One Grower Publishing, LLC, also publishes Cotton Farming, Rice Farming, Soybean South and Corn South
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875 W. Poplar Ave., Suite 23, Box 305 Collierville, TN 38017
e Spirit Of Edison Editor’s Note
Although Thomas A. Edison is often thought of as the inventor of the modern incandescent lightbulb, the truth is that many inventors worked for nearly a century to finally reach a large-scale test of lighting 25 buildings in New York City’s financial district in 1882.
Beginning with the invention of electric arc lighting in 1809, which was safer than gas lamps but too bright for use in a small area, the race was on for a better option. Prior to Edison’s first commercially viable incandescent light bulb patented in 1880, more than 23 different light bulbs were developed.
Amanda Huber Editor, e Peanut Grower
It was Warren De la Rue who designed the first incandescent light in 1820, but his design used a platinum filament, far too expensive for any practical application. Over half a century of experimentation focused primarily on finding an inexpensive filament that could produce electric light for any useful length of time.
Even Edison had a lab full of associates, called “Muckers,” who conducted thousands of experiments to develop the electric light bulb. To make it functional, each step required the invention of a new component and built on what was known until a final product was achieved.
“The electric light has caused me the greatest amount of study and has required the most elaborate experiments,” Edison later wrote. “I was never myself discouraged or inclined to be hopeless of success. I cannot say the same for all my associates.”
This kind of mentality is needed for the peanut industry’s search for a way to reduce or mitigate aflatoxin. From the University of Georgia’s Nino Brown to HudsonAlpha’s Josh Clevenger to multiple researchers at the National Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, Georgia, and many other scientists across the peanut belt, all of these researchers are working in different, although sometimes related, ways to find resistance or a different solution to aflatoxin in peanuts. What they are doing builds on what researchers have learned over the past few decades, such as UGA plant pathologist Tim Brenneman, who says he has worked for 25 years to develop a seed treatment to control Aspergillus in peanuts.
If these teams of researchers can keep up the spirit of Edison, who never got discouraged or lost hope, eventually a breakthrough will happen to solve this problem, bringing with it economic prosperity and safeguarded human health.
News Briefs
Farm Bill Needed Now
Representatives from the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation traveled to Washington D.C. with more than 50 other agricultural organizations to discuss the critical need for a Farm Bill before the end of 2024. During the trip, SPFF representatives met with members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, as well as senior ag staff.
Joe Boddiford, Georgia Peanut Commission chairman, who was among the SPFF representatives, said, “We met with members and their staff to convey the extreme urgency to have a new Farm Bill done before the end of the year. It’s clear that we need this congress to write the Farm Bill. Time is of the essence.”
In another effort, more than 300 national and state groups sent a letter to congressional leaders on Sept. 9, calling on them to pass the Farm Bill before year’s end.
Besides groups representing livestock and specialty crop producers, lenders and other essential stakeholders, peanut industry groups included the American Peanut Shellers Association, National Peanut Buying Points Association, U.S. Peanut Federation, Alabama Peanut Producers Association, Florida Peanut Federation, Florida Peanut Producers Association, Georgia Peanut Commission, Mississippi Peanut Growers Association and Western Peanut Growers.
Portions of the letter read, “It is critical that Congress pass a new Farm Bill that strengthens the safety net as many producers are facing multiple years of not being profitable, and this is causing their overall financial situation to deteriorate. Some will have challenges as they seek operating credit for the 2025 crop year.
“Since the 2018 Farm Bill, we have realized considerable gaps in the farm safety net due to sharply changing conditions, including a trade war with China, Russia invading Ukraine, COVID-19 and supply chain challenges, rising foreign subsidies, tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and other harmful practices.
“These conditions seriously tested the effectiveness of the 2018 Farm Bill, and it was only by the aggressive use of supplemental assistance that many farms survived. The Farm Bill reauthorization provides an opportunity for Congress to address serious challenges in agriculture.”
2024 Crop
The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that peanut production, forecast at 6.71 billion pounds, will be up 12% over last year. Planted area is estimated at 1.81 million acres, up less than 1% from the August estimate and up 10% from 2023. The U.S. average yield is forecast at 3,836 pounds per acre.
These estimates were based on conditions as of Sept. 1, and prior to Hurricane Helene, which is likely to affect all of these predictions.
Hurricane Helene Hits Southeast
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 17. It is the strongest hurricane on record (since 1851) to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend.
It was still hurricane strength as it reached Georgia. Storm damage, power outages and flooding were anticipated as Helene moved north. The East Georgia peanut region was devastated. Winds 90 to 100 miles per hour pounded the region causing major damage to drying sheds, elevators and storage buildings in addition to personal homes. Fallen trees blocked road ways and fell on power lines. Buying points cannot operate without electricity, which is needed in offices, drying sheds and grading system operations.
Peanut farmers and buying points were just gearing up with harvest prior to the storm’s arrival. Now, farmers will have to wait on major roads to be cleared and move trees and debris off farm roads. In the meantime, it is hoped that fields will dry out and digging can continue. Dry weather is needed for peanut field drying
In Brief
• What will it take to get a new Farm Bill?
• Farms, buying points devastated by Hurricane Helene.
• UGA earns grant to study participation in global peanut oil market.
• FDA approves nasal spray as alternative to Epi-pen for anaphylaxis.
• Industry rallies for Helene victims, sending thousands of jars of peanut butter.
before the combines start rolling. Buying Points are paralyzed without power, and a real emergency may be in the making.
State Extension teams began assessing the damage and collecting storm data as soon as it was safe. This process is expected to take a few weeks. Sharing critical information with congressional offices was the goal to ensure that members of Congress fully understand the extent of the damage to the agricultural industry. Additionally, the National Peanut Buying Points Association and others are working closely with USDA’s Farm Service Agency to facilitate debris clearing so growers can better assess their losses. Communication in the affected counties remained limited due to widespread damage to cell service and power infrastructure.
USDA Working To Help Farmers Recover
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, USDA is working to implement program flexibilities and waivers to help streamline the recovery process. Officials encourage farmers to document damages and losses to their operations as much as possible, including gathering farm records, herd inventory, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.
News Briefs
Once you are able to safely evaluate the impact on your operation, be sure to contact your USDA Farm Service Agency county office or your crop insurance agent to report all crop, livestock and farm infrastructure damages and losses. For producers who have risk protection through Federal Crop Insurance, the USDA Risk Management Agency has authorized approved insurance providers to increase flexibility on reporting requirements for those who are unable to report losses due the disaster.
FSA offers several loan servicing options to borrowers who are unable to make scheduled payments on their farm loan because of reasons beyond their control. Meanwhile, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service provides financial resources through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program to help with immediate needs and long-term support to help recover from natural disasters and conserve water resources. To learn about benefits available, go to www.fsa.usda.gov
Tapping Into e Oil Market
A new study by the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is seeking to increase the value of Georgia’s peanut crops for new markets while reducing losses caused by aflatoxin, a consistent threat to the No. 1 peanut-producing state in the United States.
