Peanut grower march 2016

The

PEANUTGROWER ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

MARCH 2016

THE PEANUT PRODUCER'S MARKETING & PRODUCTION MAGAZINE www.peanutgrower.com

Micronutrients Can Be A Major Problem How Temperatures Affect Seed

Extended Market Outlook

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The

MARCH 2016

PEANUTGROWER ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

MARCH 2016

THE PEANUT PRODUCER'S MARKETING & PRODUCTION MAGAZINE www.peanutgrower.com

Micronutrients Can Be A Major Problem How Temperatures Affect Seed

Volume 28 • Number 3

Extended Market Outlook

Departments 4

Editor’s Note Selling to millenials will be an uphill climb.

5

News Briefs Commodity certificates made available.

6

Market Watch Restrictions found in 2016 contracts.

20 New Products Bayer refuses EPA request to pull Belt insecticide.

21 Peanut Pointers Be more savvy at managing pests.

Stay Connected

10 Features

10 Extended Market Outlook

Overproduction means there’s no pot o’ gold to be found in the peanut market this year.

14 Practical Planting Advice

Cool soils, not poor seed quality, are likely the cause of poor stands.

16 Small, But Meaningful

Micronutrients can become a limiting factor to achieving good yields.

18 Get The Management Edge

Producer, Scott Murphy, shares his experience using a whole-farm management program.

19 Inoculate Against Nitrogen Failure Sign up for the monthly e-newsletter at peanutgrower.com to have exclusive industry news and content delivered directly to your inbox.

To achieve vigorous growth and maxium yield, provide nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Cover photo by Amanda Huber

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MARCH 2 016 • THE PE ANUT GROWE R /

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EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION Editor Amanda Huber ahuber@onegrower.com Copy Editor Carroll Smith csmith@onegrower.com Art Director Ashley Kumpe

ADMINISTRATION Publisher/Vice President Lia Guthrie (901) 497-3689 lguthrie@onegrower.com Associate Publisher Carroll Smith (901) 326-4443 Sales Manager Scott Emerson (386) 462-1532 semerson@onegrower.com Circulation Manager Charlie Beek (615) 377-3322 Production Manager Kathy Killingsworth (901) 767-4020 kkillingsworth@onegrower.com

For circulation changes or change of address, call (847) 559-7578

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD John Beasley Extension Agronomist Auburn University Dell Cotton Peanut Growers Cooperative Marketing Assn., Franklin, VA Kris Balkcom Agri-Program Associate Auburn University Craig Kvien Coastal Plain Experiment Station,Tifton, GA

Jason Woodward Extension Plant Pathologist Texas A & M University David Jordan Extension Agronomist North Carolina State University Glen Harris Extension Agronomist University of Georgia Jason Ferrell Extension Weed Specialist University of Florida

ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC Mike Lamensdorf President/Treasurer Lia Guthrie Publisher/Vice President The Peanut Grower (ISSN 1042-9379) is an agribusiness magazine for U.S. peanut producers. Published in eight monthly issues, January through July and November. Annual subscriptions are $40.00. Single Copy price is $5.00. Annual overseas subscriptions are $70.00, including Canada/Mexico.

Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, TN. Copyright © 2016 One Grower Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved except where otherwise noted. The Peanut Grower ® is a registered trademark, which reserves all rights granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in association with the registration. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO OMEDA COMMUNICATIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT, P.O. BOX 1388, NORTHBROOK, IL 600651388. All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim.

The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claim as its own, and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. Printed in the USA.

An Uphill Climb

A

t the South Carolina peanut production meeting in late January, several speakers noted that domestic demand is growing only slightly at present and is not growing nearly enough to make a dent in the mountain of peanuts from 2015. In talking about what the National Peanut Board is doing to help spur demand, Ryan Lepicier, NPB senior vice president of marketing and communications, spent some time talking about the NPB’s target audience of “millennials,” Amanda Huber who are age 20 to their early 30s.

Editor, The Peanut Grower While we all know that older generations love peanuts and peanut butter, he then said something that I had not thought of before. This group coming along is the first generation to be told not to bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school. Their earliest recollection of peanut butter is negative because it was banned from their elementary schools or at least discouraged.

Another thought is that this group has grown up with a proliferation of other nut butters as alternatives to peanut butter. That’s quite an uphill climb to reach this generation.

Lepicier explained this group by saying, “Millennials consist of 80 million people. They are food and cultural trendsetters, and they have $1.6 trillion in spending power. They know about peanuts and peanut butter, they just are not excited about them.”

Lepicier went on to talk about several marketing tools, one of which you can read about on page 9, that are being used to attract millennials to the peanut industry. Honestly, although I somewhat understand what they are trying to do, it mostly goes over my head. Given that I am not the target audience, that’s probably a good thing.

And since I am in the “older” generation, that doesn’t have to be told about how great peanut butter is, I’ll keep eating as much as I can.

One Grower Publishing, LLC, also publishes Cotton Farming, Rice Farming, Soybean South and Corn South.

One Grower Publishing, LLC 6515 Goodman Rd., Box 360, Olive Branch, MS 38654 Phone: 901-767-4020

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

Purchasing Commodity Certificates

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that producers who have crops pledged as collateral for a marketing assistance loan can now purchase a commodity certificate that may be exchanged for the outstanding loan collateral. The authority is provided by the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act, legislation enacted by Congress in December. Commodity certificates are available beginning with the 2015 crop in situations where the applicable marketing assistance loan rate exceeds the exchange rate. Currently, the only eligible commodity is cotton.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) routinely provides agricultural producers with marketing assistance loans that provide interim cash flow without having to sell the commodities when market prices are at harvest-time lows.

The loans allow the producer to delay the sale of the commodity until more favorable market conditions emerge, while also providing for a more orderly marketing of commodities throughout the marketing year.

These loans are considered “nonrecourse” because they can be redeemed by delivering the commodity pledged as collateral to the government as full payment for the loan upon maturity.

Commodity certificates are available to loan holders having outstanding nonrecourse loans for wheat, upland cotton, rice, feed grains, pulse crops (dry peas, lentils, large and small chickpeas), peanuts, wool, soybeans and designated minor oilseeds. These certificates can be purchased at the posted county price, or adjusted world price or national posted price, for the quantity of commodity under loan and must be immediately exchanged for the collateral, satisfying the loan.

Producers may contact their FSA office or their loan service agent for additional information. Producers who do business with Cooperative Marketing Associations (CMA) or Designated T WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

Marketing Associations (DMA) may contact their respective associations for additional information. To learn more about commodity certificates, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport or contact your local FSA office.

Peanut Standards Get A Facelift

Pursuant to recommendations by the Peanut Standards Board, the Agricultural Marketing Service has proposed changes in the peanut standards.

The changes fall into two categories: Regulations that need to be brought up-to-date and eliminate unnecessary procedures and paperwork. Many of these regulations date back to the 60s and 70s.

Secondly, because peanut varieties have been developed with larger-sized kernels, it was felt that the amount of damage allowed in outgoing quality standards was not sufficient. The Peanut Standards Board has proposed raising it to 3.5 percent. The change consolidates minor and major damage into one category of damage.

