Production Blog

DOTHAN, Ala. (DTN) -- I've been to my fair share of small-town fairs, festivals and parades, but none of them prepared me for the sight of a cement mixer driving down the street filled with peanuts, which two men steadily scooped out and tossed onto the street for onlookers to collect like candy.

Now, after my initial qualms about the cleanliness of eating shelled peanuts right off the asphalt, died down (shells, of course!), I simply smiled and thought: "Welcome to Dothan!".

This is the heart of peanut growing territory where I was attending the 69th Annual National Peanut Festival. With concerts, 4-H and FFA competitions, a fair and much-anticipated parade, residents of this little town and the surrounding area spend ten days every fall celebrating the product for which they're known -- peanuts.

And peanut growers certainly have a reason to celebrate this year.

Growers are just seeing outstanding yields this year. USDA reports estimate the 2012 average yield per acre in the United States stands at 4,058 pounds, a record-high yield and increase of 672 pounds from 2011. Many peanut-growing states are expected to hit see record-high yields as well.

Joy Crosby, director of communications for the Georgia Peanut Commission, told DTN farmers did not plant as many peanuts in 2011 because of higher prices offered on crops like cotton and corn.

Peanuts retain their appeal due to their hardiness. After a shortage in production in 2011, higher contracts were offered in 2012. Weather across the Southeast cooperated to helped produce great yields for growers.

"The rain came in some areas at just the right time to help the farmers achieve a bumper crop," Crosby explained.

USDA crop production and progress reports released in early November show the forecasted 2012 harvest at 6.47 billion pounds, 77% higher 2011. With forecast totals for the entire U.S. crop at 6.47 billion pounds, growers blew the 2011 crop of 3.66 billion pounds out of the water.

The increase in production also resulted in part from an exponential increase in acres planted to peanuts. Total U.S. acreage increased from 1.08 million acres in 2011 to 1.59 million acres planted in 2012. Georgia led the way with 725,000 acres planted in 2012, compared to 454,000 acres in 2011. Alabama planted 215,000 acres in 2012, a jump from 166,000 acres in 2011.

Crosby pointed out that peanuts require specialized diggers and combines, but for some farmers, growing peanuts is pure fun. "I think overall they really enjoy harvest time, and seeing and smelling the peanuts at digging," she said.

It's more fun when those record yields join quality and good prices. The In late October, USDA reports indicated that 79% of the peanut crop was in good to excellent condition after harvest surpassed the halfway mark in late October.

In an early November report from the USDA, runner-type peanuts were quoted at an average price of 31.9 cents per pound or $638 per ton. When compared to the same week in 2011, prices are similar at 32.9 cents per pound or $660 per ton. The real price spike occurred in early July with a price of 40 cents per pound or $800 per ton for runner-type peanuts.

Accounting for roughly 80% of total U.S. peanut production, according to the American Peanut Council, said runner-type peanuts account for roughly 80% of total U.S. peanut production, and those peanuts are grown mainly in the Southeast.

Crosby explained that runner type peanuts perform well in Georgia because varieties are drought tolerant and they do well on sandy to heavy-textured clay soils.

Crosby explained that in Georgia, runner-type peanuts perform well for a number of reasons. "The runner-type peanut is grown mainly because of the variety's drought tolerance and the range of soils from sandy to heavy-textured clay soils."

(PS/CZ)

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