problem" fields across Georgia to test for resistance. All the isolates were tested in the lab for sensitivity to our major white mold fungicides and they did not show signs of resistance.

"At least here in Georgia, we're convinced that resistance is not the issue," Brenneman adds. "The fungicides are still active on the pathogen. The issue is the fungicide not getting to the target."

According to Brenneman, part of the testimony to the story of white mold in 2023 is the fact that irrigated fields didn't have as many issues as non-irrigated fields. "We generally have good control of white mold where we're irrigating and can wash down the fungicide to the crown of the plant. That's important for growers to know." 

White mold devastation at a field in Santa Rosa County, Fla.

Sulfur Shield

Micronized Sulfur provides leaf spot control benefits

By Joy Crosby

In an age dominated by modern agricultural techniques, sometimes going back to the basics and former suggestions by the late Frank McGill, University of Georgia's first peanut specialist should be heeded.

McGill was a big proponent of using sulfur for leaf spot control. Today, the technique of using sulfur is being promoted by current UGA plant pathologist Albert Culbreath.

"The micronized sulfur seems to help with managing leaf spot when mixed with most fungicides we've tried," Culbreath says.

Two products, tebuconazole (Folicur) and azoxystrobin (Abound), have lost much of their efficacy on leaf spot diseases compared to when they were newer, Culbreath adds.

"Azoxystrobin alone is now very weak on leaf spot, but I can mix it with a micronized sulfur, and get generally the same result as other fungicides that are still effective," Culbreath says.

Through the years, Culbreath has mainly focused his research on tank mixing 3 to 5 pounds per acre of sulfur formulations with products azoxystrobin (Abound), Headline, Umbra, Excalia, and tebuconazole.

Most of his research as been doing using Microthiol 80W, Drexel Sulfur 80W, Drexel Suffa 6F, TechnoS 90W and Accoidal 80WG. In his research trials, Kolla 6F didn't do quite as well, but it still helped.

The last couple of years, Culbreath has concentrated his efforts with Microthiol 80W and the Drexel Suffa 6F. Drexel Suffa is different than Microthiol 80W in that it is a liquid flowable. However, according to Culbreath, they are almost identical in terms of their efficacy.

"I think many growers would have less concern about handling large

amounts of liquid and something they can get in bulk like the Drexel Suffa 6F, but both work well," Culbreath says.

Resistance is also an issue, Culbreath says. "We know we have resistance to tebuconazole and most of the other demethylation-inhibitor (DMI) fungicides," Culbreath says. "And, I suspect we have resistance to azoxystrobin too."

University of Georgia plant pathologist Tim Brenneman agrees.

"Tank-mixing with sulfur is a really significant finding as we're losing chemistries to resistance," Brenneman says. "We don't have the tools for leaf spot we used to have and just adding the micronized sulfur has brought new life to several classes of chemistry. That is a hugely important finding because we are losing chemistries to resistance a lot faster than we are finding new ones."

There are several sulfur products available that may work, but both Culbreath and Brenneman point out that farmers cannot use the older sulfurs or ones that are not finely ground micronized sulfur products. The labels on the sulfur products will state if it is micronized so growers should read the label before choosing a sulfur product.

"I've had very promising results with the micronized sulfurs across several different modes of action and fungicides including some that have been strongly overcome by shifts in the sensitivity profiles in the pathogens," Culbreath says. "So, I think it's a relatively inexpensive and environmentally safe product to augment for leaf spot control in a lot of cases."

Culbreath mixed sulfur with Excalia and has noticed good control of leaf spot. Excalia is primarily a white mold fungicide so by adding

sulfur, farmers can get more leaf spot control. According to Culbreath, he hasn't seen sulfur help with white mold control, but it doesn't seem to hurt it either.

One downfall is that sulfur doesn't control rust so if a farmer has rust in their field, then they will have to use a fungicide that does control rust.

"The other thing about sulfur is down through the years a lot of growers have made a foliar sulfur application anyway to green up their field," Culbreath says. "So, I'm sort of building on that practice by using sulfur in a leaf spot spray program."