The Board believes these changes would make additional peanuts available for sale, help increase efficiencies and reduce costs to the industry. Explanations of these proposed changes can be found in the Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 issue of the “Federal Register.”

Comments may be made on the proposed changes until March 21, 2016.

All comments submitted will be available to the public. Send comments to www.regulations.gov and make reference to the document number.

According to USDA, there are approximately 7,500 peanut producers, 65 handlers operating 70 shelling plants and 25 importers subject to regulations. Other groups that must comply with peanut standards are 10 custom blanchers, four custom re-millers, three oil mill operators and one USDA and 17 USDA-approved chemical (aflatoxin) labs. For information, email Jennie Varela at Jennie.Varela@ams.usda.gov.

In Brief: • Commodity certificates now available; contact FSA, your CMA or DMA for more information.

• Peanut Standards Board recommends raising damage limit to 3.5 percent.

• Diversified producer, Gerald Long, takes over as GFB president.

• Peanut industry loses close tie at USDA top with Harden retirement.

• Peanut acreage to drive all other commodity plantings.

• No authority to make oilseed designation, says Vilsack.

• Georgia Peanut Farm Show recognizes outstanding producers.

Long To Head GFB

Gerald Long, of Bainbridge, Ga., is the new president of Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB), the state’s largest general agriculture organization. Long, who has served as GFB first vice president since 2008, succeeds Duvall who was elected AFBF president.

Long assumed the responsibilities of GFB president effective Jan. 12. He will serve until Dec. 6, 2016, at which time GFB members will elect the next president during their annual convention. Long is eligible to run for the position if he chooses.

Long is a diversified farmer who raises cattle and grows peanuts, vegetables, corn, cotton, hay, small grains and timber with his family on their farm near Bainbridge. He was first elected to the GFB Board of Directors in December 1999 as ninth district director representing 14 counties in Southwest Georgia. He has been elected to serve as GFB first vice president each year since 2008.

Long and his wife, Janice, have three children and two grandchildren.

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Survival means bringing supply more in line with demand

T

he American peanut industry has been jolted by the low prices caused by increased acreage, increased yields and a generic base from cotton that resulted in even more peanut acreage.

Because other commodities that could compete with peanut acreage offer low prices as well, producers have little choice in an effort to survive. The situation creating the need to go into survival mode, caused in part by the Farm Bill, could ruin the peanut market before adjustments can be made.

Buying points and shellers are recognizing that immense overproduction is causing their boats to take on water, and they are making drastic moves to downsize and restrict contracted tonnage.

Manufacturers are pleased with the lower prices; however, they recognize a disaster of any ingredient segment spells trouble in maintaining a constant supply, having it delivered on time and achieving the quality and price consumers enjoy and are willing to pay for.

Drastic Changes The 20 percent increase in peanut production in one season has not given industry infrastructure time to adjust.

Peanut warehouses are being built, but construction is costly and government rental payments for storage will not support the costs of newly constructed warehouses. The uncertainty of what could happen in three years with the Farm Bill has investors looking elsewhere.

Diverting peanuts to peanut oil is not possible with three factories already at capacity. Investing in a food processing facility is expensive and takes time and market distribution.

Restrictive Contracts Shellers opened in early 2016 trying

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

J. Tyron Spearman

Contributing Editor, The Peanut Grower

LEADING MARKETING INDICATORS (As of Feb. 5, 2016) 2015 Acreage - Up 20.4% ................................................ 1,615,293 acres 2015 Production (estimated) ............................................ 3,107,000 tons 2015 Production Inspected .............................................. 2,989,432 tons 2015 Market Loan ...............................................................2,224,869 tons 2015 Market Loan Redeemed (2-2-16) ................................227,945 tons 2015-16 Domestic Usage (5 Mo.) ..............................................Up 2.94% 2015-16 Exports (4 Mo.) .................................................................Up 2.6% NATIONAL POSTED PRICE (per ton) Runners - $424.51, Spanish - $407.34, Valencia and Virginias - $429.28

to secure runner-type loan peanuts not contracted from the 2015 peanut crop.

Shellers must redeem these peanuts from the loan before shelling. Most shellers also returned shrink costs that had been deducted. Farmers responded favorably to the offers.

Contracts were offered in the Southeast for the 2016 peanut crop but with restrictions. Buying points had limited tonnage at $375 per ton plus $25 for seed production and even $25 per ton for high-oleic production. Some shellers offered $390 per ton on irrigated runners plus $10 per ton for hauling or $400 per ton. Then, tonnage was limited to 75 percent of last year’s production.

Some grower cooperatives are requiring their farmers to cut back 25 percent on acreage planted last year. If more peanuts are delivered, the farmer will not be guaranteed warehouse space to secure a loan, and they must pay the cost of storage and handling and all sheller tariffs will be applied.

Another sheller offer on runner-type peanuts in the Southeast was $420 per ton on the first ton of high-oleic peanuts and $375 per ton on the remainder. Some contracts differ for commissioned buy-

ing points and company-owned buying points.

Additionally, shellers are downsizing by releasing buying points, terminating commission contracts or lowering commissions. These buying points are struggling to find another sheller for their farmers as most are already shelling at capacity.

The New Reality Peanut farmers are being advised by their grower leadership and university agronomists and economists not to plant peanuts unless they have secured storage at the local buying point or sheller. No government-approved storage means no $355 per ton loan. Shellers have to leave peanuts in warehouse storage until requested by the manufacturers. Manufacturers want fresh-shelled peanuts, and the market will not support shelling ahead of time and placing that stock in cold storage.

Will producers increase peanut planting anyway because all other commodities are losers? The industry is telling farmers that the peanut program is slowly choking markets and a plan to survive involves cutting back and moving toward a balance of supply and demand. Without a major weather disaster in the next 12 or PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

24 months, peanuts will continue to be priced below the cost of production. That’s where the government peanut program comes in. While many people may understand the need to help farmers during low commodity prices, pushing prices even lower because of government rules and even some double dipping is sure to give critics more ammunition and momentum.

Marketing Facts Today USDA estimates 3,106,895 tons of production. Demand is estimated for domestic and export markets at 2,750,000 tons. That’s about 350,000 tons too many, and coupled with last year’s carry-forward T WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

of 1,050,000 tons, we have 1,400,000 tons carry-forward or about half a crop.

Domestic markets are up only 2.9 percent and exports up 2.6 percent.

A milder winter in the U.S. and Europe is one reason sales are down. Peanut butter usage is reported down about 4 percent with snacks up 24 percent. Milder weather means U.S. consumers are on the go and choosing more portable snacks that offer a nutritious energy boost.

Government officials are aware that the peanut program has encouraged more production and have stepped up to increase nutrition food purchases of peanut butter and roasted peanuts. For the

first five months, government purchases are up 70 percent compared to the same period last year.