A four-year, $490,000 grant will take a systems-based approach toward developing high-oil peanut varieties bred to withstand the unique climate and pest pressures of the Southeast. Funded by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, researchers will determine at what point in the growing cycle peanuts are at their highest oil content to identify the best harvest time, develop management practices to help increase oil production and examine the profitability of oil production under variables including drought, disease and market demand.
The study’s goal is to assess the potential for Southeastern peanut growers to participate in the global peanut oil market, including the harvest of afla-
toxin-contaminated edible peanut crops and the intentional planting and management of high-oil varieties bred to perform in the Southeast.
World’s Most Famous Peanut Farmer Turns 100
Jimmy Carter, the former president of the United States, former governor, Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian, peanut farmer and proud son of South Georgia, turned 100 years old on Oct. 1, 2024.
Carter marked his birthday privately with family at his Plains homestead, where he has been in Hospice care for 19 months. Antique World War II planes flew over his home in his honor. Carter was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who became a nuclear engineer, serving aboard a submarine and rising to the rank of lieutenant.
Gov. Brian P. Kemp declared Tuesday as “Jimmy Carter Day” to recognize his legacy as the state’s 76th governor. Habitat for Humanity, an organization whose volunteers build homes for people in need, planned to build 30 houses that week in St. Paul, Minnesota, in Carter’s honor. Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter spent decades working with the organization and physically helped build houses across the United States.
A bill has also been filed in Congress to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Carter. Congressmen Austin Scott (R-GA), Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and a New Jersey congressman are sponsoring the legislation. The bill references Carter’s lifetime of work, including his naval service, the Camp David Accords, establishing the Departments of Education and Energy, the near worldwide eradication of Guinea worm disease and work with Habitat for Humanity.
Carter was a product of the public schools in Sumter County and attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology before heading to the U.S. Naval Academy. He was elected to serve on the Sumter County Board of Education and in the Georgia State Senate before becoming governor.
The 27th annual Plains Peanut Festival also honored the 39th President of the United States. Tyron Spearman, master of ceremonies of the festival, led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday,” and reminded everyone about President Carter’s advice, “if you want to live a long and healthy life like me, eat more peanuts.”
FDA Approves Nasal Spray Alternative To Epi-Pen
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Neffy, a nasal spray by ARS Pharmaceuticals for anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction. This is the first needle-free alternative to Epi-Pen and other epinephrine auto-injectors for adults and children weighing 66 pounds or more.
The nasal spray alternative is seen as a potential game-changer for people with serious allergies as it should help to decrease barriers to immediate emergency treatment including fear of needles and lack of training for auto-injectors.
Through the National Peanut Board, farmers have been tackling the challenge of peanut allergies since 2001, with over $36 million invested in research and education. This commitment has helped pave the way for major breakthroughs, including national guidelines for peanut allergy prevention and the development of the first FDA-approved treatments for food allergies.
Advancements include Xolair, which offers protection against accidental exposure to multiple allergens, including peanuts. On top of that, an FDA-approved oral immunotherapy and a skin patch treatment are on the horizon. Another development is peanut allergy vaccines, including Peanut VLP 101, one of several promising candidates currently in trials.
The LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut) study proved that introducing peanuts early in life can help reduce the risk of developing an allergy. The latest portion, published in 2024, further strengthens this approach, giving parents and healthcare professionals more confidence in early peanut introduction.
NPB has launched a new food allergy
News Briefs
research grant program with an initial $250,000 in funding. This competitive grant will drive innovation by allowing a review of diverse proposals and supporting projects that bring the industry closer to eradicating peanut allergy.
Donations Pour In
The American Peanut Council’s Peanut Butter for the Hungry is supporting those impacted by Hurricane Helene by donating $10,000 to Peanut Proud. The funds will help cover the costs of delivering thousands of jars of peanut butter to affected communities. The donation is part of a broader effort by Peanut Proud to ensure that food-insecure families have access to a high-quality, shelf-stable protein source during this challenging time.
Peanut Proud is distributing more than 99,000 jars of peanut butter to areas hit hardest by the storm, partnering with local food banks and community organizations to make sure the support reaches those in need quickly. Peanut butter is a valuable emergency food because it’s easy to distribute, requires no refrigeration and provides essential nutrients.
You can make a direct donation to Peanut Butter for the Hungry, helping continue efforts like these to combat food insecurity at home and abroad.
Another way to show your support is by purchasing the official 2024 White House Christmas Ornament, which honors President Jimmy Carter. A portion of each ornament purchased with the passcode Peanut24, goes directly to support PB4H. For more information on how to donate or purchase the ornament, visit PB4H.org
V-C Unites With PB Donation
The North Carolina Peanut Growers Association, The South Carolina Peanut Board and the Virginia Peanut Growers Association teamed up to deliver 21 pallets of Peanut Proud Peanut Butter to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina for distribution to families impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Peanut Proud is the peanut industry’s humanitarian relief non-profit organiza-
tion. Donations allow the organization to provide this prefered food item in a quick and efficient manner.
“Those affected by Hurricane Helene have experienced the unimaginable and have needs that will not be solved quickly. However, their immediate need for nutrition is where we can absolutely
play a part in helping,” says Ashley Collins, NCPGA chief executive officer.
Caitlin Joyner, VPGA executive director, adds, “Peanut butter is nonperishable, easy to store, high in protein, a great source of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, and a staple for food assistance and critical in times of disaster relief.”
Perfect Peanut Partner
Planting peace of mind in a cotton-peanut rotation
Simplified weed management next year begins with an important decision in the off-season. For cotton producers in peanut country, you can streamline your operation by choosing cottonseed that is the perfect peanut partner.
PhytoGen® W3FE varieties offer a better approach to weed management near peanuts that other cottonseed companies can’t match. Thanks to the Enlist® cotton trait, PhytoGen W3FE varieties are labeled for applications of Enlist One® with 2,4-D choline. Because growers commonly use 2,4-Db to control weeds in peanuts, there are distinct synergies between crops with PhytoGen® brand varieties.
Todd Rowe, Corteva Agronomy Leader for the Southeast, explains that growers in his region have always worried about 2,4-Db contamination in the sprayer from applications in peanuts hurting nearby cotton fields. When dicamba-resistant cotton varieties came to the region, growers faced another concern: dicamba contamination in the sprayer from cotton applications carrying into peanut acres. Many growers have had to maintain two sprayers on the farm, one for dicamba applications and one for 2,4-Db applications.
Scan to learn more!
By planting PhytoGen W3FE varieties and applying Enlist One herbicide, you don’t have to worry about those issues.
