2013 Georgia Peanut Tour set for Sept. 17-19 in Valdosta, Ga. |

The 27th annual Georgia Peanut Tour will be held Sept.18-19, 2013, and centrally located out of Valdosta, Ga., at the Fairfield Inn & Suites. The tour begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, and will end on Thursday, Sept. 19, at approximately 9:30 p.m. Tour stops will be made in several peanut-producing counties including Brooks, Lowndes and Lee Co., Fla. Attendees can expect to see first-hand many aspects of peanut production in the state of Georgia throughout the tour. This year’s tour is a host to many interesting and educational stops including on-farm harvest demonstrations, local crop consultant news updates and several special highlights including: Birdsong Peanuts in Lee, Fla.; Kelley Manufacturing Co. in Tifton; R.L. Cunningham & Sons in Quitman; and DuPont Crop Protection in Valdosta. Other stops will include the Georgia Department of Agriculture lab and Federal-State Inspection Service offices, both in Tifton, as well as research stops at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus’ Gibbs Farm and the Darrell Williams Research Farm at the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo grounds in Moultrie.

Another highlight of the tour will include an Early Bird “Hot Topics” Seminar on Tuesday, Sept. 17, beginning at 3 p.m. The “Hot Topics” Seminar, also held at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, will feature topics on the economic sustainability of U.S. peanut farms, global and U.S. peanut markets and opportunities, as well as a current crop update.

The Georgia Peanut Tour is coordinated by the Georgia Peanut Commission, the University of Georgia Griffin and Tifton Campuses and the USDA/ARS National Peanut Research Lab.