2016 Peanut Farming Team up with your local buying point and plant peanuts that can be stored. Restoring commodity marketing certificates should help farmers up against payment limits. The government does not want peanuts and may drop the price anytime to sell them, which creates a Market Gain that is charged to the farmer. Do what you can to avoid that. Eat peanuts every day, maintain a crop rotation plan and do not plant too many peanuts. PG 7

MARCH 2 016 • THE PE ANUT GROWE R /

Harden To Leave USDA

USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden announced her plans to leave at the end of February 2016. Harden is the daughter of a South Georgia peanut farmer.

“My work at USDA on behalf of our farmers, ranchers, producers and rural communities has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” she said.

UGA’s Ag Forecast

UGA Extension economist, Don Shurley, recently provided an outlook on the state’s major row crops. Shurley said the state’s cotton farmers are facing serious issues with cotton hovering around 60 cents per pound in recent months. He suggested waiting for prices in the 68-70 cents per-pound range before signing contracts.

Shurley said domestic demand for corn is expected to grow despite a leveling off of use for ethanol, because of increasing livestock herds, feed demand will increase.

He predicted peanut prices in the $375-$385 per-ton range with Virginia peanuts possibly as high as $425 per ton. His estimate for Georgia cotton acres in 2016 is 1.2 million.

“I got cotton acreage going up but that’s dependent on one thing and one thing only, and that is if that peanut number comes down. If that peanut number stays up close to 800,000, and we plant the same amount of peanuts as we did last year, then all bets are off.

The cotton number can’t be 1.2 million,” he said.

Cottonseed Not An Oilseed

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that USDA lawyers have determined the department does not have the authority to declare cottonseed an oilseed as the cotton industry had asked.

He said Congress would have to find $1 billion over 10 years for the subsidies related to declaring cottonseed an oilseed.

Rep. Collin Peterson, House ranking member said he recognizes that cotton 8 /

THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

farmers are in financial trouble, but that the cotton industry did get what it asked for in the Farm Bill - the STAX crop insurance program. The National Cotton Council said it would continue to work on the issue.

Farm Show Recognizes Top Farmers

More than 1,400 people attended the 40th Annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference in January at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. The show was sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission in cooperation with the University of Georgia Tifton Campus and the Southeastern Peanut Farmer.

During the luncheon, the Georgia Peanut Commission presented awards as follows: Distinguished Service Award - Jerry Chandler, CEO of McCleskey Mills; Research and Education Award - Nathan Smith, former UGA Extension peanut economist who is now at Clemson University; Export Award - Stephanie Grunenfelder, senior vice president of American Peanut Council; Media Award - The Cairo Messenger and Sam Smith, retired photographer with WALB; Special Award - Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau president.

The Outstanding Georgia Young Peanut Farmer Award was presented to Trey Dunaway of Hawkinsville, Ga. The commission and Agri Supply presented the Outstanding Georgia Peanut Farmers of the Year Award to five producers representing each of the commission’s five districts: District 1 - Louie Grimes, Colquitt; District 2 - Wavell Robinson, Pavo; District 3 Jimmy Dixon, Girard; District 4 - Sam Floyd, Danville; and District 5 - Wilbur Gamble, Dawson.

The Grand Door Prize, donated by Kelley Manufacturing Co. was presented to Caleb Brown of Abbeville, Ga. Brown received one season’s use of a new six-row KMC peanut combine and the option of purchasing the combine from a KMC dealer with $15,000 off the list price at the end of the 2016 sea-

Calendar • March 8-9, 2016 - American Peanut Shellers Pre-planting Meeting, Merry Acres, Albany, Ga. For information, see www.peanut-shellers. org.

• March 10, 2016 - Florida Peanut Producers Annual Meeting, Jackson County Conference Center, Marianna, Fla. For information, go to www.flpeanuts.com.

• March 16, 2016 - Peanut Butter and Jelly Day at the Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta. For information, visit www.gapeanuts.com.

• March 19, 2016 - Peanut Proud Festival, Blakely, Ga., 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. This community celebration of the peanut includes a 5K run, exhibits, parade and entertainment. For information, call 229-724-7322.

• April 13-15, 2016 - International Peanut Forum, Madrid, Spain. For more information, visit www.peanutsusa.com.

• June 25-29, 2016 - USA Peanut Congress, Charleston Place Hotel, Charleston, S.C. Go to www. peanut-shellers.org for info.

• July 12-14, 2016 - American Peanut Research and Education Society Annual Meeting, Hilton Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Fla. For information: www.apresinc.com.

• July 21-24, 2016 - Southern Peanut Growers Conference, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, Sandestin, Fla. For more information, visit their website at www.southernpeanutfarmers.org.

son. KMC also provided $1,000 cash as part of the Grand Door Prize package to William Cape of Eastman, Ga. Amadas Industries provided a Grower Door Prize of one season’s use of a new Amadas four-row or six-row peanut inverter or a certificate good for the amount of $5,000 towards the purchase of any Amadas pull-type peanut combine to Wayne Sayer of Wray, Ga. PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

A Twitter First: The Peanut Vendor’s Social Almanac

O

n Jan. 4, 2016, the National Peanut Board launched a new consumer-focused Twitter handle (@PeanutsHere) through the voice of a peanut vendor. Nobody’s more obsessed with peanuts than a peanut vendor, and essentially, this new NPB peanut ambassador will toss peanuts into relevant, social conversations online as if Twitter is a giant baseball stadium.

As a kick-off, Peanut Vendor did something that has never been done before on Twitter.

His excitement for peanuts made him over-deliver a year’s worth of real-time tweets in one single day. That’s 366 custom-designed tweets with illustrated imagery that predicted a year’s worth of pop-culture headlines, news stories, gaffes, wins, losses, trends and more like a social media almanac.

content.”

fer his Peanuts point of view through a wide variety of short form video, GIFs and other content — all to celebrate the peanut and insert peanuts into relevant conversations in entertaining ways.

To secure the future among young consumers, National Peanut Board has to play where millennial snackers frequent.

This means taking the message to social media and doing it in ways that reflect how young snackers like to communicate. They call their approach “snackable

Targeted Offline Engagements Just because the Peanut Vendor currently only lives as a “social presence” doesn’t mean he won’t go offline to stir up other opportunities. Throughout the year, the peanut vendor may help to deliver peanut media mailers to late night or morning show media shows — or real-time peanut-powered swag to influencers across the nation.

Tune in to @PeanutsHere on Twitter and very soon to @PeanutsHere on Instagram, the visual-centric social platform.

Campaign Results The campaign was a great success, generating more than 28 million total impressions from social conversation and media coverage. In addition to earning press coverage in PRWeek, FoodBeast and AdWeek, @PeanutsHere engaged with 29 influencers.

The content garnered high engagement rates consistently (the number of people who saw our content and responded). The content performance of Peanut Vendor’s Social Almanac surpassed Twitter’s averages for both CPG/Food and non-profit engagement rates.

Sentiment around the campaign was positive with consumers jumping into the conversation with their own predictions and commenting about the funny and well-illustrated content. In fact, peanut brands, such as Jif and Skippy, joined in on the peanut fun.

What’s Next For Peanut Vendor?

