Peanut season is the busiest time of year for everyone at Georgia Federal- State Inspection Services. Farmers are in demand to have their peanuts graded in time for market.  Georgia FSIS inspects over 35 comedies, peanuts being the largest. Peanut Tour attendees had the opportunity to see how the Farmers’ Stock grading procedures work, view grading equipment and the grading process. Teresa Cox, supervisor of District 12, talked about the grade room procedures and the process for grading inspection for peanut seeds.  She began by saying once they they obtain their peanut samples, peanuts are first  poured onto a grader, which requires a minimum of 1,500 grams of peanuts. The peanuts then go into a foreign material machine which separates foreign material and LSK (lose shelled kernels). From this point, peanuts are taken from the scales to a pre-sizer, to a sheller and then to a moisture machine. Once the moisture machine has 250 grams, peanuts are then transported to a shaker to get rid of splits or immature kernels.  They are then poured into a pan and hand-picked for anything that may have been missed before going through the splitter where they check for concealed damage and Aspergillus flavus mold.

Also at this stop, tour attendees got the chance to visit the Georgia Department of Agricultural Lab in Tifton, where they focused on the seed, fertilizer and feed section. This section administers the rules and regulations related to seeds, fertilizer and feeds by regulating labeling and quality standards for items for sale in Georgia. Mark McMillan, a representative with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, specifically focused on the feed and fertilizer of the tour where he talked about sulfur tests and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), which are tests that determine which elements are in the fertilizers and which are absent. Scott Hobby, representative with the Georgia Department of Agriculture,  talked more about the seed portion of the lab. The Georgia Department of Agriculture seed lab tests over 20,000 seeds annually, with 12,000 of them being peanut samples. Farmers have the ability to send seeds to the Department of Agriculture lab and have their seeds tested free of charge.  Dee-Dee Smith, a seed analyst, then went over the daily routines of a a seed analyst who separates seed to make labes to go on seed bags before administered to the public. Seeds are separated into kind and variety before sold.

Dr. John Beasley with the University of Georgbia also treated tourist to HOT boiled peanuts donated by Albert Culbreath while they listened to him discuss the differences in the four main variates of peanuts and how to determine  maturity in peanuts using a Peanut Profile Board.  The board is colored coded from lighter colors to darker so researchers and extension agents can separate them via color on the chart to determine the number of days until maturity. Dr. Beasley also discussed the hull-scrape method and other ways to determine the maturity of peanuts and when they are ready to harvest.

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

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.

Register by visiting www.gapeanuts.com or for more information, email dana@gapeanuts.com.