Sulfur is not a new concept for a lot of growers.

"However, if you pick the right product and mix it with the various fungicides, a lot of times you can come up with a very economical and very effective disease control option that would still give you whatever benefit the sulfur does from a physiological and growth color standpoint," Culbreath says.

University of Georgia plant pathologist Albert Culbreath tank-mixes micronized sulfur with products azoxystrobin (Abound), Headline, Umbra, Excalia, and tebuconazole to help with leaft spot control.

Insect Management in 2024

Scout and monitor fields weekly

By Joy Crosby

Insect and mite infestations in peanuts can result in severe economic loss, but not every field will be infested with damaging pest populations every year. The variety of pests present in peanut fields can vary significantly from year to year and even from field to field within a year.

University Extension specialists encourage farmers to scout and monitor their fields weekly for overall insect management in 2024.

"The only way to know what insects are present and at what level is to scout," says Scott Graham, Auburn University Extension entomologist. "Farmers should treat pests only when at certain thresholds."

According to Graham, there are two insecticide applications that hurt farmers the most; the one made that wasn’t needed and the one made that didn’t work.

"However, both of these can be alleviated by scouting fields weekly and properly identifying what insects are in the field and at what levels," Graham adds. "A consultant, welltrained scout or field advisor can significantly aid in field monitoring and application timing."

According to Mark Abney, University of Georgia Extension entomologist, it is possible to make a good peanut crop without scouting for insects, but a farmer will make mistakes.

"You will either apply insecticides that are not needed, or you will miss or mistime applications that are needed," Abney says. "Some mistakes are more costly than others, but they all cost money. A good scout will prevent these mistakes. A bad scout is worse than no scout at all."

Scouting is best accomplished by vigorously shaking peanut vines and foliage to dislodge the insects

onto the ground or beat sheet. In a 40-to-80-acre field, sampling three feet of row at ten locations in the field is sufficient.

According to Abney, all caterpillars should be counted, and their size and species composition should be noted. The threshold is 4 to 8 foliage feeding caterpillars per foot of row. If vines are small or stressed, then a lower threshold range should be used.

Lastly, Abney and Graham both agree one of the best recommendations for growers in 2024 is to stay in the loop by

following University Extension recommendations. There are podcasts, websites and newsletters sent out through the Extension service to aid farmers throughout the year.

Chlorpyrifos Available in 2024

By Joy Crosby

On Feb. 5, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule amending its regulations to reflect the current legal status of the chlorpyrifos tolerances following a court order vacating the Agency's revocation of those tolerances. This decision allows farmers to utilize any existing stock of chlorpyrifos in the 2024 season.

In 2021, EPA published a final rule revoking all food use tolerances of the pesticide chlorpyrifos. The agency took this action in accordance with an April 2021 court order from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. However, the Eighth Circuit’s mandate issued on December 28, 2023, finalized the court’s judgment, and vacated the Agency’s 2021 rule revoking chlorpyrifos tolerances.

Since the tolerances are currently in effect, growers can now use currently registered chlorpyrifos products on all crops with reinstated tolerances, consistent with directions for use on those product labels. However, such uses may be subject to restrictions by individual states.

According to Mark Abney, University of Georgia Extension entomologist, growers who need to use chlorpyrifos will be able to do so in 2024, but they should not plan to save any of the product for use in 2025 as the EPA has stated it will move quickly to re-revoke tolerances for some crops including peanuts.

Chlorpyrifos is an important tool used to combat peanut burrower bugs and rootworms in peanut fields. Some growers faced the difficult decision to not plant peanuts in 2023 due to the ban on chlorpyrifos and issues they faced with burrower bugs and rootworms. Peanut producers who need additional information about which products containing chlorpyrifos are available and legal to use on peanuts in 2024 should contact their local county Extension agent.

Banded Cucumber Beetle

Peanut Rx Updates for 2024

By Josie Bullington

Researchers are urging farmers to utilize Peanut Rx as a tool to help guide their management decisions going into the 2024 planting season. Peanut Rx is designed to assist growers in modifying their production practices to effectively reduce risks to diseases in the field.