The Peanut Vendor will continue the peanut conversation on Twitter and ofT WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

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9

2016 Market Situation The piles of peanuts in warehouses waiting to be shelled means there’s no pot of gold to be found in the market this year.

By Amanda Huber

F

or the most part, most everyone in the peanut industry thought the Farm Bill was going to be fairly good for all. It continued a peanut program, and producers worked out what would be good on their individual farms pretty easily. But what has actually happened in the two years since the Farm Bill stands to bury the peanut industry under its own weight.

“Since 2013, the Southeast has increased acres 63 percent, and the total U.S. has increased acreage by 52 percent,” says Dell Cotton, Virginia Carolina Peanut Growers Marketing Cooperative. “That’s just in the two years since the Farm Bill came into play.

Astounding Increases “For production, nationwide, we’ve had a 49 percent increase

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

since the Farm Bill, and the top three largest crops have happened in the last four years.”

Cotton says the rule of thumb used to be that we needed 500,000 tons to carry us over from one year to the next crop year. “That was an adequate supply and helped ensure good prices the next year,” he says.

“From ‘13 to ‘14, we carried over 929,000 tons. From ‘14 to ‘15, we carried over 1,051,000 tons. From ‘15 into ‘16, we are carrying over 1,443,000 tons. For the amount needed to be conducive to good contract prices, we have three times that amount.”

Warehouse Warnings For 2016 Once again, the warning to producers is not to plant peanuts without knowing where they will go.

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5 TRILLION NEW FARMHANDS

*

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Discover more at MonsantoBioAg.com

@MonsantoBioAg

*Potential number of soil- and/or plant-borne microbes that may exist in a field. Actual numbers may vary based on field size and crop.

Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS. Monsanto BioAg and Design™, and TagTeam® LCO are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Individual packaging may vary. ©2015 Monsanto Company.

“My concern is that at harvest time in 2016, there will not be as much warehouse space as was available in 2015,” says Nathan Smith, Clemson University Extension economist, despite the fact that more warehouse space was built in the past year.

Producers are also cautioned not to assume that the peanut buyer will store all of your peanuts.

“You’ve got to make sure you’ve got a home for those peanuts,” Cotton says.

“And, if you have a contract for a certain tonnage, you can’t assume they will take over that amount.”

tract price, could bring down the average price.

“If you contract for four tons for $400 a ton, and you make four tons, you are going to get $400 a ton. If you make five tons, and the fifth ton goes into the loan, you’ve brought your average down to $391. If you make six tons, you’ve brought your average down to $385. Finally, if you make eight tons, half under contract and half not, you’ve brought your average price down to $377. There is a chance that the extra peanuts could bring the contract price, but it usually doesn’t happen in an oversupply year.”

Tonnage Over The Contract Cotton also reminds producers that every pound produced beyond the con-

Consider Yield and Acreage Making more and more yield on the same amount of acreage is a good thing,

Forfeitures In 2013 from the 2012 crop ............ 55,894 tons In 2014 from the 2013 crop .............. 6,060 tons In 2015 from the 2014 crop ...........173,162 tons In 2016 from the 2015 crop .................unknown

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

Don’t Overpay Taxes Both Nathan Smith and Dell Cotton at the South Carolina Production Meeting wanted producers to be sure that if they receive a Form 1099, it is important not to just assume that it represents extra income that must be reported. It could be that this income is already reported or it doesn’t have to be reported. Make certain your Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is aware of what the 1099 represents and knows the appropriate reporting responsibilities.

The 1099G results from a marketing gain and CPAs familiar with commodity programs should know what to do with marketing gains.

A 1099A results from forfeited peanuts, which would have been from the 2014 crop year when the producer’s peanuts were not redeemed within the nine-month loan period and were forfeited. The 1099 amount is the loan value of the peanuts forfeited. The producer likely has already reported this value when he reported his total loan proceeds for the crop in the year in which he harvested it.

but making more yield and planting more acres has led to significant over production.

“Historically, we’ve always gauged supply and demand with how many acres we’ve planted,” Cotton says. “But, if we only look at acres planted and don’t take into consideration yield, we’ve missed half the boat.

“If you say, ‘I grow peanuts on the same number of acres,’ but you don’t take into account how much the yield has increased on that same acreage, then you don’t realize your part in contributing to the overproduction.”

In the last 12 years, the Southeast went from an average yield of around 2,900 pounds to the mid-4,000-pound range, adding nearly a full ton of yield capability to production in just more than 10 years. Even more can be achieved much of the time, especially on irrigated fields.

“Production has definitely caught up with demand,” Smith says. “Domestic demand has been generally stable to growing just slightly. Exports are slowing down. There will be low prices comPE ANUTGROWE R .COM

5 TRILLION

Acres 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

AL

185,000

166,000

219,000

138,000

172,000

194,000

FL

135,000

157,000

200,000

130,000

160,000

177,000

GA

555,000

465,000

730,000

426,000

585,000

771,000

MS

18,000

14,000

49,000

33,000

29,000

42,000

893,000

802,000

1,198,000

727,000

946,000

1,184,000

10,000

6,600

10,000

7,000

5,000

5,000

OK

21,000

22,000

22,000

16,000

16,000

9,000

TX

163,000

97,000

145,000

117,000

122,000

168,000

194,000

125,600

177,000

140,000

143,000

198,000

SE Total NM

AR SW Total

NEW FARMHANDS READY T O WO RK

For 25 years James Corbitt has grown peanuts on his Lanier County farm in southern Georgia. Over the past two growing seasons, Corbitt used Optimize® and JumpStart® on some of his Georgia peanut acres. Optimize contains LCO technology (lipochitooligosaccharide) and a specially selected rhizobia, while JumpStart contains the phosphatesolubilizing microbe, Penicillium bilaii.

These are the same microbial components in the triple-action inoculant, TagTeam® LCO, available for use in the peanut market for the first time in 2016.

16,000

NC

86,000

81,000

106,000

81,000

92,000

89,000

SC

64,000

73,000

107,000

78,000

110,000

109,000

VA

18,000

16,000

20,000

16,000

18,000

18,000

V-C Total

168,000

170,000

233,000

175,000

220,000

216,000

U.S. Total

1,255,000

1,097,600

1,608,000

1,042,000

1,309,000

1,598,000

Production 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

SE

1,489,400

1,368,500

2,596,665

1,503,040

1,894,475

2,446,736

SW

343,000

158,144

311,520

257,600

253,403

354,420

VC

245,000

293,086

462,622

326,450

442,994

319,003

2,077,800

1,819,730

3,370,807

2,087,090

2,590,872

3,120,159

U.S. Total

“We saw more nodules, and the plants were larger, greener and lusher.”

– James Corbitt “The first year we tried it we reached the 7,000-pound mark in peanut yield for the first time ever. The rest of our dryland peanuts averaged just over 5,300 pounds,” Corbitt says. And, he adds, the microbial combination known as TagTeam LCO made an impression well before harvest. “Around 60 to 80 days we could really tell a difference. We saw more nodules on the roots and the plants were larger, greener and lusher.”

pared to two years ago, and producers can expect a lower net income because expenses have not adjusted down with commodity prices.”

