By Clint Thompson
Cutting costs is easier than done if you are a Georgia peanut farmer. But they need to in order to maximize production and profitability opportunities.
Scott Monfort, University of Georgia Extension peanut agronomist, highlighted cost-cutting tactics during the Georgia Peanut Farm Show held on Jan. 15 at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia.
“The biggest concern that every grower has right now is profitability. Can I make it? Can I get through all of this? Our whole deal is how we can help them do that? It’s mainly doing the basics; things that we know that work. If we can do that, we can survive this,” Monfort said.
One basic tactic is to remember that late-planted peanuts do not fare as well, considering weather limitations. Monfort said for peanuts planted after May 25, there is about a 15% reduction in yield potential, because “we run out of weather.”
“I know we’ve got to plant that far back sometimes, especially with the acres we have. We’re going to start early and plant late. But the thing that I try to get them to think about is, when we plant like that, we don’t ever consider that is still a loss that we’ve got to account for; potentially,” Monfort said. “If I’m budgeting, that’s $120 an acre potentially that I lost with yield before I even got there. Where can I at least minimize that out of the budget?”
Another way to cut costs is by reducing how much seed is planted. Monfort said six per foot is recommended, though growers typically plant more in twin rows.
“We plant too much seed in places. People say it’s because of germ. Have you checked germ? No. Did you ask what the germ is? No. For every seed that we increase on per foot basis, that’s $20 an acre. Going from six to eight seed, that’s $40,” Monfort said. “Do we really need eight? Can we survive on 6.5 or seven? Sure, we could.”