We would like to welcome each of you to the 2019 Georgia Peanut Tour. Whether this is your first time with us or you are a “Peanut Tour Veteran,” we are very happy to host you on our 33rd annual tour. As in previous years, you will be immersed in the production efforts of one of Georgia’s most important agricultural crops and we hope this gives you better insight not only into the challenges our farmers face, but also reasons why we say that the world’s best peanuts are produced in Georgia. It is our hope that you will come to better understand and appreciate the heritage of peanut production in our state. Those engaged in the peanut industry, including farmers, buyers, processors, researchers, Extension personnel, and Georgia Peanut Commission representatives, are proud that Georgia is the leading peanut producing state in the United States and we are excited to share this year’s crop with you.
The 2019 Georgia Peanut Tour is staged in the central region of our state’s production area and begins on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 17, with a “Hot Topics” symposium. Expert speakers will address the current status of our peanut crop and provide a special focus on peanut production practices. UGA researchers will discuss topics including planting, soil nutrition, physiology, insects, diseases, maturity and harvest decision.
The next two days of the tour provide you an opportunity to learn more about production, research, processing and more. Field visits will provide you with a glimpse of conventional and organic peanut production, harvest and precision agriculture at the farm of Sed Rowe in Americus, Chase Farms in Oglethorpe and Dawson Brothers Farm in Hawkinsville, Georgia. University of Georgia and U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers will provide you with updates on groundbreaking research projects they have at the Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center in Plains, as well as the USDA National Peanut Research Lab in Dawson, Georgia. The tour also includes visits down the supply chain to Sasser 520 Peanut Buying Point where attendees will have an opportunity to learn how peanuts are graded, cleaned, dried, and stored in warehouses. Attendees will also tour Agri AFC in Cordele, Golden Peanut and Tree Nut sheller and Nolin Steel in Ashburn and Hardy Farms Peanut Boiling Facility in Hawkinsville, Georgia.
Again, on behalf of the Peanut Tour Committee, with members from the USDA-ARS Peanut Lab, the Georgia Peanut Commission and the University of Georgia, I warmly welcome you to the 33rd annual Georgia Peanut Tour! We hope that over the next few days you will better appreciate the complexity of the peanut industry in Georgia and the personal commitments from all involved in producing the world’s finest peanuts! We hope our events will allow for fellowship and that you enjoy Georgia’s hospitality exploring a beautiful, rural part of our state. We offer our sincere thanks to all the sponsors, who through their generosity, help make this tour possible. Please do not hesitate to let us know how we can help you as we travel the highways and byways of our state’s production area. We are proud of our peanut farmers and our peanut industry; we are happy that we can share them with you.