Glen Harris – 2017 Georgia Peanut Tour Chairman
Welcome to the 2017 Georgia Peanut Tour. Whether this is your frrst time with us or you are a “Peanut Tour Veteran,” we are honored and privileged to have you join us again on our 31st annual tour. Like all of the previous peanut tours, you will be immersed in one of Georgia’s most important agricultural crops from the field to the manufacturer. We sincerely appreciate each of you for joining us on this exciting tour and hope, through the experience of this tour, you will understand and appreciate the heritage of peanut production in our state. Each of us engaged in the peanut industry – farmers, buyers, processors, researchers, Extension personnel, Georgia Peanut Commission representatives and everyone in between, are proud Georgia is the leading peanut producer in the United States, and we are all the more happy you could join us for the next three days as our special guests!
The 31st annual Georgia Peanut Tour will kick off on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 19, with a “Hot Topics” symposium located at the Merry Acres Conference Center in Albany, Georgia. Expert speakers will address the current status of our peanut crop and also focus on the importance of University research in sustaining peanut production in Georgia. Symposium speakers will discuss recent innovations and research in peanut production, breeding, pest management, engineering, storage and handling, and processing.
Day two is jam-packed starting with a field visit to watch peanuts being dug and inverted. Then, on to a unique Georgia peanut experience, to visit and meet a former president of the United States of America at his childhood home; one of the most famous Georgia Peanut farmers ever, Jimmy Carter. From there, we will visit a University of Georgia experiment station, a seed peanut facility, a peanut buying point and a second field visit to see peanuts being picked after they have dried. On day three, we will visit the USDA National Peanut Lab and a key food safety company. And as always, we will eat well on the tour including Southern barbeque and a low country boil. In addition, you will hear directly from farmers and county agents at the field stops about the challenges they face and the solutions they adopt to produce a vibrant peanut crop. Further, you will hear from researchers and Extension faculty at UGA about their efforts to find innovative ways to aid farmers and improve peanut production. Most of this effort is funded through the Georgia Peanut Commission, which invests money from growers today for better production in the future.
Again, on behalf of the Peanut Tour Committee, made up of members from the USDA-ARS Peanut Lab, the Georgia Peanut Commission and the University of Georgia, we warmly welcome you to the 31st annual Georgia Peanut Tour! We hope, over the next few days, you will learn about 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 you enjoy Georgia’s renowned hospitality. We offer our sincere thanks to all the sponsors, who through their generosity, help make this tour possible.