Having been developed in 1996, Peanut Rx was originally intended to combat increasing grower concern for Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV). Today, Peanut Rx can be referenced for guidance concerning TSWV, leaf spot and white mold.

"Since the first index there have been new categories, new points and new varieties added to this management tool. The index is reviewed by researchers at the University of Georgia, Auburn University, University of Florida, Clemson University and Mississippi

State University," says Bob Kemerait, Extension plant pathologist for the University of Georgia Tifton Campus.

"Peanut Rx has been fully reviewed for the 2024 season," Kemerait says. Minor changes were made to the 2024 edition of Peanut Rx however, the changes offer invaluable insights that are tailored towards optimizing grower yields. Peanut Rx updates for 2024 feature adjusted point values of varieties, new varieties and updates concerning Classic herbicide.

Regrading TSWV in 2024, researchers encourage producers to be mindful of their planting date, seeding rate, tillage and use of atplant insecticides.

"I encourage growers to stay on a timely, proven program because once the furrow is closed, the die

is cast for management of spotted wilt," Kemerait says. "Growers should continue to use Peanut Rx to develop strategies to reduce risk from spotted wilt, white mold and leaf spot in their peanut crop."

To find out how Peanut Rx can help reduce disease risk during the 2024 growing season visit peanutrx.org.

Peanut Leadership Academy Class XIII hosts Second Session

by Jessie Bland

Participants of Class XIII of the Peanut Leadership Academy met March 18 – 20, in Tifton, Georgia, for the second session of the 18-month program. During this session, peanut growers and sheller representatives had the opportunity to learn more about the industry through speakers and tours, as well as network and discuss key issues the United States peanut industry faces.

On day one, Darlene Cowart with Birdsong Peanuts discussed food safety and shared how the industry can work together to maintain quaility and safety across the supply chain. Miriam Crosby with the The Peanut Institute gave an overview of TPI and elaborated on several of the research projects TPI funds, as well as campaigns launched to share the data with consumers and promote consumption. Markita Lewis with the National Peanut Board spoke to the group about peanut allergies. She shared the latest recommendations, resources and tools attendees could take back to their family and communities. To conclude the day, attendees participated in a group discussion on industry issues, where good engagement and passion across the class shown brightly.

Day two of the session consisted of area tours. The group began with a tour of Kelley Manufacturing Co.'s facility, where they received the most up-to-date information from KMC and learned about the equipment fabrication process. Upon leaving KMC, the group traveled to the University of Georgia's Tifton Campus and heard from Scott Monfort and Tim Brenneman about the latest updates in peanut research and Extension. The group then visited the Georgia Peanut Commission office, where they had lunch, followed by a trip to Fitzgerald for a tour of MANA Nutrition's facility. Here, they learned about MANA's mission, expansion and how their product is saving lives worldwide.

To wrap up the session, participants attended the American Peanut Shellers Association's Industry Spring Conference, where they heard about a variety of topics from planting intentions for the 2024 U.S. peanut crop to legislative updates regarding the current farm bill. They were also introduced to the meeting attendees and had an opportunity to visit with those in attendance.

Garrett Dixon, a grower participant from Salem, Alabama, described his time in the class thus far

as informative.

"Our second institute was another whirlwind of information!" Dixon says. "Touring MANA Nutrition was very eye-opening as a peanut farmer, because it shows how nutritious the peanut is and how it can be used to help fight malnutrition in foreign countries."

Trevor Dyer, a sheller representative from Sandyland Peanut in Edenton, North Carolina, saw how the class offers the participants an opportunity to build upon a common goal.

"The opportunity this program has given me to observe all aspects of the U.S. peanut industry will never be forgotten," Dyer says. "From farming to finished goods and peanut folk alike, we truly have one common goal: to create the best peanut product the world has to offer."

The Peanut Leadership Academy is coordinated by the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation and sponsored by Syngenta Crop Protection and the American Peanut Shellers Association. For more information on the Peanut Leadership Academy, visit southernpeanutfarmers.org.