“Peanuts are not listed as a susceptible crop on the label for Enlist herbicides. You can spray Enlist One on your cotton, even when peanuts are planted in neighboring fields that may be downwind, keeping in mind that wind speeds for Enlist applications are between 3 and 10 mph,” Rowe said. “That gives you more flexibility to spray as needed during the busy times of the season.”
Rowe said Enlist herbicides utilize a water-based chemistry that makes tank cleanout much simpler and less intensive than dicamba. You can spray Enlist herbicides on your cotton, follow the sprayer cleanout steps on the label, and then load the sprayer with 2,4-Db for your peanuts. You get excellent weed control, and dicamba never has to go into the tank.
“This offers peace of mind and flexibility for growers because you can make more timely applications using the same sprayer for both cotton and peanuts,” Rowe said. “PhytoGen W3FE varieties are tailor-made for the Southeast.”
PhytoGen® W3FE varieties harvested next to a field of peanuts in the Southeast.
Market Watch
Crop Estimates Are Pre- And Post-Hurricane
The 2024-25 peanut season will be remembered as one of the most chaotic and unpredictable years in a row-crop farmer’s life. The erratic weather, including two hurricanes, tested the plans for a profitable year, and farmers had to couple proven university recommendations with “thinking outside of the box” to solve many problems.
With corn and cotton not profitable, peanut planting held all the potential. However, this often means too many peanuts, which tilts supplies and pushes contract prices lower. The new season got off to a rough start with cold soils, followed by two weeks of rain and numerous bouts of severe weather from late April through June.
Time was running out on planting decisions, and some planting was delayed until mid-June after the crop insurance deadline. The entire peanut belt was chopped into sections, some with too much rain and some areas of drought. In August, Hurricane Debby hit Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia and South Carolina, and flooding delayed field work.
The First Production Estimate
Consumption updates showed peanut product sales were down about 5%, but prices were holding steady. Contract prices for peanuts were relatively low compared to university cost estimates, but cotton and corn were worse.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency confirmed planted area at 1.8 million acres, up 10% from last year. The first production forecast was 6.71 billion pounds or 3,354,000 tons, an increase of 14% over last year.
Beginning stocks from last season were about 740,000 for a total 2024 supply of 4,094,000 tons if the estimate is delivered to the warehouses. Deduct
the demand or disappearance including exports, 3,283,000 tons. Ending stocks for this year are estimated at 811,000 tons. These are the peanuts needed to fill the pipeline from August until November each year or until the new crop is shelled and ready. With 200,000 tons of usage per month, four months will mean the market has a tight supply and prices should improve next year.
Hurricane Helene Devastates
Agriculture
Just as buying points were gearing up for peanut harvest, which was already two to three weeks behind, Hurricane Helene hit the Big Bend area of Florida. The storm pushed north into Georgia and North Carolina and east catching East Georgia and South Carolina with very heavy rains and gusty, damaging winds. About one-third of the crops in Georgia, including cotton, soybeans, peanuts, pecans and pine trees were pounded with severe winds that caused catastrophic outcomes.
Producers should document all damage and losses before, during and after cleanup as well as financial records of cleanup
J. Tyron Spearman Contributing Editor, e Peanut Grower
and repair. Unfortunately, assistance and crop insurance will take some time.
Numerous peanut farms, buying points and shellers sustained significant damage to buildings and equipment. The Federal State Inspection Service reported that 26 buying points did not have power following Hurricane Helene and could not receive peanuts right after the storm. Roads were being cleared as quickly as possible so that trucks, trailers and tractors could get around to harvest and move peanuts. Farmers also had to remove fallen trees from farm roads and peanut fields before harvest could continue.
A Post-Hurricane Estimate
With less than 10% of peanuts harvested, growers waited for peanut fields to dry out so harvest could continue and hope that it happened quickly enough that the crop did not deteriorate.
These growers were working with buying points to determine drying capacity and availability of electricity. West Georgia and Alabama were still in dry conditions as harvest was picking up.
Peanuts planted in June needed about two weeks of warm weather to mature,
Market Watch
but temperatures were already predicted to drop into the 40s at night, which would slow maturity even more.
Early projections are about a 10% crop loss caused by Hurricane Helene. If growers cannot harvest the remainder of the crop in a timely manner, the loss is expected to be more like 30% in a short period of time in storm-hit areas. Farmers are being urged to avoid areas that had water standing for days, or if drought was the problem, keep those pivot corners separate because of the likelihood of aflatoxin.
Domestic Markets
The 2023 crop was firm on prices and difficult to get offers on, depending on sheller and grade. Shellers have recently redeemed most of the loan peanuts and moved them to the market. Splits were .68 cents per pound and mediums/jumbos .70 cents per pound because the trade felt that inventory was short.
New crop offers have become hard to confirm with weather damage and unknown production totals. Prices are .57 cents per pound for splits, .58 for mediums and .59 for jumbos. Buyers sensed a big crop would lower prices. It all comes down to growing conditions and yield. Ultimately, who wants to hold the risk?
Contract offers to growers have remained at $500 to $525 per ton for runner type, if a farmer needed a guarantee to secure financing. A few perks included $25 per ton for irrigation, high-oleic varieties and hauling. Virginia-type contracts were mostly $550 to $600 per ton depending on growing area.
Export Markets
Export markets were up 17.5% in volume for the year at 585,789 metric tons compared to last year’s 498,330 metric tons. Domestic markets were down 4.1% in raw-shelled usage with in-shells down 5.9%. Government purchases were up 44% compared to the previous year for peanut butter and roasted peanuts. While Congress is working on uniting the House and Senate Farm Bills, another agricultural delegation is proposing a direct payment or bridge appropriation to help farmers survive until the new Farm Bill is ratified. Unpredictable and chaotic, that’s where we are. But hang on, it’s got to settle down soon.
Georgia Ag Partners Launch Hurricane Relief Fund
The Georgia Department of Agriculture, in a partnership with the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture and in support by the Georgia Farm Bureau, has launched the Weathered But Strong: Hurricane Relief Fund to aid farmers and ranchers facing devastating losses from Hurricane Helene. The fund aims to raise $1 million by December to provide direct financial aid to those impacted by the storm.
The Weathered But Strong: Hurricane Relief Fund is a cross-industry initiative designed to assist Georgia’s farmers with recovery efforts, including damages to crops, livestock and farm infrastructure. The campaign emphasizes resilience within the agricultural community and collaboration across the sector to ensure a strong recovery for the state’s farming community.
The fund will help address essential needs by covering gaps left by other forms of assistance, for efforts like repairing fences, restoring livestock operations, rebuilding essential structures and eventually providing financial aid to those impacted.
Visit www.SupportGeorgiaFarmers.org to donate online or download the forms for check contributions.