Costs Of Production For input prices, Amanda Smith, University of Georgia Extension economist, says energy prices have come down significantly for gasoline and farm diesel.

“The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects supplies to tighten, but there are so many factors that go into fuel supply prices,” she says. “It does mean, though, that fertilizer prices are down as well, with potash being at its lowest price in seven or eight years. Fuel being down also helps with irrigation costs.”

Nathan Smith says producers need to be as efficient as possible. He tells a story about a Georgia producer who was a very good manager of his farm.

“He used to say that the years he made the most money were those years right after a very tough year. It forced him to T WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

*

Discover more about TagTeam LCO for peanuts at MonsantoBioAg.com/Peanuts @MonsantoBioAg

do things he didn’t want to do and get more efficient. Assess your situation and make those decisions you may not want to make,” Smith advises.

That’s about all producers can do in a year of such low prices, limited contracts and little alternative. PG

Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary.

Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS. Monsanto BioAg and Design™, and JumpStart®, Optimize®, and TagTeam® are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Individual packaging may vary. ©2016 Monsanto Company.

MARCH 2 016 • THE PE ANUT GROWE R /

13

47872 MBA_TagTeam LCO_2ndPeanuts_Testimonial_2_125x10_a4.indd 2016-01-12 9:13 AM 1

Practical Planting Advice Cool soils, not poor seed quality, are likely the cause of poor stands.

U

niversity of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort insists that poor peanut plant stands in Georgia may not necessarily be due to seed quality.

Environmental conditions play a role, especially on peanuts planted in early to mid-April. Monfort says any soils under 68 degrees can cause problems for the seed, likely a delay in growth, which can lead to a lack of uniform plant stands in the field.

Question Conditions First “If you plant something in the ground and the soil temperature is less than 68 degrees, it’s going to take more than two weeks to come up instead of the normal five days. With good, warm 70-degree soils with good soil moisture, peanut plants will typically pop up in five days,” he says.

Growers tend to question whether they have bad seed, but even good seed won’t sprout in bad conditions. Poor plant stands are problems early in the season, either in late April or early May, when environmental conditions may be cool, excessively wet and generally not ideal.

Not always the culprit, poor seed quality can be addressed before planting.

Monfort encourages farmers to check their seed and make sure they are “nice, uniform-looking,” not shriveled or riddled with black spots and insect damage.

Quality Depends On Handling, Too “Compare it (peanut seed) to a pack of roasted peanuts. Open it up and put it in your hand. If you want to eat it, it probably is good enough to plant,” he says. “It’s the same seed, one just has a seed treatment on it. The other has been processed for eating, but it’s the same quality. If you look at it and say, ‘Good night! I wouldn’t want to eat that,’ then

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

Remaining Economical For 2016, besides waiting on warm soils to plant into, Scott Monfort, UGA Extension agronomist, says there are other areas of production that can affect return on yield “In looking at this chart on remaining economical, we can’t do anything about the crop value and Mother Nature, but everything else we have our hands in as producers and represent areas where we can save a little money and make money,” he says. “For those things that represent decisions that can be made toward net return, we need to make the best decisions possible.”

Remaining Economical CROP VALUE

MOTHER NATURE

HARVEST DECISIONS

PEST MANAGEMENT

YIELD OR NET RETURN

ROTATION

FERTILITY

MANAGEMENT DECISIONS Planting, Growth Reg., Nutrient Applications

Better Management One way we talk about saving money is by reducing inputs, but that’s not always possible. When you are reducing rotations, you can’t really reduce inputs because you are likely going to encounter more disease.

“In an on-farm variety trial that we had last year, the field was in the second year of peanuts after soybeans, and some varieties, those that lacked significant resistance, were racked with disease and ended up as dead plants.

“Somewhere along the way, we are going to get tagged for continuous peanut. Your yields are going to drop off, the question is when,” Monfort says. “On short or no rotations, budget for the worst-case scenario because the potential is for reduced yield because of increased disease.”

One More Tip Monfort encourages producers to improve their overall management practices.

“If you don’t deep turn and you’ve had more problems, consider deep turning the

VARIETY CIRCLE IMAGE DESIGNED

BY FREEPIK.COM

land,” he says. “More than anything, be timely — that’s the one thing that can save us a lot of money or make us a lot of money. If we can’t be timely, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”

One other tip Monfort has for producers going into planting 2016 is not to plant into a dry seedbed and “water up.”

“A situation that happened last year, a producer got busy in planting season, maybe a little behind, and he prepared his ground, had good seed beds, but no soil moisture at all. It was already 75-degree soil temperatures, so he put out his herbicide and planted into no moisture, and then turned on the irrigation to water them up.

“What happened was that it shocked the peanut seed, which were slow to overcome it, and germination was spotty at best. Some seed came up a full three weeks after the first seed had germinated.”

Watch your soil conditions, Monfort says, stand issues will put the crop behind.

— Amanda Huber PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

in all reality, it’s probably not that great of a seed.”

Once growers receive their seed for the upcoming year, Monfort is adamant that the seed should not be left out in the sun. Leaving peanut seed uncovered during the heat of the day, or otherwise unfavorable conditions, can slowly drop the germination level over time.

Seek Advice On Replanting If growers have an issue after planting and believe replanting is the answer, Monfort recommends calling your Extension agent first for a second opinion.

“They’ll help diagnose problems and determine whether the farmer does need to replant, or if they have enough plants to suffice for a decent yield. Some people think they’ve automatically got to replant, but they don’t always have to.

Peanuts tend to compensate quite a bit,” Monfort says.

Peanut planting in Georgia typically starts in the latter part of April or early May. Growers should wait for the soil temperature to reach 68 degrees or higher for three straight days before begin-

ning planting.

To monitor soil temperatures in Georgia, go to the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring

Network at www.weather.uga.edu. PG Source: Clint Thompson, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Accufield

provides a suite of precision agriculture services and information to our customers through a web-based, easy-to-use interface that provides access to farm data from anywhere, anytime via the internet. Our trained and experienced staff is on hand to work with you to implement site-specific technology and help you maintain profitable production. For our services, please visit your nearest Agri-AFC or Alabama Farmers Cooperative location.

www.AccuField.com T WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

15

MARCH 2 016 • THE PE ANUT GROWE R /

Small, But Meaningful Micronutrients can become a limiting factor to achieving good yields.

By Amanda Huber

N

ow that producers have a good handle on the primary and secondary nutrient needs of peanut, soil scientists have shifted focus slightly to include work on micronutrients.

When producers think of the essential plant nutrients, it is the primary nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that come to mind first, even though it’s carbon, hydrogen and oxygen that are present in the plant most with carbon making up 40 to 50 percent of the plant’s dry weight matter.

“In thinking specifically about peanuts, it is a legume and able to fix nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form usable to the plant,” says Glen Harris, University of Georgia Extension soil scientist. “They are also good scavengers of phosphorus and potassium.”

Calcium Still Essential The next most essential element becomes calcium, and that’s why it became more of a focus when larger-seeded varieties, which had kernels more the size of Virginia type than the older type runner varieties, came about.