Peanut Leadership Academy Class XIII held their second session in Tifton, Ga. While in the area participants learned more about the peanut industry through tours of Kelley Manufacturing Co., MANA Nutrition and the University of Georgia Tifton Campus.

Southern Peanut Growers Conference Set for July

Mark your calendars for the 25th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference, July 17-19, 2024, at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, Savannah, Georgia. This year’s conference offers farmers an opportunity to learn more about legislative issues, peanut promotions and production issues.

The registration fee for growers is $225 which includes all conference events and meals. The registration deadline is June 30. The registration fee increases by $75 on July 1.

The theme for this year’s conference, “Rollin' on the River,” plans to focus on marketing, the land grant mission, opportunities for non-food uses of peanuts and a Washington update.

The conference schedule and registration information is available at www.southernpeanutfarmers.org 

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, July 17

3:00 - 6:30 p.m. Conference Registration

5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Welcoming Reception

Dinner on Your Own in Savannah!

Thursday, July 18

7:00 a.m. Prayer Breakfast

8:30 a.m.

General Session I

Piloting Peanuts through the Course

Bob Parker, Peanut Solutions

Chancellor Sonny Perdue, University System of Georgia

10:00 a.m. Refreshment Break

10:30 a.m. Ladies Program

10:30 a.m.

General Session II

Setting a New Course for Peanuts

Dr. Michael Deliberto, Louisiana State University

Dr. Ondulla Toomer, Food Science and Market Quality and Handling Research Unit, USDA-ARS

Noon Luncheon

1:30 p.m. Port of Savannah Tour (Tentative)

(Ticketed event. Limited to the first 50 attendees who register for the tour.)

Friday, July 19

7:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

Farm Press Peanut Efficiency Awards Breakfast

General Session III

Navigating Difficult Waters: Peanut Policy & Economics

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, former chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture and a senior member of the committee

Bob Redding, The Redding Firm

Dr. Stanley Fletcher, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

10:15 a.m. Refreshment Break

Noon Lunch on your own and afternoon free!

1:00 p.m. Golf Tournament

7:00 p.m. Reception

7:30 p.m.

Dinner & Entertainment featuring The American Flyers

Florida Peanut Producers Association holds 48th Annual Meeting

Massey family receives Outstanding Young Peanut Farmer Award

Ed Ham receives Grower of the Year Award

by Joy Crosby

The Florida Peanut Producers Association held their 48th Annual Membership Meeting Feb. 29, 2024, in Marianna, Florida. During the meeting, farmers elected new board members and received a report on activities of FPPA and the National Peanut Board.

The new member elected to serve on the FPPA Board of Directors is Tyler Brown from Jay, Florida. He is eligible to serve two consecutive three year terms. Brown replaces retiring director Michael Nowling of Jay, Florida.

Scott Robinson, Williston, Florida, and Ernest Fulford, Chiefland, Florida, were elected for another three-year term on the board of directors. Officers elected during the meeting include Larry Ford from Greenwood, Florida, as president and David DeFelix from Campbellton, Florida, as vice president, and Philip Melvin, as secretary/treasurer.

Brittany Peacock, FPPA program coordinator, provided a report highlighting some of the promotional and educational activities the association has been involved in over the past year. Ryan Lepicier, president

and CEO of the National Peanut Board, gave a report on the national promotions and research funding.

The highlight of the evening included the presentation of the Farm Credit/FPPA Young Peanut

Farmer Award presentation. Logan Chappell, loan officer with Farm Credit of Northwest Florida presented the award to Ashby and Mikaela Massey from Graceville, Florida.

The Massey family started farming together in 2019 after finishing college at Troy University. Mikaela started growing peanuts on her own in 2015. Together, the Massey's grow peanuts and cotton.

Ashby and Mikaela are both graduates of the Peanut Leadership Academy. In addition to farming, they are busy raising the next generation of farmers with their two children, Abby Lynn and Hilton.