The Weathered But Strong Hurricane Relief Fund is made possible by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the following ag organizations:
• Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
• Dickey Farms
• Fort Valley State University
Cooperative Extension
• Georgia 4-H
• Georgia 4-H Foundation
• Georgia Agribusiness Council
• Georgia Agricultural Education
• Georgia Association of Conservation Districts
• Georgia Cattlemen’s Association
• Georgia Citrus Association
• Georgia Cotton Commission
• Georgia Department of Agriculture
• Georgia EMC
• Georgia Farm Bureau
• Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service
• Georgia FFA
• Georgia FFA Alumni
• Georgia FFA Camps-Covington and Fort Valley
• Georgia FFA Foundation
• Georgia Forestry Association
• Georgia Forestry Commission
• Georgia Forestry Foundation
• Georgia Foundation For Agriculture
• Georgia Green Industry Association
• Georgia Milk Producers
• Georgia Peanut Commission
• Georgia Pecan Growers Association
• Georgia Poultry Federation
• Georgia Vocational Agriculture
Teachers Association
• Georgia Wine Producers
• Georgia Young Farmers Association
• Lamar Pecan Co
• Magnolia Loom
• Stuckey’s Corporation
• Sunbelt Ag Expo
• The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
• The Georgia Pecan Commission
• University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
• University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture is Georgia Farm Bureau’s nonprofit (501(c)(3)), and contributions to the Hurricane Relief Fund are fully tax-deductible. Donors will receive a receipt for their records. 100% of funds donated will go directly to farmers and ranchers.
Helene WREAKS HAVOC
Can farmers and buying points recover in time to gather the 2024 crop?
By Amanda Huber
Hurricane Helene swirled past its Florida landfall and was still a strong, fast-moving hurricane well into North Georgia. Devastation was left in its wake, state by state, until its exit through Virginia back into the Atlantic Ocean. When phrases like, “worse than Michael or worse than Idalia,” are used, it conveys the level of trauma inflicted, albeit relative to where and what the storm caused.
University of Georgia Extension peanut specialist Scott Monfort says in simple words, “It was so devastating. Farmers first had to think about whether their families and homes were safe, then their barns and getting power back on before thinking anything about the crop.”
Damage To Industry Infrastructure
In the wake of their Hurricane Helene assessments, Monfort says he made a few observations that had not really occurred to him before.
“First, you can’t get into fields because of
Even before Hurricane Helene, the earlier Hurricane Debby flooded this peanut field at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Science North Florida Research and Education Center in Suwannee Valley. Hurricane Helene exacerbated crop damage to farms and buying points.
PHOTO BY TYLER JONES, UF/IFAS
trees that are down,” he says. “There are so many smaller roads farmers have to go down to get to fields that aren’t a priority for state department of transportation. If you wanted to get into the field, you can’t until these trees and debris are removed.”
Even when bigger roads are cleared, often debris is just barely moved off the roadway so that cars can pass through. “Some equipment is two lanes and then some,” he says.
Yet another realization that was brought home is just how reliant farmers are on technology and that farmers would possibly have to dig peanuts without their GPS systems to follow.
“Vines were tossed about so much that it will be nearly impossible to find the rows,” Monfort says. “Decisions would have to be made whether to wait until power and signals returned versus letting the crop go beyond maturity and having pod shed.
“That’s not an easy decision, considering a row missed by 6 inches can lose you 500 to 600 pounds per acre quickly.”
Working Together To Make It Happen
Monfort says for the crop itself, he estimates that about 10% might be lost. However, the real disaster in the making is with buying points.
“If we can get this crop out of the field, it can’t stay in the trailer for more than 24 hours with that level of moisture and no dryer without starting to mold,” he says. “There’s a lot of peanuts that need to come out of the ground but buying points don’t have power. Some buying points lost elevators. Buying points will have to team up and work together to get this crop into the warehouse.”
“The East Georgia peanut region has been devastated,” says National Peanut Buying Points Association executive director and Peanut Grower marketing editor Tyron Spearman. “Winds of 90 to 100 miles per hour pounded the region causing major damage to homes, drying sheds, elevators and storage buildings. Trees blocked roadways and fell on power lines. Buying points cannot operate the offices and drying sheds or conduct the grading system operations without electricity.”
According to Georgia Power, more than 5,000 power poles will need to be repaired or replaced, more than 500
transformers were damaged and more than 9,000 spans of wire, equivalent to an estimated 425 miles, will have to be fixed.
“UGA Extension teams began assessing farm damage and collecting data from the storm, which is expected to take a few weeks,” Spearman says. “We are sharing critical information with congressional offices to ensure they fully understand the extent of the damage to our industry. Additionally, NPBPA and others are working closely with USDA’s
Farm Service Agency to facilitate debris clearing so growers can better assess their losses.”
Monfort says it might be a bit of good fortune that the peanut crop was running a bit behind, but his advice is just to keep moving forward as best you can.
“Take pictures and document losses as much as you can,” he says. “It’ll be economically devastating, but growers have been in good spirits. They were glad Extension came to visit and check on them.” PG
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Solving It With Science
From
farmer to consumer, whatever questions arise, the National Peanut Research Lab uses cutting-edge research techniques to find the answer.
By Amanda Huber
The National Peanut Research Lab, in Dawson, Georgia, was a stop on this year’s Georgia Peanut Tour. Researchers gave brief explanations of their work on everything from planting to post-harvest and processing. Many researchers are working together to solve the problem of aflatoxin in the U.S. peanut industry. Although the number of projects and scope of work is too great to put into a few pages, a brief look at some of their projects follows.
Reducing Aflatoxin With Seed Coatings, Late-Season Moisture Or Decoys
Aflatoxin contamination is a recurring problem in the U.S. peanut industry, and mitigating it costs all segments of the
industry millions of dollars. This one topic dominates multiple researchers’ time and efforts. Ron Sorenson, NPRL research agronomist, is approaching the problem in multiple ways from seed coatings, to mowing peanut plants to providing “decoys” in the field, all in an effort to reduce aflatoxin.
One project involves Syngenta’s Afla-Guard, a biological control agent for displacing the strains of Aspergillus flavus with a nontoxigenic strain of A. flavus, that has had varying amounts of success in reducing aflatoxin over the years. It is labeled for use on almonds, peanuts, pistachios and corn, but not as a seed coating.
Sorenson says they asked their cohort to put the Afla-Guard and bioplastic coating on peanut seed, which were then planted. He was looking at germination rates initially and will fol-
are researching many ways to reduce aflatoxin in the field in an e ort to fi nd something that would work for the farmer.
low the crop to harvest to see if aflatoxin is reduced in any meaningful amount.
“We are trying different types of non-toxogenic forms of aspergillus as well as some other agronomic practices to reduce aflatoxin,” he says. “Working with another USDA lab who was testing seed coatings on corn and soybeans, we asked about putting it on peanuts.”
One of the agronomic practices he is testing involves keeping soil moisture higher later in the season. Drought often brings on the presence of aflatoxin.
“The way we went about doing that is to cut or mow the peanut plants so that it would stop transpiration. Then, we were also looking at historical rainfall data to time the cutting,” he says.
