By Clint Thompson
Peanut producers in Alabama will voice their opinion next month on the future of the industry in the state. According to Jacob Davis, Executive Director of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, a referendum will be held to determine whether farmers value efforts made on their behalf by the association in the past and want to continue those efforts in the future.
“April 9 is the date of our peanut referendum and basically it’s our peanut check-off for the state of Alabama where the growers will choose whether or not to continue supporting the work of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association and our charge of promoting research, education and promoting events across the state to increase the sale of peanuts,” Davis said.
This referendum will cover the crop for the 2020-22 production seasons. All growers who produced peanuts in 2017, 2018 or 2019 are eligible to vote on April 9, during the established office hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The polling locations in each county that produces or processes peanuts have been secured and are listed here: 2020 Referendum Polling Locations.
The Alabama Peanut Producers Association is certified as the authorized association to conduct a referendum among Alabama peanut producers to determine whether an assessment shall be collected on all peanuts marketed in the state. Davis said there’s no change in the assessment amount, which would still be $2.50 per ton.
More than 800 peanut farmers are located in Alabama. According to the Alabama Farmers Federation, approximately half of the country’s peanuts are grown within a 100-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama.
The association travels and works on behalf of peanut growers in Alabama. It attends promotional events, such as the Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show in February with Florida Peanut Producers. It produces a quarterly newsletter. It’s also part of the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation with Georgia, Florida and Mississippi, where it participates in the Southern Peanut Grower’s Conference in Panama City Beach, Florida in July.
It also directs assessment funds to go to research efforts to improve peanut production.
“Usually, it’s more than $100,000 annually that goes toward research efforts. Our growers know that without that focus on research that they’re not going to be able to continue to increase yields on their farms,” Davis said. “We’re the manpower behind getting those efforts off the ground.”
If you have questions, please contact Jacob Davis, APPA Executive Director, at 334-792-6482 or email: jdavis@alpeanuts.com
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