Also, during the annual meeting, PeopleSouth Bank and FPPA

Logan Chappell (left), loan officer with Farm Credit of Northwest Florida, presents Mikaela (center) and Ashby Massey (right) of Graceville, Fla., with the Farm Credit/Florida Peanut Producers Association Young Peanut Farmer Award during the 48th FPPA annual meeting held Feb. 29, 2024, in Marianna, Fla.

Tyler Brown (left photo), Jay, Fla., was elected for a three-year term to the Florida Peanut Producers Association board. The FPPA board pictured left to right are Rollin Hudson, Chiefland; Phillip Melvin, Altha; Larry Ford, Greenwood; Tyler Brown, Jay; Scott Robinson, Williston; Nick Marshall, Baker; Jim McArthur, Malone, and David DeFelix, Campbellton, Fla.

presented a new award, Grower of the Year, to Ed Ham of Greenwood, Florida. Ham grew up on his family farm in Jackson County, Florida. He was the general manager of Pender Peanut Company until the business sold in 1982. Then, Ham started farming full-time. Each year, Ham plants peanuts, cotton, corn and oats.

In 1983, Ham opened the Ham Peanut Company and started buying and selling peanuts for ADM. He has been helping area farmers market peanuts for a total of 55 years, with the last 39 years as Ham Peanut Company. Ham Peanut Company has grown into a multi-million dollar a year business consisting of a peanut buying point and a seed shelling facility.

As part of the award, PeopleSouth Bank presents FPPA and a non-profit organization of the winner's choice with a donation of $1,000. Ham selected the Malone FFA chapter as the recipient of the donation.

Kristy

$1,000 donation.

Bennett, customer service representative with PeopleSouth Bank, presents the Grower of the Year Award to Ed Ham of Greenwood, Fla., during the 48th FPPA annual meeting held Feb. 29, 2024, in Marianna, Fla. Ham chose the Malone FFA Chapter as the non-profit organization to receive a

Pictured left to right: Bennett, Ham, Macy Jordan, president of the Malone FFA Chapter and Dawson Jordan, sentinel of the Malone FFA Chapter.

USDA and UGA Break Ground on New Agriculture Research Facility in Tifton

New Facility for Watershed Research, Crop Genetics and Breeding Research

by Jessica Ryan

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences hosted a groundbreaking ceremony recently for the new stateof-the-art research facility housing the Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory and the Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit.

This new research facility will include a new 31,000 square foot building on the UGA Tifton campus. ARS and university employees' research will advance climate-smart agricultural research ranging from water resources in the southern coastal plain to the management of insect pests and pollinators in agricultural landscapes, and the development of resilient and sustainable cropping and forage systems in the southeastern United States.

"Cutting-edge research keeps American agriculture competitive and helps farmers and ranchers stay ahead of emerging threats like climate change and emerging pests and diseases. We are grateful

for our longstanding partnership with scientists and students at the University of Georgia - Tifton, and we look forward to seeing this stateof-the-art facility foster additional innovation, breakthroughs, and even recruitment of new talent to our organizations," says Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA chief scientist and under secretary for research, education and economics.

The partnership between ARS and UGA highlights the importance of bringing cutting edge research to the heart of south Georgia agriculture and helping prepare the next generation of agricultural leaders to take the world's stage through student experience and education.

"State and federal scientists stationed at the UGA Tifton campus have a long history of working together to solve some of the most difficult production challenges in the

Southeast. This building will improve our collective ability to recruit top scientists, provide laboratory space for cutting-edge approaches and leverage existing campus assets," says UGA Tifton campus Assistant Dean Michael Toews.

Other leaders who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony include:

• U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop

• U.S. Rep. Austin Scott

• Simon Liu, ARS administrator

• Archie Tucker, ARS Southeast area director

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

Leaders break ground on a new agriculture research facility in Tifton, Georgia.

Building Rendering: USDA Groundbreaking on New Agriculture Research Facility in Tifton, Georgia.

Photo by Heather Gossel, USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Image courtesy of Burns & McDonnell.

Washington Outlook

By Robert L. Redding Jr.

