After lunch at the Brooks County Ag Center, tour participants made their way to R.L. Cunningham & Sons in Quitman, Ga. Just to give you a brief history on this organization, R.L. Cunningham & Sons began when (Robert) Cunningham, Sr. started shelling seed peanuts in 1942 in what was then known as the old mattress factory, located on Washington Street across the tracks from the railroad depot in Quitman.  For 16 years, he shelled high quality seed peanuts, and then expanded the operation to include a peanut buying point complete with dryers, drying wagons and a 2,000 ton warehouse. Through the ’60s and ’70s, the operation continued to grow. So much that they added another warehouse, several more dryers and built a new peanut shelling plant.

Today, R.L. Cunningham & Sons has storage for 8,000 tons of peanuts. The operation includes semi drying trailers and state of the art drying equipment. A small grain cleaning and bagging facility serves area farmers with custom cleaning and storage. Still, at the heart of the company is the peanut seed sheller. This year, 2013, will mark 72 continuous years in the peanut seed shelling business.

While at this stop, Larry Cunningham and Chris Cunningham with , R.L. Cunningham & Sons, discussed their peanut shelling operation.  Along with shelling, the process of peanut drying and the important role it plays in the shelling process (and ultimately in the quality of peanut seed) was covered.  Something new for R.L. Cunningham to show off was their solar panel technology and an interactive website where producers can track their peanuts throughout the grading process from start to finish.  Additionally, tour participants had the opportunity to see the facility as a buying point operation.

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album

Stephanie Hollifield, Brooks County Extension Coordinator, provided information to the Georgia Peanut Tour participants on agricultural production in Brooks County. Hollifield stated peanuts were one of the most important crops in Brooks County. There were a total of 6,383 acres planted this year, with over 32 percent of the peanuts irrigated and over 67 percent dryland. Concerning the estimated peanut production in tons for the county, she says that county averages more than 4,000 lbs, with the yield potential for the 06G and 07W varieties at 5,000+ lbs. The major crops in Brooks County include cotton, peanuts, vegetables, pecans and peaches. Making timely applications of all crop inputs with excessive rainfall, including gypsum application and a necessary shorter spray interval between fungicide sprays, as well as the fact that the majority of peanuts were considered a high risk index on Peanut RX for the disease spray have been the most troublesome production issues for area farmers this year. However, Stephanie says that so far the peanut crop in the county looks good to excellent. The profiles that have been conducted this year look great and they are progressing nicely. As Hollifield said, “they’re cooking in the ground.”

During our time in Brooks County, attendees had the opportunity to visit the family farm of Mr. John Burton. Here they were able to see first-hand, the process of digging peanuts. Burton demonstrated peanut digging on a field planted on May 7. Attendees were able to watch how the peanuts are dug and turned over, and then take a closer look at them above ground.

Van Murphy, representative with BCT Gin, was also present at the farm stop. BCT Gin is owned by peanut and cotton farmers in Brooks, Colquitt and Thomas Counties. Murphy commended the farmers for their work and thanked the guests of the Georgia Peanut Tour for making Brooks County one of their stops. After getting the opportunity to look at some great peanuts, tour attendees loaded back up in the bus and headed to the Brooks County Ag Center for lunch.

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album

After leaving DuPont’s facility, the Peanut Tour caravan headed to the north side of Lowndes County for a local farm stop. Jake Price, Lowndes County extension agent, provided information to the Georgia Peanut Tour participants on agricultural production in Lowndes County. Lowndes County major crops are cotton, corn, peanuts, tobacco and soybeans. The south end of the county grows primarily vegetables. Price said urban agriculture has grown recently with more nurseries and golf courses becoming popular. When looking at irrigation and dryland, Price said peanuts and cotton are mostly dryland and corn and tobacco are mostly irrigated. For peanuts, Lowndes County grows mostly Georgia 06 and Florida 07 varieties. This year’s major issue has been the large amount of rainfall the county has received. In past years, the burrower bug has been a problem, but this year it has not been as troublesome. Farmers in Lowndes County have started digging and Price said he expects most fields to yield well with approximately 4,500-6000 lbs per acre.

While at this stop, attendees had the opportunity to see one of Lowndes County’s peanut fields that has struggled with the amount of rainfall received this year. See the photo above. The field is farmed by Wes Shannon, Georgia Peanut Commission advisory board member, and his son. Check out the video clip below of Wes and his son discussing the Georgia Greeners planted in this field.

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album

To begin the second day of the 2013 Georgia Peanut Tour, attendees arrived at the DuPont Crop Protection facility in Valdosta, Ga. This particular facility produces crop protection materials such as fungicides for application on peanuts. The tour began in DuPont’s shipping and receiving area where ingredients are brought into the plant and finished products are shipped out. From there, attendees were able to visit the area of the plant where liquid formulation of fungicide takes place. At this particular DuPont plant, the fungicide Fontelis is manufactured. In the formulation room, dry ingredients are added to liquid ingredients and then milled and charged in large tanks. From there, the product travels through pipes to the packaging room where jugs are filled and labeled. In this room, it takes 45 seconds for the machines to fill three cycles worth of jugs. One cycle equals 6 jugs, so that means 18 jugs are filled in 45 seconds. Pretty impressive! To fill 180 gallons (approximately 72 jugs) and send them through packaging, it takes approximately 15 minutes. Employees are able to rely on precise ergonomic equipment that is being used throughout the formulation and packaging process to ensure accuracy and quality. Speaking of quality, DuPont prides itself on several ethical codes; two of them being quality and safety. Quality control and analysis is monitored throughout the entire production process. This includes formulation of the product and packaging of the product. As for safety, DuPont believes safety is important for not only customers of their product, but also for their employees working at the plant.