“We were concerned that it would cause pops and pod rot,” Harris says.

He and others found that no more calcium was needed compared to the smaller seed, but the absence of the required amount would show up more often in the larger-seeded crop.

Harris says producers should take a pegging soil sample, which is taken about 3 inches deep, next to the peanut row soon after emergence. If the sample shows at least 500 pounds per acre of soil-test calcium and if the calcium to potassium ratio is 3:1 or better, then calcium is sufficient and the producer does not need to apply gypsum. If one 16 /

THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

Where Do Deficiencies Occur?

All the essential nutrients, from the non-mineral ones to the micronutrients, plus light, water and warm temperatures are needed for a crop to yield. In agriculture, Liebig’s Law of the Minimum if often cited in relation to plant nutrition. This principle can be summarized in this way, “The availability of the most abundant nutrient in the soil is only as good as the availability of the least abundant nutrient in the soil.” Or, to put it more plainly, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”

Lieberg’s Law is often shown as a barrel with vertical staves that represent the different needs of the crop. The barrel will only hold as much liquid as the shortest stave or, in other words, the plant will only produce to its potential as the limiting nutrient will allow. The barrel usually shows the limiting item as nitrogen, but Harris says, theoretically, it could be a micronutrient so they should not be overlooked when potential problems occur in the field.

The soil conditions in which peanuts grow are where deficiencies are more likely to happen.

“In leached, acid and sandy soils, which describes all of Georgia for sure,” Harris says.

“We are a matter of sand and sandier.”

It also tends to happen under conditions of intensive cropping and with extreme pH. “There are some folks that promote high pH for various reasons, taking it up around 8.0, and that is a perfect situation for manganese deficiency,” Harris says. Other conditions include eroded soils and soils with high organic matter.

of these requirements is not met, apply 1,000 pounds per acre of gypsum at early bloom. All peanuts grown for seed should automatically receive this gypsum application regardless of soil test calcium levels.

For the other secondary nutrients, magnesium can be found in dolomitic lime, and some sulfur is available in gypsum.

Know Your Micronutrients Beyond the primary and secondary nutrients, the first micronutrient in order of importance is boron, says Harris. The University of Georgia has an automatic recommendation of one-half pound of boron on peanuts.

“Boron is important for pollination and fruiting, and, therefore, it is important to have it out before flowering and fruiting and can be applied in an early fungicide spray,” he says.

Manganese is the next micronutrient

of importance and is very tied to soil pH, Harris says. “Producers often see manganese deficiency on the edge of the field where they had a lime pile, but there can be manganese deficiency throughout the field. Essentially, the higher you raise your pH, the more you need manganese in your soil.

“Manganese deficiency needs to be caught early. Look at your soil samples now with your county agent. He or she can help you determine, ‘Yes, you are going to need some manganese in this field, and this field should be fine.’”

Too Much Of A Good Thing The next essential micronutrient, zinc, is a special case. Harris says peanuts are actually sensitive to zinc and can encounter zinc toxicity.

“You can have a zinc level around 10, just keep your pH above 6.2,” he says.

“You can even have zinc around 40, and it’s fine if you keep the pH up around PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

6.6. But, I’ve had someone say they had a zinc level of 100 and I said, ‘You’re on your own.’ I probably would not plant peanuts in that case no matter what the pH was.”

If you apply chicken litter, Harris says it can contain on average about a halfpound of zinc per ton, but it also helps maintain a good soil pH because it has some lime in it.

Other micronutrient deficiencies are rare, but Harris will be looking at copper this year because there are some people applying a copper nutrient. Nickle is also now considered an essential micronutrient, but what does it do in peanuts?

That’s something Harris says he and Julie Howe, Auburn University soil scientist, will be studying in research trials this year.

Do The Math On Rates Another thing about micronutrients is that they have a narrow window of sufficiency, Harris says. “You say, ‘Well, I don’t have enough micronutrients, so I’ll just pour a bunch on there.’ Unlike other nutrients, micronutrients have a narrow window of sufficiency. If you go beyond that sufficiency range, you get into toxicity. You have to be careful in that regard.”

Harris also cautions producers on sales pitches of products and to really do the math on rates. “Sometimes they won’t tell you the actual rate of boron. They’ll say, ‘Six ounces of a five percent boron material,’ and if you do the math, you’ll find that’s a rate of .025 pounds boron per acre, well below our recommended rate of a half-pound of boron per acre. It might work for you, but more likely than not, it won’t.” PG How To Avoid Micronutrient Problems In Peanut 1. Study soil samples and look for manganese and zinc versus pH relationship.

2. Grid sample and use variable-rate lime where needed.

3. Apply full recommendation of boron on a timely basis.

4. Soil and tissue sample early if problems are suspected.

5. Follow Plant Analysis Handbook for recommendations for foliar feeding.

Essential Plant Nutrients Non-Mineral

Primary or Macro

Secondary

Micronutrients

Carbon (C) Hydrogen (H) Oxygen (O)

Nitrogen (N) Phosphorus (P) Potassium (K)

Calcium (Ca) Magnesium (Mg) Sulfur (S)

Boron (B) Manganese (Mn) Zinc (Zn) Copper (Cu) Iron (Fe) Molybdenum (Mo) Chlorine (Cl) Nickle (Ni)

Rainbow.

Full Spectrum Plant Nutrition.

A peanut plant needs 13 different nutrients to achieve ideal size and yield. Most soils in the coastal plain are magnesium, sulfur, manganese and boron deficient, so your crops need a good available secondary and micronutrient source. Each homogenous granule of Rainbow Plant Food contains the perfect balance of primary, secondary and micronutrients. And whether you broadcast or apply it in-row, every plant across your field will have the vital nutrients available when they need it most.

Find out more at RainbowPlantFoodProducts.com.

©2016 Agrium Inc. RAINBOW; RAINBOW PLANT FOOD PRODUCTS; AGRIUM WHOLESALE, GROWING TOGETHER logos and designs are all trademarks owned by Agrium Inc. 01/16-46318

RAINBOW P L A N T

F O O D

17

T WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

MARCH 2 016 • THE PE ANUT GROWE R /

46318-04 Rainbow_Spectrum_4_5x7_5_Peanut_PG_a7.indd 1

12/4/15 4:13 PM

Get The Management Edge Peanut producer, Scott Murphy, shares his experience using a whole-farm management program.

G

iven the complexities of farming today, the risk that must be shouldered by the producer and the need to make sure every decision is what’s best for the farm as a whole, some producers may be looking for that edge that’s more than record-keeping software. AgriEdge Excelsior is a program that combines total-farm management with record-keeping software and personalized, on-farm support to take the guesswork out of production and profit potential.

From Syngenta Crop Protection, AgriEdge Excelsior combines a comprehensive product portfolio, farm management software, an opportunity for shared risk and a dedicated team of professionals to help throughout the season.

Enrolling in the AgriEdge Excelsior program means that you will receive unmatched data and record-keeping access through Land.db software developed by Ag Connections. The software captures all information associated with a farm, including yield, timing of sprays, compliance reporting, as well as input costs and return on investment, then tracks, measures and examines each acre to see if it’s profitable.