“If we cut the peanut off, we know we lose about 10% to 12% of yield on one cut. But would you rather lose 12% of yield or have the whole field go Seg. 2? That’s a choice and we don’t know how viable it would be. It’s just the beginning of testing.”
Yet another avenue of study involves knowing the purpose of the fungi in the first place.
“Aspergillus is out there to decompose organic matter, and it just happens to secrete aflatoxin,” Sorenson says. “We have no real knowledge of when or why that happens.
“However, since aspergillus is out there to decompose organic material, we thought, ‘let’s put something out there for it to work on.’ So, we put out peanut hulls to see if aspergillus would work on the decoy rather than the good peanuts.”
As novel as these projects seem, Sorenson says they are looking for anything a farmer could do to reduce aflatoxin.
Aflatoxin Detection, Drought-Tolerant Varieties And Discovery Of Resistant Genes
As a costly problem to the industry, aflatoxin is also a tricky one to mitigate and research. Although aspergillus fungi is present in the soil and, as mentioned previously, serves the purpose of breaking down organic materials, it does not always produce aflatoxin. Being able to detect when aspergillus-produced aflatoxin is present in the field is the subject of a research focus as NPRL.
With the overall goal of improving peanut quality, spe-
Getting Ahead Of Peanut Smut
The center of origin of peanut is located in South America, specifically in southeastern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. In the early 1990s, peanut production moved to more southern areas of Argentina’s Córdoba Province, and as a result, a new disease emerged. Peanut smut, a fungal disease caused by Thecaphora frezzii, can now be found in 100% of Argentina’s peanut areas.
As word about the severity of peanut smut began reaching scientists in the United States, the industry, collectively, knew that the best hope was to keep it out of U.S. peanuts as long as possible and, in the meantime, to find a solution to the fungal disease.
Seeing the disease firsthand in Argentina, University of Georgia research plant pathologist Tim Brenneman considered the risk of the disease so great that he left the boots he had been wearing in the fields behind in the airport so as not to track any possible contaminated soil into the country.
At the NPRL, Renee Arias De Ares, research plant pathologist who is working on peanut smut, echoes Dr. Brenneman’s assessment of the severity of the disease.
“Prior to 2017, the United States was still importing peanuts from Argentina of both raw and blanched peanuts. Then, in 2017, the United States stopped importing raw peanuts and only imported blanched peanuts. “However, in talking with people who have worked with this pathogen, we now know the pathogen can survive blanching,” Arias De Ares says. “The spores of this pathogen can even survive pure bleach.”
Knowing this seemingly unkillable soil-borne pathogen will result in 35% losses in the field, an arrangement with the people of Argentina and their institutions was established to do research on the disease in an e ort to get ahead of the problem before it emerged in the United States.
“Through our agreement, they sent us phenotypic data from peanut plants and DNA from plants and DNA from the pathogen. We only received DNA, not the actual pathogen,” she explains. “With this, we were able to sequence the genome of the pathogen and determine some important genes, such as those controlling fungicide resistance.
“In 2023, we published the whole genome of the pathogen,” Arias De Ares. “Now, more importantly, we built a collaboration with Dr. Alicia Massa, NPRL research geneticist, to genotype resistant material from Argentina.
“Dr. Massa has identified resistance to peanut smut in the germplasm collection in Gri in, Georgia. Not only that, she has developed molecular markers that will help peanut breeders introduce resistance into peanut varieties.”
Overall, Arias De Ares says they have worked to identify germplasm with smut resistance and to understand the genetics of the pathogen. Knowing the genome of the pathogen will help with analyzing potential variants and contribute to the development of enhanced germplasm with broader and long-lasting resistance.
National Peanut Research Lab research agronomist Ron Sorenson says they
Research plant pathologist Renee Arias De Ares and research geneticist Alicia Massa are two NPRL scientists working on peanut smut, a devastating fungal disease from Argentina, before it reaches the U.S. peanut industry.
PHOTO BY GEORGIA PEANUT COMMISSION
Phat M Dang, NPRL research chemist, works to discover drought-tolerant peanut varieties and to understand the underlying physiological mechanisms of
cific projects include developing a remote-sensing-based approach for in-field aflatoxin hotspot prediction and management. Another project will evaluate a deep learning-assisted hyperspectral fluorescence imaging system for post-harvest aflatoxin detection at the shelling plant so that contaminated peanut kernels may be identified and segregated rapidly and reliably.
Phat Dang, NPRL research chemist, works to discover drought-tolerant peanut varieties and to understand the underlying physiological mechanisms of water spender and water saver cultivars.
He has found that some peanuts are “water savers,” which can shutdown physiological response to minimize water loss. “Water spenders” are those varieties that keep growing under short-term drought stress.
“We want to know if there’s a yield difference in the different types of physiological responses that we find in these two groups of cultivars,” Dang says. “Using rooting tubes, which is a hollow tube reaching deep into the soil, we’ll take pictures of the root structure and see if root development changes with drought tolerance.”
Dang and his research collaborators will also measure physiological traits, such as high water-use efficiency, effective use of water, nitrogen fixation and root characteristics using semi- and high-throughput phenotyping techniques. RNA sequencing will be performed to correlate gene expression with physiological traits to identify molecular and genetic controls.
Because drought is a factor in increased aflatoxin in peanuts, it is hoped that drought-tolerant varieties could reduce this costly problem.
Another scientist at NPRL, research chemist Victor Sobolev, is working to identify and integrate beneficial genes from disease-resistant peanut and wild peanut sources into genetically stable peanut germplasm.
“Peanut seeds are often invaded by fungi that produce highly carcinogenic aflatoxins,” Sobolev says. “We will work to manage this in peanuts by exploring the natural, phytoalexin-based defense mechanism of the peanut. This requires the analysis of thousands of single small, scarce seeds for aflatoxin and phytoalexin content.”
Because current commercial peanut cultivars often demonstrate limited resistance to fungal pathogens, he
water spender and water saver cultivars.
PHOTO BY GEORGIA PEANUT COMMISSION
Fighting Warehouse Fires, Dryer Noise Reduction
An agricultural engineer for NPRL, Joseph McIntyre, is working on projects to make storing and drying peanuts safer. Specifically, he is working on an early fire detection sensor and system for peanut warehouses, which also has potential in cotton storage.
McIntyre says, “The idea is to try to catch peanuts or cotton in the hot stage but not yet burning. If you could catch them then with some type of sni er that you stick into the pile, the hope is that you could just dig that section out before you have a propagating fire. That way, the warehouse only loses a few hundred pounds of peanuts as opposed to a whole warehouse.”
McIntyre explains that fires can start multiple ways, such as ordinary fires that start with electrical problems or sneaky fires that are caused by roof leaks allowing moisture to get into the product.
“The peanuts or cotton will start a biological chain reaction that breaks them down, generates heat and produces volatile gases. Eventually, you will get a hidden, smoldering fire in the pile that you cannot see. This will proceed until it breaks out into a disaster.”