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album

After leaving the University of Georgia’s Gibbs Research Farm, the Peanut Tour caravan headed over to Kelley Manufacturing Co. in Tifton. Kelley Manufacturing Co. is the industry’s leader in developing top-quality peanut harvesting equipment. They have significantly impacted the peanut industry through providing state-of-the-art equipment. KMC employs some of the top engineers and specialists in the manufacturing process with over 180 employees. All products are built in-house at the manufacturing facility located in Tifton, Ga. Each piece of equipment is designed with the farmer’s needs in mind, ensuring a top quality implement that will produce top quality results. During the KMC stop, peanut tour attendees were able to hear more about the history of KMC, participate in a tour of the plant showcasing how the equipment is manufactured, as well as  a hands-on tour of peanut equipment! Check out the video below of equipment parts receiving a fresh coat of paint!

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album

Georgia Peanut Tour attendees were able to see some of the ongoing research being conducted at the University of Georgia’s Gibbs Research Farm in Tifton, Ga., on the second stop of the tour. The Gibbs Research Farm is one of the many research farms in Georgia where peanut research takes place. During the stop, attendees were able to hear first-hand where research dollars are being spent and some of the latest research that is being carried out at the Gibbs Farm. Discussion of current issues affecting Georgia’s peanut production, such as the affects of the large amount of rainfall Georgia has received over the last several months and how it may affect crop yield, disease management and pest management were covered. All topics during this stop included discussion of planting, harvesting and crop development by Dr. John Beasley; nematode management and early season fungicide application by Dr. Bob Kemerait; information on the USDA-ARS breeding program by Dr. Corley Holbrook; peanut insect management research by Dr. Mark Abney; weed science and nutsedge issues in peanuts by Dr. Timothy Grey; foliar diseases in peanuts by Dr. Albert Culbreath; thrips and transmission of tomato spotted wilt virus by Dr. Babu Srinivasan; and peanut agronomic research by Dr. Scott Tubbs.

Attendees also had the opportunity try some of Tyron Spearman’s famous grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the Gibbs Farm stop. Tyron is with the National Peanut Buying Points Association and usually has the chance to share some of his grilled pb&js each year on the tour. According to Tyron, the key to making  a great grilled pb&j is to mix your peanut butter and jelly before spreading it on your bread. Definitely a great twist on the original peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album

While at Sunbelt this morning, peanut tour attendees were able to hear a crop update on Colquitt County from Dr. John Beasley and Colquitt County extension agent, Matt Roberts. Below is an outline of the update from Roberts.

• Overall crop condition is good to very good, even after a rough start with cool conditions at planting, early Thrips pressure, and wet growing season. Things could certainly be worse right now.
• We have seen a huge acreage drop this year as we should have….went from probably an all time high or close to it of nearly 23000 to just a little more than 15000 about where we usually are. This was around 35% decease in acreage and still below the state average.
• Not sure on the price situation but i don’t foresee yield being anywhere close to last year’s numbers.
• We have run alot of maturity samples in the past week. Late April and very early May planted peanuts are running about 145 to 150 days. Later planted peanuts are running around 140 days. Looks like the crop is going to be ready all about the same time.
• There will be a good many dug in the next week or so.
• We have had a few growers dig and harvest. Grades have been in the low to mid 70s.
• Diseases have not been all that terrible this year. TSWV has maybe been a little worse than the past few years, especially on larger plants. Leaf spot and white mold have ramped up in the past weeks. If growers were more than two weeks from digging according to the profile board and a week or two from their last fungicide spray, we have recommended another application to get them through to harvest.

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album

The first stop of the 27th annual Georgia Peanut Tour was the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition in Moultrie, Ga. Many of you may be familiar with the annual expo that takes place at Sunbelt each October. This facility is not only the home to one of the largest farm shows in the country, it is also home to a 600 acre research farm. At Sunbelt, Dr. John Beasley and Dr. Glenn Harris with the University of Georgia, demonstrated their research related to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) supported by the Georgia Peanut Commission, Georgia Cotton Commission, Georgia Centers of Innovation for Aerospace and Agribusiness, as well as the Sunbelt Ag Expo, University of Georgia Tifton Campus and Middle Georgia State College. Their project’s primary focus is on detecting pests, irrigation needs, diseases and nutrition issues in peanuts earlier in the production process.This early detection becomes a huge benefit to crops as it can help prolong the life of crops, better-manage pesticide applications, as well as maximize yields and profits. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems expects the unmanned aircraft systems industry to grow by leaps in bounds in the upcoming years, and believes agriculture is the largest potential sector for UAVs to be used. Check out this video demonstration of the UAV in action.

2013 Peanut Tour Photo Album