The 2015 Hot Topics Seminar focused this year on peanut processing and utilization. During the seminar, Dr. Kirk Kealey provided an overview of the University of Georgia Food Product Innovation & Commercialization Center (FoodPIC).  FoodPIC assists companies in developing new food products efficiently and economically. The center facilitates commercialization of food products by providing intellectual resources and physical facilities for both start-up ventures and existing food companies. FoodPIC was initiated by faculty in the Department of Food Science and Technology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and associates of the University of Georgia. All are internationally recognized for development of innovative food products. The center is located in Griffin, Georgia, on the UGA Griffin Campus. It is approximately 30 miles south of the Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta Airport.

In addition to learning about FoodPIC, additional food scientists Dr. Koushik Adhikari, Dr. Yen-Con Hung, Dr. Dick Phillips and Dr. Jinru Chen provided information on consumer and sensory evaluation, peanut flour and oil, and probiotics in peanut butter. According to Dr. Adhikari, runner peanuts have been the dominant peanut type since 1979. The runner type of peanuts are grown primarily in Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. The runner type of peanuts accounts for approximately 80 percent of the peanuts grown in the U.S. and mainly used for processing peanut butter. The runner type is also very poplar due to its good flavor and roasting characteristics especially for peanut butter.

View the presentations:
Dr. Kirk Kealey – Overview of UGA FoodPIC Center
Dr. Koushik Adhikari – Flavor of Roasted Peanuts
Dr. Yen-Con Hung – Utilization of peanut flour and oil
Drs. Dick Phillips & Jinru Chen – Peanuts in Life-Sustaining and Life-Sparing Foods

View the 2015 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album.

The Georgia peanut crop looks very pretty good overall says Scott Monfort, University of Georgia peanut agronomist, during the Georgia Peanut Tour Hot Topics Seminar. More than likely our state average yield for this year will be approximately 4,300 lbs. per acre which is roughly 200 lbs. off of record yields recorded in 2012. Part of the reasons for a slight decline in yield is due to weather conditions – some areas had drought conditions, some had adequate rain and some had ideal weather so there will be a large discrepancy across the state on how good the crop looks. Many farmers are beginning to dig the early planted peanuts with a small percentage of acres being dug early due to disease. With 771,000 acres in the state, some farmers planted peanuts behind peanuts and that has caused an increase in some diseases and a potential decline in yields.

Peanuts are a very big crop for a lot of growers in the state of Georgia, especially the Southwest corner of the state, Monfort says. Growers in this historical peanut growing area produce some of the highest yields in the state. The tour will visit farmers in Grady, Decatur and Miller County to learn more about issues farmers face, how peanuts are harvested and more.

Download Scott Monfort’s presentation.

View time lapse video of peanuts from planting in May to July 2015.

View the 2015 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album.

The 29th Annual Georgia Peanut Tour is ready to kick off today at the Rose City Conference Center in Thomasville, Georgia with the Hot Topics Seminar. The three-day event showcases all aspects of peanut production from the farm to peanut processing facilities. This year we are proud to have participants from 13 states and two countries on the tour. We are excited to have you travel with us as we visit various sites to learn more about the effort, care and even passion invested in producing the world’s finest peanuts! We sincerely appreciate each of you for joining us on this exciting tour that will introduce you to the peanut industry in Georgia, 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 couldn’t be more excited you are joining us for the next three days!

View the 2015 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album.

The twenty-ninth annual Georgia Peanut Tour will be held September 15-17, 2015, and located out of Southwest Georgia at the Best Western Rose City Conference Center Inn, Thomasville, Georgia. The tour brings the latest information on peanuts while giving a first-hand view of industry infrastructure from production and handling to  processing and utilization. Tour stops will be made in several peanut producing counties including Thomas, Grady, Decatur, Seminole and Early County.

Attendees can expect to see first-hand nearly every aspect of peanut production in the state. This year’s tour hosts many exciting stops including on-farm harvest demonstrations and clinics, peanut processing facilities, and several special highlights which include research at the University of Georgia Research & Education Center in Attapulgus, Lewis M. Carter Manufacturing, Fudge-Birdsong Peanuts Buying Point and Birdsong Peanuts Shelling Plant.

The tour kicks off this year with the Hot Topics Seminar on Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. at the Best Western Rose City Conference Center Inn, Thomasville, Georgia. The seminar topics include an update on the 2015 Georgia peanut crop, a Washington legislative update and consumer peanut  information including peanut flour and oil as well as probiotics in peanut butter.

The Georgia Peanut Commission, University of Georgia-Tifton Campus and Griffin Campus, Southwest Research & Education Center, Attapulgus Research & Education Center, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service National Peanut Research Lab coordinate the tour.

Hotel accommodations can be made at the Best Western in Thomasville, Georgia, by calling 229-226-9998. Rooms are available at the rate of $101 for a  single/double room and $115 for a suite. Once the Best Western is full, additional hotel accommodations can be made at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites by calling 229-226-4666. Be sure to ask for the Georgia Peanut Tour room block.

Visit georgiapeanuttour.com to register and view tour schedule. For more information, contact Hannah Jones at   hannah@gapeanuts.com or call at 229-386-3470.

Register online
Print registration form
Tentative Tour Schedule
View Sponsorship Packet