David Wagner, Terrell County Extension Agent, provided information regarding agriculture production in Terrell County. According to Wagner, agriculture is the largest industry in the state of Georgia and the number one industry in Terrell County. The economy of Terrell County rides on the back of agriculture, from the banker to the tire salesman, everyone is concerned with how the crops are doing. Peanuts have always been the centerpiece of Terrell County agriculture. The county’s infrastructure is centered around peanuts with the USDA National Peanut Lab located in Dawson. Also, Golden Peanut Company has a large presence in Terrell County both with buying peanuts and having a peanut crushing facility in Dawson. The Hooks-Hanner Environmental Resource Center is located in Terrell County studying agricultural water use.

Peanuts, cotton, corn and wheat comprised most of the 62,000 acres planted to row crops in Terrell County this year. Peanut acreage went up with over 16,000 acres planted in the county this year. Almost 60% of the peanuts are irrigated, so 40% of the peanut crop suffered due to drought. The dry weather brought spider mites which defoliated many dryland fields early causing loss of pods and poor grades. The county had some rain this year and much more rain than last year, but many times during the growing season, Terrell would get several days of cloudy weather and high humidity with no rain. This only contributed to more plant disease and increased the cost of production with growers having to use more expensive fungicides to maintain plant health.

All things considered, the peanut crop looks pretty good at this time. If the crop can be harvested with no major losses due to weather or plant disease, Wagner is hopeful that over 26,000 tons of peanuts will be produced in Terrell County this year.

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The second farm visit on the tour is at the home of Neil Lee from Bronwood, Ga. Neil farms with his dad and two brothers. The family farms as a partnership growing 7,000 acres of peanuts, cotton, corn and wheat. There are 1,200 acres of the farm planted in peanuts and some are irrigated while others are dryland peanuts. Neil grows Georgia 06-G peanut variety and has already picked all of the dryland peanuts which he says does not look that promising. During the 2012 season, Neil and his family struggled with the drought on their 150 acres of dryland peanuts like many farmers across the U.S. The Georgia Peanut Tour attendees visited an irrigated field Neil recently dug. Since digging the peanuts, it has rained in the area so he has to use a “fluffer” in the field prior to picking. The “fluffer” lifts the peanut vine so that air goes under the vine and helps dry them so that the vine is not sticking to the ground.  Then the Lee family will be able to pick their peanuts and deliver them to the local buying point. The family also owns and operates a cotton gin, McCleskey Cotton, where they gin approximately 70,000 bales of cotton each year.

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Lee County has several claims to fame including the famous baseball player Buster Posey and singers Luke Bryan and Phillip Phillips. However, Georgia Peanut Tour attendees were able to visit with area farmers and tour Smithville Peanut Buying Point, which is one of the three peanut buying points in the county. Lee County also is home to two peanut shelling plants. Doug Collins, Lee County Extension Coordinator, says the peanut crop looks very good for this growing season. The total peanut acreage in Lee County this year is 18,985 acres.  Seventy percent of the peanut acreage is irrigated in the county.  Collins expects that the average yield could  approach two tons per acre this year.  Peanuts were planted from very late March into June.  Other major crops in Lee County include corn (10,350 acres), cotton (14,729.9 acres), wheat (7,464 acres), soybeans (3,208 acres), and pecans (7,112 acres). Rainfall amounts from place to place within the county have been very variable.  In addition to Palmer amaranth, sicklepod  was a troublesome weed this year. Lee County and neighboring counties of  Dougherty & Mitchell also make up a fairly large percentage of Georgia’s pecan production.

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Sumter County Extension Coordinator, Bill Starr, updated the Georgia Peanut Tour group on the peanut crop in Sumter County. The county is unique in that most of the peanuts are grown for seed. Farmers in Sumter County planted 10,000 acres of peanuts this year with an estimate of around 3800 pounds average per acre. Approximately 75% are irrigated and Starr says that the overall peanut crop looks really good although farmers have faced troublesome productions issues this year with white mold and pigweeds. Other crops grown in the county are cotton, corn, and green beans. In fact, Sumter County is the Green Bean Capital of Georgia, with approximately 2,000 acres of green beans or snap beans grown.

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Smithville Peanut Company, owned and operated by McCleskey Mills, is known for maintaining a relationship with the grower. With approximately 18,985 acres of peanuts planted in the area, the buying point has a lot of peanuts to handle and they are at a maximum. Growing up on the farm, I’ve seen peanuts being planted and picked but after they are taken out of the field on trailers what happens to them? The trailers take them to the buying point where they receive, weigh, clean, dry, inspect, grade and prepare peanuts for storage and shelling. Peanuts must be cleaned thoroughly because they come out of the field with a lot of foreign material such as sticks, grass, and dirt. When the peanuts enter the buying point the moisture level is approximately 15-20%. The drying process, which takes about 24 hours, drops it down to around 8% or lower. This prepares them for storage and shelling, which will then be transformed into candy, peanut butter and other tasty peanut treats.

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The first stop of the 26th annual Georgia Peanut Tour is the Israel family farm. The family farms in Sumter and Lee County, Ga., and grow around 650 acres of peanuts. The Israel family primarily grow seed peanuts for their self and the state of Georgia to help with increasing new peanut varieties. The family is also one of the few farms left that also dry their own peanuts. Today on the tour Hal Israel explained how a peanut digger operates and showed the attendees plowed up peanuts and various models of peanut combines. Due to the rain the day before the Israel family could not show any actual digging or picking of peanuts.

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On behalf of the Georgia Peanut Tour Committee, which is comprised of individuals from the Georgia Peanut Commission, the USDA-ARS National Peanut Research Lab, and the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, we welcome you to the 26^thannual Georgia Peanut Tour. The tour spotlights the southwest part of Georgia’s peanut production area. The Hot Topics Seminar on Tuesday will include a special focus on peanut disease management along with information on the 2012 peanut crop and more. This year’s tour hosts many exciting stops including on-farm harvest demonstrations and clinics, peanut processing facilities, and several special highlights which include Birdsong Peanuts in Sylvester, Tara Foods, and Thrush Aircraft both in Albany. Other stops will include JLA Global in Albany, the University of Georgia Stripling Irrigation Research Park and Plant Mitchell in Mitchell County, and the USDA/ARS Bolton Research Farm near Dawson. As you can tell, this year’s tour has our traditional type stops to see how peanuts move through the process from the field to the plate but we also have some new and unique stops to see how crop dusters are assembled and how a peanut by-product benefits citizens of Georgia. And you can always count on great food and “good ole southern hospitality”! Whether this is your first Georgia Peanut Tour or if you are a tour veteran, we trust this year will be a new experience that will make you want to come back again in 2013. All we ask is that you relax and be prepared to learn a lot, have a great time, and make some new friends.  We look forward to your visit and the opportunity to show you why with Georgia peanuts “Quality is Our Future”.

View the 2012 Georgia Peanut Photo Album