Georgia Peanut Commission, UGA CAES, USDA-ARS National Peanut Lab to Coordinate Tour
By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) reminds producers and industry leaders about the upcoming Georgia Peanut Tour scheduled for Sept. 14-16.
Tim Brenneman, University of Georgia plant pathologist and chairman of the peanut committee this year, provides insight into what attendees can expect this year.
“We’ll be headquartered in Tifton. There’s a lot of good things here with the University of Georgia (UGA), USDA as well as the State Department of Ag. Some of the best peanut growers are in this area. We have good shelling plants and other infrastructure to visit as well. It should be a great tour,” Brenneman said.
The tour will start on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. with the hot topics seminar at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. The focus this year will be on aflatoxin and aspergillus. Wednesday and Thursday will include visits to different fields where peanut digging and harvesting will occur. There will also be visits to the UGA Tifton campus on Wednesday and Sunbelt Ag Expo on Thursday.
“We’ve been doing (the tour) since the mid-80s. Originally, we thought it might be an every other year, maybe every third year type of event. But it was so popular, and people requested we keep having it annually. So we have had it annually since about 1986, I believe it is,” Brenneman said. “It’s a real good chance for people that maybe aren’t as familiar with the peanut industry to learn how peanuts are grown. It’s everything from on the farm to how they’re processed and the associated industries.”