AgriEdge Excelsior Q & A Peanut producer Scott Murphy farms with his father and uncle at Murphy and Murphy Farms in Snow Hill, N.C. Together, they grow about 1,400 acres of row crops including corn, soybeans, peanuts and sweet potatoes. They also have 15 swine houses and six poultry houses.

Scott talks about his experience with AgriEdge Excelsior.

Q. A.

What is your experience with the AgriEdge Excelsior program and Land.db software?

This will be my third season using the AgriEdge Excelsior program.

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

AgriEdge Excelsior At A Glance • Product portfolio: A comprehensive agribusiness portfolio of products to address yield limiting factors throughout the year • Advanced technology: An exclusive farm management software to better manage your business • Shared risk management: A unique, cost-sharing opportunity with Syngenta to help mitigate risk in crop production • Outstanding service: A dedicated team of AgriEdge Excelsior professionals and support staff to help guide you throughout the season

My first year, I concentrated on just getting all the applications down. I used other programs in the past that ended up not being as easy to use and became too much hassle. After completing that, the second year, I began to take on more indepth tasks that Land.db offers such as input task of products and applications.

This year, I hope to add even more information such as pre-plans and payments.

As prices of all crops across the board are at such a low level, I will rely on

AgriEdge Excelsior more than ever to keep my cost and break-even points at a manageable level.

Q. A.

How does the software influence your decision-making?

Land.db influences my decision-making by letting me know exactly how much money I have in a particular crop or even a particular field at any given moment in the season. This can be important as break-even points are tight with low grain prices.

Q. A.

What is an example of how you use the information to make decisions?

This will be my third season using the program, and the information allows me to compare previous years with what is going on currently.

It’s easier to make improvements on past mistakes and remember exactly what went wrong when that information is easily accessible on Land.db.

For more information on Syngenta’s AgriEdge Excelsior program, visit www.

AgriEdge.com. PG Article submitted on behalf of Syngenta Crop Protection.

PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

Golden Peanut ad 1 12 15_CF 11/13 template 1/12/15 2:44 PM Page 1

Inoculate Against Nitrogen Failure

R

esearchers agree that peanuts respond better to the nitrogen fixation provided by Rhizobia bacteria than they do to direct application of nitrogen fertilizer. A lack of peanut-specific Rhizobia in the soil and in close proximity to the emerging seed can slow the availability of nitrogen to the growing plant, which allows for other problems, such as disease, to occur.

An inoculant should be bought fresh each year for maximum viability. Inoculants should be kept completely away from direct sunlight, and are best stored at temperatures from 40 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not freeze the product.

Once a package has been opened, use it within 24 hours.

At application, make sure the inoculant is placed in direct contact with the seed for maximum uptake. If planting conditions are less than ideal, consider using a little more than the recommend-

ed rate. If water is used as a carrier for the inoculant, chlorine-free water, such as well or rain water, should be used. Refer to the product label for further care and handling instructions and for application rates.

Other conditions that may affect Rhizobia are soil pH, organic matter, drought conditions and plant stress.

Add Nodules To The Scouting List Whether or not you applied an inoculant at planting, always scout for nodulation anyway. It is the most efficient way to be assured nitrogen fixation is occurring. If poor nodulation is found, additional nitrogen fertilizer may need to be applied, plus you will know to use an inoculant when next planting a peanut crop to that field.

Applying an inoculant and then scouting to make sure the nodulation process is occurring provides assurance that you

Application Tips • Use an inoculant specifically for peanuts.

• Store product in a cool, dry place, never in direct sunlight.

• Check the expiration date.

• Calibrate equipment to ensure proper delivery of the recommended rate.

• Be sure granular drop tubes or spray nozzles are unobstructed, and place the inoculant into the seed furrow around the seed.

• Mix seed-applied products thoroughly.

• Do not use chlorinated water for liquid inoculants.

• Consult with product dealers about compatibility with other chemicals.

• Read and follow product label.

have given your peanuts an opportunity to achieve maximum yields and quality. PG — Amanda Huber

Get your crop off to a good start.

Plant quality Golden Peanut Seed.

For more information, contact your local Golden Peanut dealer today.

T WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

Golden Peanut Company, LLC 100 North Point Center East, Suite 400 Alpharetta, GA 30022 • www.goldenpeanut.com

19

MARCH 2 016 • THE PE ANUT GROWE R /

Bayer Moves To Protect Insecticide Bayer Crop Science recently announced that it was refusing a request by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to voluntarily cancel flubendiamide, trade name Belt, in the United States and instead will seek a review of the product’s registration in an administrative law hearing.

The company believes the methods used by the EPA exaggerate environmental risk and would deny farmers access to a critical pest management tool. Belt is approved for use on more than 200 crops because of its strong pest performance, favorable environmental and toxicological profile and excellent fit in integrated pest management (IPM) programs.

The EPA claims uses of flubendiamide may harm benthic organisms that live in the sediment of waters near agricultural fields, without any evidence of harm in more than seven years of commercial use. Bayer strongly disagrees with the EPA’s methodology, which is based on theoretical models and assumptions that exaggerate risk. Years of monitoring have shown residues of flubendiamide and its metabolite are well within safe levels es-

tablished for aquatic invertebrates.

“We are disappointed the EPA places so much trust on computer modeling and predictive capabilities when real-world monitoring shows no evidence of concern after seven years of safe use,” said Dr. Peter Coody, Bayer Vice President of Environmental Safety.

Bayer rejected the EPA’s request to voluntarily cancel the flubendiamide registration and anticipates a hearing in front of EPA’s independent Office of Administrative Law Judges for a review.

While under review, farmers and retailers can continue to buy, sell and use the product in their operations.

For questions concerning the availability and use of products, visit online at www.cropscience.bayer.us.

Syngenta Considers Big Offer Syngenta recently announced that ChemChina has offered to acquire the company for $43 billion or $465 per ordinary share plus a special dividend to be paid conditional upon and prior to closing. The Board of Directors of Syngenta considers that the proposed transaction respects the interests of all stakeholders and is unanimously recommending the offer to shareholders.

Portable Ag Chemical Blending System Praxidyn introduces Mixmate ­— a portable agricultural chemical blending system. Mixmate streamlines or completely automates the mixing process with the bonus of generating automatic records. A system can be configured to fit your needs with a combination of pumps, valves, flowmeters and scales. The system is controlled with a rugged Android tablet. Operators are assisted with a streamlined mixing process and reduced exposure potential. Records are automated to maximize field time and accuracy. Mixmate is very useful for individual farmers, multiple users in a farming operation or commercial applicators.

One of the advantages of a Mixmate system is that it is modular, and new features can be added to a system at any time. Electric valves can be added to a manual system to add automation. Multiple scales and flowmeters will work simultaneously to control valves to mix a batch on the fly. In many cases, mixing speed equals pumping speed. The Mixmate hopper is ideal for jug processing and measuring smaller quantity ingredients. No premeasuring is required. Products are weighed as they are added to the Mixmate hopper and the actual amounts are recorded.

