By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Peanut Commission’s annual farm show started on Wednesday and provided growers an early outlook on the upcoming season, following a challenging year highlighted by persistent rainfall.
Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, discussed the significance of the workshops being held in conjunction with the University of Georgia and industry leaders that educate producers about what to expect in 2022.
“This is the time they come to look at new things with equipment. But they also do the seminars to understand what happened with last year’s crop and then to look forward to this year and what do we do,” Koehler said. “It’s going to be a challenging year, because costs are going up on everything. It’s going to really be something that farmers are going to have to do their absolute best to produce and be able to make some money if they do. We think we’re a tool and a vehicle for them to learn and to grow.”
The two-day farm show is being held at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. It started on Wednesday and will conclude on Thursday. The educational peanut production seminar will be held on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The industry seed seminar will follow from 10:35 a.m. to 11:35 a.m.
Glad To Be Back
It’s an exciting time for Koehler and his staff following last year’s cancellation due to COVID-19.
“We’re just barely into the meeting (Wednesday) and trucks are lined up, pickup trucks, all the way out to the highway. There’s a good crowd coming in. It’s a two-day show this year. We really thought it might help get attendance and make folks feel comfortable that we wouldn’t have such a crowd at one time,” Koehler said. “We were down only six exhibitors what we were the year before last. So we missed last year, we’ve got 106 exhibitors here, and we think we’re going to have a great show.”