By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Peanut Commission hosted its annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference on Thursday. Attendees flocked to the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference in Tifton, Georgia. Production issues like weed and disease management were highlighted during the UGA Peanut Production Seminar; followed by updates from breeders concerning potential varieties in the future.
Rodney Dawson, chairman of the 47th annual show this year, discussed why the farm show is so important with planting season just a couple of months away.
“It’s very important in planning for this upcoming year, it’s a slack time of the year for farmers. This is very educational,” Dawson said. “We have production seminars and seed seminars. You won’t find a day that you can find over 100 exhibitors to talk with one-on-one and see the products and services they have to offer to help you make more efficient, more profitable.”
Challenging Prices
The biggest concern growers have this offseason is the low market prices. It makes being more efficient with crop production even more vital if growers are to remain sustainable.
“The commodity prices are all so low, below cost of production. Everybody’s wondering what peanuts are going to do. Are peanuts going to have a contract? What is that contract going to be? That’s the question you get asked the most,” Dawson said.
“You come to the seminars and we have Extension service, and you’ll see the latest technology to make us more profitable. Things are tight, so we’re going to have to tighten our belt, and hopefully, we’ll have a good year.”