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

The transaction is expected to conclude by the end of the year.

Syngenta’s existing management will continue to run the company. After closing, a 10-member Board of Directors will be chaired by Ren Jianxin, Chairman of ChemChina, and will include four of the existing Syngenta Board members.

C hemC h ina is committed to maintaining the highest governance standards with a view to an IPO of the business in the years to come.

Michel Demaré, Chairman of Syngenta, said, “In making this offer, ChemChina is recognizing the quality and potential of Syngenta’s business. The transaction minimizes operational disruption; it is focused on growth globally, specifically in China and other emerging markets, and enables long-term investment in innovation.”

Syngenta is and will continue to be headquartered in Switzerland. The transaction will enable further expansion of Syngenta’s presence in emerging markets and notably in China. To learn more, visit www.syngenta.com and www. goodgrowthplan.com.

The system is designed to be portable and rugged. The electronics and wiring are sealed and weatherproof.

The Mixmate app securely backs up data to the cloud. Records are automated to maximize field time and accuracy.

The app can be set up ahead of time with prescriptions and jobs. When the operator is ready to mix, simply select the job and confirm the batch size and settings. The Android app is optimized to make it fast and easy at mixing time.

For more information, go to www.praxidyn.com.

PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

Protect Those Products In production meetings, we have discussed the challenges in pest management. In some ways, we have many tools that are very effective. Our strong yields of late have been realized by a number of factors including plant protection. Will we have everything we need in the future?

In North Carolina and surDAVID JORDAN North Carolina State rounding states there is conUniversity cern about PPO resistance. The Extension Agronomist herbicide arsenal is very slim if we can’t effectively use Cobra, Ultra Blazer, Storm and Valor SX (and generics). The remaining herbicides are reminiscent of the late 1970s with respect to postemergence options (switching paraquat for dinoseb). Keeping escaped Palmer amaranth and common ragweed from producing seed is extremely important. Those escapes could be ALS, PPO and glyphosate resistant.

Imidacloprid has become an important component of thrips management in the region. Will it continue to perform well relative to thrips control as we experience resistance development? What will happen with registration of these products when one considers pollinators? One fungicide and one insecticide within the past month have been voluntarily removed from the market because of concerns expressed in the export market. Will this be a trend in the future?

What about chlorpyrifos? Is it all but gone? The yields we have enjoyed during the past few years, excluding the weather-affected V-C in 2015, have been due in large part to plant protection products. No one uses all of them, but along the journey to harvest all of these are used and are needed by some farmers. Moving forward, we may have to adjust our production systems and figure out how to avoid major risk without some of these products. For rootworms there is not an option other than chlorpyrifos. There is some older chemistry available for thrips, but imidacloprid has been very effective. Velum Total is here, but thrips control is derived from imidacloprid in that product.

We will be in bad shape if PPO resistance becomes widespread. I’ve painted a bad picture at a time when yields seem to be at an all-time high for the V-C region, excluding this past year. We need to become savvier at managing pests, especially if we lose these key pesticides. Being proactive in our management and developing alternatives will be extremely important at this point in the road.

Whatever you do, don’t let escaped Palmer amaranth and common ragweed go to seed!

T WIT TE R: @PE ANUTGROWE R

Considering Reduced Tillage?

The final few peanut production meetings will be conducted in early March in Georgia.

The message at the meetings has been pretty consistent that growers need to talk with their peanut buying point to ensure they have a place secured to take their peanut crop in 2016.

Storage may be a big problem if growers plant similar acres as SCOTT MONFORT University of Georgia in 2015 and produce another Extension Agronomist big crop.

Another key factor growers need to keep on their mind going into the 2016 growing season is “how is weather going to impact the planting season?” Since November, many areas in Georgia have received rain on a weekly basis. Will this delay land preparation and planting? Will this cause more problems with disease issues at planting and during the year? These are all valid questions and are being asked at many of our meetings.

At this point, growers need to plan on being wetter-than-normal up to planting. With this in mind, some growers will consider taking short cuts in land preparation, 21

MARCH 2 016 • THE PE ANUT GROWE R /

such as going from conventional tillage (deep turning) to a reduced-tillage practice. It’s not a bad plan in order to save a few trips across the field; however, growers need to note that yields have been shown to be reduced in many reduced-tillage programs. This may also be compounded in situations where growers have reduced rotation significantly causing an increase in disease pressure.

Notes On The High Oleics Most calls I receive this time of year are questions concerning varieties. Ga-06G has been the variety of choice for a number of years. However, I am concerned about the amount of TSWV that I have observed the past couple of years and believe that we should spread our risk by planting more varieties. The oversupplied market KRIS BALKCOM Auburn University has more producers looking at Agri-Program Associate the high-oleic varieties coupled with the price incentive. I encourage everyone to not only look at variety trial data, but to also pay attention to the data from their growing region.

Some varieties respond differently under varying conditions or circumstances, which we have across the state.

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THE PE ANUT GROWE R • MARCH 2 016

Here are a few insights I have gained while testing these new high-oleic varieties. Looking at the variety data, TUFRunner™ ‘511’ has a lot of high-end yield potential. But yield is not everything. TUFRunner™ ‘511’ is very susceptible to leaf spot. Therefore, when considering 511, I would encourage you to have it on well-rotated land and utilize a good fungicide program. FloRun™ ‘107’ and TUFRunner™ ‘727’ are two varieties that have yielded fairly consistently with Ga-06G for the past couple of years. TUFRunner™ ‘727’ has a better disease package than 511 and grows a lot of vine, making it a good choice for sandier soil and more attractive for the single-row producer because it has been the only mid-season variety that has not responded to twin rows.

Ga-13M is a relatively new variety so I haven’t worked with it as long. It did struggle with leaf spot pressure this past season, but one trait that stands out is it has a seed size similar to Georgia Green. I hope these points will help you in considering which high-oleic variety to plant.

Respect The Rotation Crop rotation is the key to profitable peanut production.

Peanut should be planted in the same field only one year out of three or, in the best case, one year out of four. There are numerous advantages to crop rotation, including improved soil fertility, reduced disease and nematode problems and more manageable weed control sysJASON WOODWARD tems. Recommended rotational Texas Agri-Life Extension Plant Pathologist crops include, but are not limited to corn, grain and forage sorghums, grass sod, small grains, sesame and cotton. Rotations with other legume crops should be avoided.

Longer rotations result in greater benefits, especially when dealing with disease and nematode problems. More efficient weed control occurs because many weeds difficult to control in the peanut crop may be more easily controlled in the rotation crop. Better weed control leads to reduced foreign material problems at market. Crop rotation will also likely allow rotation of herbicide modes-of-action, which will reduce the risk of weed resistance developing within a particular peanut field.

With proper rotation and in-season management, excellent yields can be attained. However, without crop rotation, peanut will not be a profitable commodity. Conversely, crops grown in rotation with peanuts receive the benefit of increased residual nitrogen, the ability to use additional herbicide modes-of-action and similar negative effects on pests and diseases.

PE ANUTGROWE R .COM

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