USDA announces sign up for Assistance programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced the sign up for two programs which will provide relief for producers impacted by disaster and the pandemic. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement during the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention in January.

The new programs are to fill gaps in 2020/2021 Natural Disaster Assistance (Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 2) and 2020 Pandemic Assistance (Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP).

The two new programs wrap-up and fill remaining gaps in previous natural disaster and pandemic assistance. To be eligible for ERP Phase Two, producers must have suffered a decrease in allowable gross revenue in 2020 or 2021 due to necessary expenses related to losses of eligible crops from a qualifying natural disaster event. Assistance will be primarily to producers of crops that were not covered by Federal Crop Insurance or NAP, since crops covered by Federal Crop Insurance and NAP were included in the assistance under ERP Phase One.

The ERP covers losses to crops, trees, bushes and vines due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021.

USDA is also providing critical support to producers impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak through PARP.

To be eligible for PARP, an agricultural producer must have been in the business of farming during at least part of the 2020 calendar year and had a 15% or greater decrease in allowable gross revenue for the 2020 calendar year, as compared to a baseline year.

The ERP Phase 2 and PARP application period is open from January 23, 2023 through June 2, 2023. For more information, producers should contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency service center or reference the ERP Phase 2 fact sheet, PARP fact sheet or the ERP Phase TwoPARP Comparison fact sheet on the USDA website at usda.gov.

Heart Health Month Satellite Media Tour

thoracic surgeon with more than 100 published clinical research studies, shared important information on preventing and managing heart disease.

Dr. Cooper shared that a healthy lifestyle leads to a healthy heart and that diet is the "number one factor" in building a healthy heart. He said that it doesn’t have to be difficult though. He loves peanuts and "we know that regularly eating peanuts and peanut butter can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes." He showed on the set how easy that can be with a twist on a traditional PB&J by replacing the jelly with fresh fruit on whole grain bread or adding peanuts to a stir fry or salad.

National Peanut Butter Day Promotion

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. By 2030, nearly 23.6 million people will die from heart disease and one person has a heart attack every minute in the U.S. SPG worked with A-1 Broadcast and Planet Fitness on a national Satellite Media Tour for February: Heart Health Month. Dr. William Cooper, a cardio-

Upcoming Events

Dr. Cooper did 29 interviews with a television audience of 3.8 million, a radio audience of 2.7 million, an audio news release audience of 7.1 million, and an online audience of 1 million. The estimated advertising value of this tour so far is $350,000. Some segments are still schedule to air and not included in these totals.

In preparation for the tour, Southern Peanut Growers added a Heart Health page to PeanutButterLovers.com with a recap of heart-related research and links to research and recipes. 

You can find Southern Peanut Growers at these upcoming events:

• March 3: Georgia Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Annual Conference, Statesboro, Georgia.

• March 23 – 25: Georgia Family Career and Community Leaders of America Annual Conference, Athens, Georgia.

• April 20 – 22: Georgia School Nutrition Association Annual Conference, Jekyll Island, Georgia.

• June 14 – 17: Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Pediatricians Annual Conference, Amelia Island, Florida.

Southern Peanut Growers partnered with a premium peanut butter brand, OmMade Peanut Butter, for a National Peanut Butter Day social media promotion on January 24. Founder Radhika Murari really wanted to feed her son, a swimmer who didn’t like to sit for big meals, a natural peanut butter but he didn’t love the texture of the brands on the market. She became very interested in the process and created her own very creamy peanut butter which now comes in lots of interesting flavors besides I Dream of Creamy and Crunchie Munchie including Chocolate Delight, Coconut Bliss, Espresso Ecstasy, Chai Nirvana, Bee Cosmic, Vibrant Turmeric, and Hella Hot. These peanut butters have won awards from Food & Wine magazine, Men’s Health magazine, and People magazine.

The three-day social media promotion reached 1,422 Instagram accounts with 340 direct engagements and 1,650 Facebook accounts. Two winners—one from each platform— received a gift box of OmMade Peanut Butter in their choice of flavors.

Social media promotions are planned for February—Hearth Health Month, Valentine’s Day, and March, National Peanut Month.