Currently, the best way to fight a fire is to take the walls o the building, remove the product and spread the flaming product out to hose it down. “You cannot put enough water on top of the pile to put the fire out at the bottom in any reasonable amount of time,” he says.
Using the resources of both the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s Missoula Fire Science Lab and the Aerodyne Research Atmospheric Lab, McIntyre says they have detected hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, ethane, carbon monoxide and a carbon dioxide increase.
“This leaves us targets to create sensors for warehouses detection units. The goal is to have a network system reading o those sensors that will inform the warehouse manager of what’s going on in the warehouse on his phone,” he says.
This early detection, pre-combustion, could save thousands of pounds of peanuts or cotton, the warehouses they are stored in,
says, wild peanut species are likely the source of needed disease resistance.
To reduce disease pressure and aflatoxin contamination, they are working to develop resistant peanut cultivars through introgression of beneficial genes and alleles from wild peanut species into elite cultivars.
Reducing Post-Harvest Moisture, Foreign Material
Another NPRL agricultural engineer, Chris Butts, who is semi-retired but still working on a few projects, also researches post-harvest storage of peanuts.
“This is a study to determine the ventilation rates for peanut
McIntyre,
agricultural engineer, is working on an early fi re detection system for peanut warehouses and is looking for ways to make peanut dryers quieter.
reduce pollution from the fire and even save lives from having to fight a large, out-of-control fire.
Another project McIntyre is working on, with the hearing safety of post-harvest workers in mind, is quieting peanut dryers.
“Essentially, dryers are big jet engines that don’t go anywhere. There is a big fan in the front and dryer in the back, and they annoy the neighbors,” McIntyre says.
Working with the NASA Langley Structural Acoustics Branch, they are trying to determine if engine aircraft quieting materials could be used in the body of the dryer to make a built-in mu ler that could stand up to the conditions surrounding peanut drying and reduce noise levels for worker safety and the reduction of noise pollution. Di erent options continue to be investigated by McIntyre and NPRL.
and the head space needed over peanuts in the warehouse,” Butts says. Essentially, how much air and when to run the fans.
“When to run the fans is still a major question,” he says. “The industry typically runs fans 24/7. The questions are, ‘If it’s raining, do I turn on the fans and pull in moist air? If it’s foggy, do I run the fans? If I’ve had a hurricane and the power goes out, which warehouse do I put the generator on? Is it last year’s crop or this year’s peanuts? Which set of fans do I run?’
“Questions like that are what we are still trying to answer,” Butts says.
In an industry change, he says conventional tall warehouses for peanut storage are likely to change to a flat-type warehouse for storage.
Based on their research, Butts says, “I think you’ll see fewer problems in terms of moisture migration and foreign material distribution in the flat storage. Those warehouses are loaded with conveyors from the ground as opposed to the conveyor running up high, down the center of the warehouse, which puts all your foreign material right under the belt.”
Although in the flat warehouse, foreign material still ends up under the belt. With the belt continuously moving, the material is more spread out, which is preferred.
Reducing foreign material in peanuts is always a point of study for post-harvest storage.
These are only a fraction of the many projects in progress at the National Peanut Research Lab, a truly important part of the peanut industry. PG
Joseph
NPRL
Studying warehouse ventilation rates and ways to reduce foreign material are two projects NPRL agricultural engineer Chris Butts continue to work on.
PHOTO BY GEORGIA PEANUT COMMISSION
PHOTO BY GEORGIA PEANUT COMMISSION
The Goal: A Safer Peanut
HudsonAlpha scientists are using genomics and biotechnology to address aflatoxin and drought stress.
Peanuts are a crucial cash crop for countless farmers in the United States and across the globe. Their cultivation generates income, fosters rural development and empowers communities, making peanuts a valuable player in both global food security and economic stability.
Peanuts thrive in warm climates and boast an impressive nutritional profile. Rich in protein, healthy fats, fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, peanuts contribute significantly to a balanced diet, especially in regions facing protein deficiencies.
This powerhouse crop has a few foes that threaten successful growing seasons and harvests. Chief among them are aflatoxins, potent toxins produced under certain conditions by Aspergillus fungi that thrive in the warm, humid conditions that peanuts also love. They can contaminate peanut crops both in the field and during storage. However, aflatoxins are
not limited to peanuts; they affect many crops, from tree nuts to cereals to oilseeds.
Work On This Formidable Foe
While aflatoxin risk can be mitigated through robust quality control, if uncontrolled, aflatoxins pose a serious health risk to humans, potentially causing liver damage, stunted growth in children and even increasing the risk of cancer. Contamination can devastate consumers’ health and also farmers’ livelihoods, as contaminated crops often need to be discarded, leading to significant economic losses. Managing the threat of aflatoxins through improved agricultural practices, proper storage conditions and robust regulations is important for safeguarding human health and peanut production’s sustainability worldwide.
Creating an aflatoxin-resistant peanut is the work of
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology faculty investigator Josh Clevenger. Through a research project sponsored in part by Mars Wrigley, a worldwide leader in candies, confections and snacks, Clevenger and his collaborators are seeking to create peanuts with protection against aflatoxin. The result would be safer peanut harvests and peace of mind for farmers and consumers alike. Co-leading the project with Clevenger is Peggy OziasAkins, University of Georgia distinguished research professor.
Using Biotechnology To Create Safer Peanuts
“Peanuts are a critical ingredient in our portfolio for some of our biggest global brands, including M&M’S and Snickers,” says Peggy Tsatsos, Mars Wrigley principal scientist. “As one of the top five buyers of edible peanuts in the world, we believe it is our duty to address some of these major challenges in the food supply chain, including aflatoxin, to pave the way for safe and healthy consumption for all.”
In this newly sponsored project, Clevenger aims to tackle the problem by creating peanut varieties with built-in protection and is turning to other crop systems to study their defenses against aflatoxins.
The Tulare walnut contains antioxidant compounds called hydrolyzable tannins that can reduce aflatoxin contamination. Buckwheat is also known to contain antioxidants called tocopherols that likely reduce aflatoxin contamination. The team will perform an in-depth genetic study of the biosynthetic pathways for both of these antioxidants in peanuts to try to enhance their expression in peanut seeds.
Helping Peanut Help Itself
Postdoctoral fellow Sueme Ueno, the newest member of the Clevenger lab, will lead the team for this project. She is a plant breeder by training but has focused her work largely on plant transformation for the past few years. Plant transformation is a method of inserting new DNA or increasing the expression of existing genes in a plant to give the plant desirable traits.
“After we’ve done a deep dive into the genes regulating these potentially protective biosynthetic pathways, we’ll select candi-
date genes for transformation,” says Ueno. “By enhancing the expression of key genes from the pathways, we hope to provide protection against aflatoxin biosynthesis in pre- and postharvest.”
