As the sun peeked through the clouds after late-April storms
swept through Georgia,
farmers who rely on rainfall to water their crops could see a
ray of hope.

“The rains couldn’t have come at a better time for peanut
growers,” said John Beasley, an
agronomist with the University of Georgia Extension Service. “We
almost went from
famine to feast, though.”

Beasley said most of the peanut belt got up to 4 inches of rain
during the last full week of
April. That was enough to moisten the top two to three inches of
soil — near-perfect
planting conditions.

“That’s exactly what we needed to get farmers into their fields
and planting peanuts,” he
said.

Once the soil has enough moisture to make the seed germinate and
break the surface,
Beasley said the young plants can grow for several weeks without
more rain without
jeopardizing the final yield.

“This latest rainfall during the weekend of April 26-28 is
perfect,” he said. “As fields dry
out and farmers can plant, it puts them in the field during the
optimal planting time to
minimize the risk of tomato spotted wilt.” This killer virus can
wipe out half a peanut crop.

Planting at the perfect time has another advantage, too.

“Contract prices for both quota and additional peanuts have
increased in recent weeks,”
said Don Shurley, an extension economist. “The best prices I’ve
seen so far this year are
$650/ton for quota and $350/ton for additionals.”

Shurley said dry, cooler weather earlier in April may have
changed some farmers’ planting
decisions.

“The corn crop is mostly planted,” he said. “Dry conditions
prior to last weekend may
switch acreage to soybeans or cotton. Now that moisture has
returned, better contracts
may attract more peanut acreage as well.”

For farmers with corn already in the field, the rains could make
them miss potentially
serious insect problems.

The mild winter and dry spring made insects worse in corn this
year, and “these rains will
mask some of their damage,” said extension entomologist Randy
Hudson.

Hudson tells farmers to check their fields even
closer. “Research shows that if a farmer
finds insects in his fields at this time, he could lose
significant yield,” he said.

Extension economist George Shumaker said for many farmers,
soybeans are an attractive
crop. “They can use the same equipment in corn and soybeans,” he
said. “And the
profitability potential is good.

“But some land could go into cotton, too,” he said. “This latest
rain should add some
enthusiasm to the markets that most thought had peaked.”

What do the late-April rains mean to consumers? If anything, the
experts say it will keep
prices about the same.

Shurley calls peanut situation as stable as he’s ever seen
it. “Supply and demand are fairly
equal right now,” he said. “That should keep prices for peanut
products about the same at
the grocery store.”

Georgia farmers don’t raise enough corn or soybeans to
significantly affect national
markets, Shumaker said. These two crops are used mainly as
livestock feeds. Level corn
and soybean prices can help keep meat prices level, too.

In all, peanuts, corn, cotton and soybeans directly add $1.36
billion to Georgia’s economy.