USDA has announced the peanut stocks and processing report for the month of July.
That’s 12 months now. They show that the use of peanuts is down almost two percent from last year on this same date. The big problem is the build-up from the previous crop year as the equivalent farmer stock in commercial storage is up about a hundred percent compared to last year on this date.
They’re showing that the shell peanut farmer stock equivalent totals about 892 million pounds and that’s up 28 percent compared to last July. Roasted stocks are up 29 percent. Of course, the farmers cut back on their acreage this year.
One of the reasons is the prices were low and we had a big supply from the previous year. That total supply is keeping prices down right now for farmers as they plan to contract their present crop. The total shell stock is over 671 million pounds.
That’s also up 27 percent and so the extra peanut across the belt is keeping prices pushed down during this time. The peanut farmers are planning to go to work in the fields and will start harvesting this crop. They are predicting about 3,900 pounds per average year and that seems a little high, no more rain than we’ve received, but the rain has been very good the last few weeks.
Audio Reporting by Tyron Spearman for Southeast AgNet.