Ueno is currently creating and optimizing peanut transformation protocols. HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator Kankshita Swaminathan, PhD, and her lab are experts at plant transformation in large grasses and will be collaborating with Ueno to optimize the peanut transformation methods.
Tackling The Related Issue Of Drought Stress
Successfully transformed lines will be tested for antioxidant accumulation and eventually challenged with Aspergillus to see if they are protected against aflatoxins. Once a stable line with protection has been created and is ready for launch, it will be available to growers for testing.
“I am most excited to be a part of this project because of its wide-ranging impact,” says Ueno. “Our goal is to deliver safer food across the globe. Many countries in Africa and South America do not have access to technology to take care of peanuts after harvest, which is when a lot of aflatoxin contamination occurs. Having a reliable source of genetic resistance will be a game changer for them, giving them the peace of mind that their crop is safe from aflatoxin.”
In addition to tackling aflatoxin by ramping up antioxidants in peanut tissues, Clevenger and his team also hope to mitigate aflatoxin by addressing an often-linked issue: drought. Aspergillus fungi produce aflatoxins when conditions are hot and dry. During times of drought, peanuts become stressed, leading to exacerbated aflatoxin production. Increasing drought tolerance in peanuts could mitigate aflatoxin production and contamination. With support from Mars Wrigley, Clevenger and his team are using genomics and computational tools to identify genetic markers that confer drought tolerance during late growing season stress. PG
Article provided by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, a nonprofit organization dedicated to innovating the field of genomic technology and science within health, agriculture, education and commercialization.
Mighty Mites
that was a big problem in fields this summer.
By Amanda Huber
The master of surviving high temperatures, the two-spotted spider mite was a frequent pest to peanut fields this summer. The climate in many states offered the perfect conditions for a population explosion. Further, within one to two weeks, the life-cycle from egg to adult can be completed, and each spider mite female produces 140,000 newly hatched individuals in the third generation, which can be in three weeks’ time.
The outbreak this season was not a surprise to now-retired North Carolina State University Extension entomologist Rick Brandenburg, who said earlier this year that the spring weather has a major impact on spider mite populations later in the growing season.
“I began working on spider mites in 1977, and over those many years, there has been a consistent trend,” Brandenburg said. “If we have a warm and dry April, we have an increased chance of spider mites in the summer.
“In many areas, we did see a dry April. Not necessarily a warm month, but a dry one. My experience indicates that if we have a hot and dry July and/or August, the dry April makes the likelihood of spider mite problems in peanuts much higher,” he said.
Avoid Mowing Field Edges, Flaring With Fungicides
By mid-June, dry conditions in peanut fields were again prompting a warning on spider mites from NCSU Extension
state specialist David Jordan.
“Some areas of the state have become dry or have remained dry,” he said. “Avoid mowing ditches and paths close to peanut fields if at all possible. This can keep spider mites out of the fields. Mite populations build in non-crop areas and move into crops as they expand. Mowing vegetation will increase the pace of movement of mites into peanut fields.”
Then another tip a few weeks later.
“Hot and dry conditions are favorable for spider mite infestations, and fungicides, especially chlorothalonil, can reduce activity of a fungus that adversely affects spider mites,” Jordan said. “Many areas of the region are primed for spider mites given the hot and dry conditions that are anticipated.”
A Side Benefit To Tropical Weather Systems
In mid-September, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service entomologist Scott Graham said that spider mite calls had significantly picked up in the past week with reports of mites in peanuts from across south and central Alabama. At the time, the few rain showers had not tempered the mites’ march across fields, but he did expect tropical weather to have an affect on the tiny pest.
“With the storms coming, I would wait to treat in most situations,” Graham said. “While it may not kill or eliminate the mites, it should greatly reduce their activity. This will buy us some time until we can get back in the field.”
A close-up view of two-spotted spider mites in peanut.
PHOTO BY JOSH THOMPSON
Two-Spotted Spider Mites:
• Thrive in high temperatures.
• Can survive as adults for long periods.
• Overwinter as a gravid female, allowing a rapid population growth in spring.
• Produce webbing that makes it di icult for beneficial insects and spray applications to penetrate.
• Have a very broad range of host plants.
Also in September, University of Georgia Extension entomologist Mark Abney said that two-spotted spider mites were widespread in Georgia peanut fields as growers were reaching the final few weeks of the 2024 growing season.
“Spider mites thrive in hot, dry conditions, and they are often more abundant in fields where broad-spectrum insecticides have been applied,” Abney said. “The recent cooler, cloudy, rainy conditions in the state may have slowed mite population development, but the sun is shining now and mites are doing just fine.
Factors To Base Treatment Decisions On
Abney said decisions on spider mite management need to be made on a field-by-field basis taking into account the current mite pressure, the condition of the field and the time to harvest.
“Finding and treating mites before the population gets huge is important. If mites were present in July or August, treating them would be a no-brainer,” he said. “When the mites show up in mid-September, it is not so easy. We are closer to digging, days are getting shorter and temperatures are hopefully lower. Whether a low-level mite infestation will explode into a major problem in any given field in the coming days is impossible to know.
Abney suggested that fields with less than two weeks to dig that were in decent shape would probably be fine even if the mites get heavy. However, he said he would be reluctant not to treat mites in fields with three or more weeks to go before digging with heavy mite infestations.
Graham echoed those same recommendations at season end.
“Portal and Comite II are the only two labeled options we have in peanuts. When to terminate applications for mites can be a tricky call,” he said. “Ultimately, when to stop treating mites will come down to a field-to-field decision. How far out until digging? How big is the population? What is the immediate weather?” PG
University of Georgia Extension entomologist Mark Abney fi nds a peanut plant in a field plot where two-spotted spider mites have collected at the leaf end. He says the tiny insect will do this just before moving to a di erent plant to feed.
Beyond The Edible Market
A University of Georgia research team collaborates on oil production and varieties.
Anew study by experts in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is seeking to increase the value of Georgia’s peanut crops for new markets while reducing losses caused by aflatoxin, a consistent threat to the No. 1 peanut-producing state in the United States.
The four-year, $490,000 grant will take a systems-based approach toward developing high-oil peanut varieties bred to withstand the unique climate and pest pressures of the Southeast. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, researchers will determine at what point in the growing cycle peanuts are at their highest oil content to identify the best harvest time, develop management practices to help increase oil production and examine the profitability of oil production under variables including drought, disease and market demand.
Assistant research scientist Nino Brown, a team of colleagues in the UGA Department of Crop and Soil Sciences including Cristiane Pilon, Scott Monfort and Scott Tubbs, and senior public service associate Amanda Smith in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics will collaborate on research designed to give peanut producers expanded production options beyond the edible peanut market.
Combating The Threat Of Aflatoxin
The study’s goal is to assess the potential for Southeastern peanut growers to participate in the global peanut oil market, including the harvest of aflatoxin-contaminated edible peanut crops and the intentional planting and management of high-oil varieties bred to perform in the Southeast.
