A Message from our 2023 Chairman

By Paul Rogers

Dear Fellow Peanut Farmers,

As the 2023 chairman of the National Peanut Board (NPB), I appreciate the opportunity to represent America’s peanut farmers. I began my work with the Board as an alternate in 2012, then as a member in 2018. While a lot has changed in 11 years, our core mission has stayed the same: improve the economic condition of U.S. peanut farmers and their families through compelling promotion and groundbreaking research. I plan to continue that during my term.

This year’s compelling consumer campaign is something I am looking forward to. We’ve all felt the lasting impacts of coronavirus, and Gen Z and millennials have redefined what it means to take a step back and find comfort in the simple joys of life. Our campaign, “We Grow Comfort,” will show younger generations how peanuts can be comforting beyond just food. For our first activation, we sent out self-care kits with beauty products that use peanut as an ingredient. While my generation may not think about self-care the way our kids do, we can still find common ground through peanuts.

As for groundbreaking research, NPB has invested heavily in both allergy and production research. PeanutBase, which you’ll read more about in this issue, allows researchers to have a central database. PeanutBase saves researchers hours of looking through multiple databases to find certain markers for peanut breeding, which allows for progress to be made rapidly. Dr. John Cason from Texas A&M compared it to a snowball rolling down a hill with how as the research grows, advancements will be made exponentially quicker.

One of the biggest responsibilities the executive committee and I have is to find a successor for Bob Parker, who is retiring at the end of this year. The executive committee and I take this responsibility seriously and promise to provide transparency as we move through this process. He’s done tremendous work for U.S. peanut farmers in his 10 years leading NPB and his efforts in unifying all segments of the industry will have lasting impacts.

Finally, I’d like to thank my fellow peanut growers for trusting NPB to achieve our mission to benefit all of us.

Paul Rogers, 2023 Chairman