By Joy Carter
Ga. Peanut Commission
House Specialty Crop Subcommittee Chairman Terry Everett, R-
Ala., stressed to growers attending the conference the
historical importance of the legislation and the House
Agriculture Committee’s determination to protect a vital
industry for the Southeast. He also discussed the importance of
educating the public about agriculture and the need for farm
policy.
West Higginbothom, legislative assistant for Senator Zell
Miller, D-Ga., comments, “Now that the farm bill has passed the
greatest concern for Southern farmers is payment limits. We
expect a continued effort by some in Congress who do not care or understand Southern agriculture to push for stricter payment
limits. Until our agriculture economy turns around, we must
continue to fight against the attempts to lower payment limits.”
In addition to the conference program, Valent U.S.A.
Corporation, a crop protection company, awarded Congressman
Everett and Senator Miller with the Valor Award for their many
contributions to Southeastern peanut growers and for their
leadership in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of
2002. Valor is defined by Webster’s dictionary, “strength of
mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with
firmness; personal bravery.”
The future of peanut marketing highlighted one of
the general sessions during the conference where Ron Wolff,
president of R.B. Wolff and Company, a peanut brokerage company,
discussed the international peanut market and the major
competitors of U.S. farmers. He stressed the importance of a
system where U.S. peanuts are marketed freely and competitively,
both domestically and internationally. “With good quality crops,
well conceived regulations and coordination among growers,
shellers and manufacturers,” Wolff says. “Our export future is
great!”
Think outside the box is what Stanley Fletcher,
professor of agriculture and applied economics at the University
of Georgia and coordinator of the National Center for Peanut
Competitiveness, recommends. Fletcher discussed the future
avenues that farmers can take to market their peanuts such as
forming cooperatives. By forming cooperatives, producers have
the opportunity to capture profits beyond the farm gate by
adding value to their farmer stock peanuts, he says.
Promotion activities of the Peanut Advisory Board
and research updates by scientists and the University of
Georgia, University of Florida and Auburn University also
highlighted the topics discussed throughout the conference.
The Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, formed in 1998, is an
alliance between the Alabama Peanut Producers Association,
Florida Peanut Producers Association and the Georgia Peanut
Commission.