The domestic peanut oil market is currently small. Most peanut oil used in the United States is imported from countries including China, Africa, South America and India. While most U.S. peanut production is slated for the edible market, a percentage of that goes toward oil production if a harvested load or field exceeds the aflatoxin threshold for the edible market.
In 2019, aflatoxin was responsible for an industry-wide yield loss of 24% in Georgia. In 2021, Georgia farmers produced approximately 52% of the peanuts produced in the country, harvesting more than 3.3 billion pounds of peanuts.
“Our peanuts are primarily for the edible market, which is of higher value, but if a trailer or semi-load of peanuts comes in from the field and aflatoxins are above a certain level, they are sent for oil crushing,” says Brown, adding that aflatoxin is
The United States Department of Defense is committed to obtaining no less than 25% of the total energy within its facilities from renewable sources by the year 2025. Peanuts could be a sustainable part of this biofuel mix.
removed during the oil extraction process.
Expanding Oil Markets
While peanut oil is currently considered a backup market for U.S. producers, there is a large global market for the product.
“Most peanuts grown internationally are grown for oil, about 60% percent,” Brown says. “Domestically, we pay a premium for peanut cooking oil, which garners one of the highest per-gallon prices for vegetable oils, yet we are importing it. It doesn’t make sense. There is a really big market for peanut oil that U.S. producers are currently not taking advantage of. The market for edible peanuts seems like it has reached a limit — it might be as high as consumption is going to go.”
Breeders can easily develop high-oleic varieties, which have a longer shelf life and are better for cooking. However, lower oleic acid varieties seem to be better for producing biofuels, Brown says.
“Peanut oil makes a very good biofuel. With the airline and auto industries trying to decrease fossil fuel consumption, peanut oil would be a great way to offset that. We can likely produce 200 to 300 gallons of oil per acre,” he says.
Evaluating the potential use of peanuts for oil production is one way to ensure the sustainability of the peanut industry in Georgia. They will do this by maximizing oil production, finding better production strategies for dryland peanuts and
focusing on breeding to increase the oil percentage in new peanut varieties.
Brown explains that varieties specific to oil production are needed to capitalize on the oil market. “That way, edible peanuts that are discarded due to aflatoxin can still be used for oil, but we will also have varieties specifically for oil production,” he says. These varieties could be planted on land that has a history of high levels of aflatoxin or limited ability for irrigation.
Boosting Peanut Value
The impetus for this project has largely been grower driven.
“The Georgia Peanut Commission and the National Peanut Board asked us to start working on this to give growers more options,” Brown says. “If we know a variety or a field is not going to be used for edible production, we can change some inputs and management practices to gear it more toward lower input costs. Production costs have gotten out of control, and the price of peanuts has not tracked with production costs.
“Prices are flat. By diverting some of those acres to oil production, it may increase the demand and price for edible peanuts.”
Developing varieties for oil production that are suited to the region could be a boon for producers.
“Peanut
oil makes a very good biofuel. With the airline and auto industries trying to decrease fossil fuel consumption, peanut oil would be a great way to o set that.”
NINO
BROWN
Assisstant
research scientist, UGA
“In 2019, about 30% of all edible peanuts were rejected due to aflatoxin, a loss of about $126 million,” Brown says. “This research will help us to be prepared for those situations in the future and to protect our growers against drought and aflatoxin to produce more oil per acre and contribute to the biofuel economy. It is a multi-pronged approach to address a multi-faceted problem.” PG
Article by Maria M. Lameiras, managing editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
University of Georgia peanut breeder Nino Brown, who is holding a bag of peanuts while speaking to participants on a field tour, says research into a better oil-producing variety may provide growers with revenue protection against drought and aflatoxin and could contribute to the biofuel economy.
New Products
LandScan Secures Digital Twin Patent
A groundbreaking patent, granted to LandScan, marks the first of its kind in the agriculture sector, involving the use of digital twin technology to revolutionize site characterization and precision farming practices.
The advent of digital twin technology in agriculture represents a leap forward in how farmers, agronomists and researchers understand and manage cropping systems. Digital twins are virtual models that accurately replicate physical objects and/or environments, allowing for in-depth analysis, simulation and modeling without interfering with real-world operations.
The newly patented technology leverages a combination of advanced and unique soil and remote sensing technologies, machine learning and AI and simulation techniques to create a virtual and objective representation of an agricultural site and farming system.
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION
1. Publication Title: Peanut Grower
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Contact Person: David Boyd (901-626-1730)
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Traditional methods of site characterization, such as lab-based soil sampling and field scouting, are labor intensive, time consuming and limited in scope, accuracy and repeatability. The use of digital twins allows for a more holistic and continuous assessment of the site, leading to better decision-making and resource management.
Olam Food Ingredients, a world-leading nut supplier, has been an early adopter of LandScan’s technology. “LandScan’s digital twin technology has had a significant and practical impact on our almond production in the United States with immediate and measurable ROI, and we are excited about its expansion into our Australian operations in 2025,” says Zac Ellis, OFI senior director of agronomy.
ing important soil health sustainability metrics for our supply chain,” says Greg Hocking, vice president of global research and development new innovation territories at Mars Wrigley.
Similarly, Mars Wrigley has been working with LandScan to integrate digital twin technology into their operations. “Mars is excited to begin working with LandScan’s digital twin technology for the purpose of optimizing international cocoa production and provid-
Introducing The AGwagon
Beyond its immediate use in precision site characterization, LandScan’s digital twin technology has the potential to be applied to other aspects of farming, such as supply chain traceability and understanding the relationship between crop genetics, the growing environment and management practices.
For more information on LandScan, visit www.landscan.ai
The Certified Agriculture Group, together with FOX Factory Vehicles, is pleased to announce the world’s first purpose-built agriculture pickup truck. This all-new truck is engineered to “outfarm and outranch them all.”
Designed by more than a dozen farmers and ranchers, for their fellow farmers and ranchers, this truck will exceed every expectation today’s agriculture puts on its equipment. Combining rugged durability with outstanding performance and comfort, its robust construction and specialized features make it the ultimate choice for any agricultural task given.
The first build uses the venerable Ford Super Duty platform, but the AGwagon will ultimately be available on all domestic manufacturer HD chassis, including Chevrolet, GMC and RAM.
The AGwagon is engineered for agricultural toughness and prowess, boasting advanced suspension, rugged wheels, HD front and rear bumpers, two-way radio capabilities, proprietary easy access bed steps at the rear and sides and 360 degrees of high intensity LED lighting to keep you rolling at all hours. For information, go to www.certifiedagdealer.com, www.AgTruckTrader. com or www.certifiedagdealerAgPack.com.
As challenges for producers mount this season, our team is working tirelessly to provide the latest in pro table production strategies to help boost your bottom line.
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