U.S. Congress Passes Agriculture Appropriations Legislation

The U.S. Congress recently passed appropriations legislation that included six appropriations packages: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. President Biden signed this legislation into law on March 9.

The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations legislation funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Fiscal Year 2024. Included in the bill are peanut provisions proposed by Agriculture Subcommittee Ranking Member Sanford Bishop, D-Georgia,

and supported by the peanut industry. These U.S. Peanut Federation supported research initiatives, aflatoxin and nutrition, are in their third year of funding. Total funding for Fiscal Year 2023 was $4 million for aflatoxin research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, Georgia, Fort Valley State University and other land grant universities, and $1.5 million for the USDA Agricultural Research Service to work on peanut nutrition priorities. ARS has been working with The Peanut Institute on nutrition projects.

For Fiscal Year 2024, total funding is $2 million for peanut nutrition research and $4 million for aflatoxin research. Legislative report language is as follows:

Peanut Nutrition Research

The committee recognizes the need for more research to identify

U.S. Peanut Federation travesl to Washington, D.C. for Spring Fly-In

Representatives from the U.S. Peanut Federation (USPF) traveled to Washington, D.C. this week for their annual Spring Fly-In. During the trip, USPF representatives met with key members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, as well as senior agricultural staff to discuss issues facing the peanut industry today. The USPF Fly-In is essential to connect with Congress about peanut industry priorities, especially since Farm Bill programs are up for reauthorization in 2024.

During their meetings, representatives of the U.S. Peanut Federation discussed the rising costs of production for peanuts, the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, and peanut priorities for the Farm Bill.

Rising input costs, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and low prices have all contributed to the difficult conditions peanut farmers are facing today. Without an effective safety net, peanut growers will continue to struggle, and that is the message that USPF representatives voiced on Capitol Hill.

In late 2023, the U.S. Congress passed a 1-year extension of Farm Bill programs at the same levels authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill. USPF representatives heard from Members of Congress and staff this week that while the Farm Bill has been extended, the work is ongoing. However, there is uncertainty to whether or not a Farm Bill is considered this year.

U.S. Peanut Federation leaders with U.S. Rep. Rick Allen.

how peanut consumption contributes to overall health and wellness and reduces chronic disease risk in various groups and across the lifespan. The committee provides an increase of $500,000 to support peanut nutrition research. Research topics should include chronic diseases, nutrition and wellness across the lifespan, health disparities, dietary patterns for optimal health and nutrition for the future.

Peanut Research

The committee provides no less than the fiscal year 2023 level to support research activities to mitigate aflatoxin contamination in peanuts. The committee directs ARS to enhance ongoing collaborations with land-grant institutions to further advance research efforts.

The second tranche of appropriations legislation was approved on March 22, fully funding the government for Fiscal Year 2024.

U.S.

U.S. Peanut Federation leaders with U.S. House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott.

Peanut Federation leaders on Speaker Mike Johnson's Capitol balcony.

U.S. Senator Thune leads letter to USTR on Agricultural Trade

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), along with U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) and U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-IN) led a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging them to increase U.S. agricultural exports and improve the competitiveness of U.S. products abroad. The letter reads:

“We write to express deep concern with the continued erosion of critical markets for U.S. agricultural exports. For decades, the United

USPF signs letter supporting International Food Aid

The U.S. Peanut Federation signed a letter with other agriculture groups supporting an increase in funding for international food aid in the Fiscal Year 2025 legsislation. The letter, addressed to U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture Chair Andy Harris, R-Maryland, Ranking Member Sanford Bishop, D-Georgia, and U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture Chair Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, and Ranking Member John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, reads:

"Each year our nation's international food aid programs, including P.L. 480 Title II Food for Peace, Food for Progress, and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education within the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, help reach millions of vulnerable people around the world. These programs have enjoyed significant bipartisan support for 70 years. We, the undersigned organizations, respectfully request Congress continue to fully support these programs and that the fiscal year 2025 agriculture appropriations funding for these critical accounts be increased to at least $2.4 billion.

According to the Mid-Year Update of the Global Report on Food Crises, there are currently at least 238 million acutely food insecure people around the world."

States steadily increased market access for U.S. food and agricultural products. We accomplished this feat through negotiations of actual free trade agreements, removal of technical barriers to trade, and holding our trading partners accountable to their commitments, all of which have helped strengthen the agriculture economy at home and developed important strategic relationships abroad. Yet, in the last fiscal year (FY) alone, U.S. agricultural exports declined by more than $17 billion, and recent forecasts show a further decline by more than $8 billion in FY 2024. As a result, the U.S. agricultural trade deficit is projected to reach a record $30.5 billion in FY 2024. This decline is unsustainable, and we urge the Biden administration to immediately take action to improve the competitiveness of U.S. agricultural products abroad and reverse this trend.

We expect trade to fluctuate in response to macroeconomic factors and market conditions.

However, the current sharp decline in U.S. agricultural exports is directly attributable to and exacerbated by an unambitious U.S. trade strategy that is failing to meaningfully expand market access or reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. While the Biden administration continually refuses to pursue traditional free trade agreements, China, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and others continue to ink trade pacts that diminish American export opportunities and global economic influence.”

The letter was also signed by U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (RIA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds, (R-SD), Tim Scott (R-SC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Todd Young (R-IN).

1025 Sugar Pike Way · Canton, Georgia 30115 |(770) 751-6615 | lpwagner@comcast.net

High School Culinary Peanut Pilot Program

Southern Peanut Growers worked with Feast Global on a peanut culinary program for high school students on February 29 in Tucker, Ga. More than 20 culinary arts students at Tucker High School participated in the interactive presentation about “The Power of Peanuts”. Chef Andy Chapman led a classroom presentation focusing on peanut production, nutrition, sustainability, allergies, ingredient selection and an interactive tasting panel.

Chef Jernard A. Wells—an awardwinning TV host, celebrity chef and bestselling cookbook author—talked to the students about his culinary journey and then took them into the kitchen where he prepared two peanut

April is National Brunch Month

items: Peanut Butter Garlic Noodles and Peanut Butter Coconut Chicken Wings. Chef Jernard (@chefjernard) shared his participation with his 187,000 Instagram followers.

The program was well-received with high levels of engagement from student and administrators: 100% of participating students said they believe peanuts and peanut butter are good for you as a result of the activity and that they learned at least two new ways to use peanuts and peanut butter during the activity.

This program is completely replicable and will be packaged with recipe cards, lesson plan, a PowerPoint presentation, and a Bingo game to reinforce learning.

Brunch originated in England in the 19th century as a light afternoon meal after long church services. It has evolved into a more elaborate meal combining breakfast and lunch foods which usually involves an important social gathering aspect. Whether you’re just eating your first meal of the day too late for a traditional breakfast or you’re celebrating a special occasion, this Peanut Praline Candied Bacon is sure to take it up a notch! Sweet and salty, this versatile treat can be eaten alongside your brunch fare or as a topper for a burger or an ice cream sundae.

Peanut Praline Candied Bacon

Ingredients

Thick cut bacon

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup chopped peanuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and top with a baking rack.

Lay bacon on baking rack and bake for approximately 15 minutes. (Time will vary depending on thickness of bacon but edges should be starting to brown and curl up as the bacon is nearly done.)

Combine brown sugar and chopped peanuts while the bacon is baking.

Remove pan from oven and top each slice with the brown sugar and peanut mixture.

Return to oven and broil until the brown sugar is melted and bubbling. Watch bacon closely during the step so it doesn’t burn.

Chef Jernard Wells (center) got in the kitchen with Tucker High School culinary students to share hands-on tips and tricks for cooking with peanuts and peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Garlic Noodles

by Chef Jernard Wells

Ingredients

8 oz. spaghetti noodles

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup sugar snap peas

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning

2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint leaves

Directions

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water according to package instructions and drain well. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and garlic. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add vegetables. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3 – 4 minutes

Stir in noodles and sauce mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts and lemon pepper. Garnish with mint and serve.