Peanuts contain a host of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, and are a good source of protein. This
is vital because it helps our muscles develop, our immune system, our brain,
as well as many parts of our bodies. It protects us against various diseases, and those nutrients
are beneficial to our bodies in many ways. Research like ours and that of peanut breeding
technology and farming is important in achieving the healthiest possible peanut. Peanuts are
really awesome in the fact that contrary to its name as peanut, peanuts are not a nut
as we think of them but rather a legume, which means they fix their own nitrogen. They require
very little, if any, soil fertilizer added to them. On that taproot are the little tiny
roots and each one of those roots has nodules of nitrogen on it. Nitrogen is a fertilizer source,
so they are producing their own nitrogen and their own fertilizer. We grow cotton and corn
and other crops that take the soil fertility. Peanuts put that back in, so it's a really good
fit for a lot of the crops that we grow here in the South. There are other benefits that
are there as well. Peanuts are very efficient in their utilization of water. I think we all have
learned to value water and its utilization very highly, and peanuts are one of those crops that
tend to use water very well. We use very few pesticides on peanuts for insects. There are a
number of beneficial insects that come into the peanut fields. So from an ecosystem standpoint
and all the benefits that we've talked about with water usage and nitrogen, and then insects that
are beneficial that control bad insects, it's just a pretty incredible crop in my thinking.
Peanut planting needs a couple of things for it to do really well. You need good warm temperatures,
good warm soil temperatures, and it's a great May day in Middle Georgia so we think
we have those conditions. And it's it's time to plant. We like a sandier soil to grow peanuts,
and the big reason for that is so that we can dig easily. We typically plant peanuts when the soil
moisture reaches 70 degrees or above. We first run over our beds which were made back in April
to level them off a little bit and to break up any clods that might be there. And then the very next
step is the planter during that process. We're putting seed in the ground at a depth of about two
inches. We're planting around 160 pounds of peanut seed per acre. Over our entire operation it was
like 30,000 pounds of peanut seed this year. We typically yield about 6,000 pounds per acre.
Now that includes the seed but you could say 75 percent of that is going to be peanuts
on a plant. There's probably 10 to 12 harvestable pods. The real critical
thing about growing peanuts is determining the proper time to dig that peanut plant,
and it's based on the percentages of harvestable pods. It is part science. It is part art. The
University of Georgia developed a chart that we can scrape the outer layer of the peanut holes,
and by looking at the color of those outer layers we can determine you know if it's got
three days before you should dig or three weeks before you should dig. And that part is science.
When we come to that point sometime in August and September, we're evaluating the peanuts
that are on the plant and deciding when it's a proper time to dig. The most mature being a
dark brown and black, and the least mature being white. And that really is important because
maturity from a farmer's standpoint affects how we get paid and the price we receive per ton.
But from the consumer standpoint, a mature peanut is the best tasting peanut. The machine
that we're using to dig the peanuts is called a digger-shaker-inverter, and
it it simply brings the peanuts out of the ground shakes a little dirt off, turns them up,
and allows them to dry so that we can come over it with our harvesting machines
in three to four days. The internal workings of a peanut combine are different than most
any other kind of combine you might want to have. And it's a cylinder probably this big around
with spring teeth that just almost tear the vines apart and tear the peanuts off of those
vines. And then the peanuts go into the hopper, and the vines then just go out on the ground.
The freshly dug peanuts are a very high moisture and so they have a completely different
flavor. We dry them on down to ten percent so they can store, and you get more of that nutty flavor.
When we dump from our peanut combines into the wagon and fill each wagon, each wagon
has a volume of roughly seven tons. The typical process for peanuts is to go to a buying point.
I have inspected peanuts for eight years. And then this room is the grading process where we
filter out sticks and rocks and stones and then we shell them to find out the moisture and then
make sure we're protected, the consumer is protected with quality peanuts. And at the
end of it, we're going to do a grade sheet. It's like a report card that would tell us all
the information that we need to pay the farmer. The inspection process is so important to the
buying process because it's how we determine how much money to give the farmers for their crops.
After we buy the peanuts from the farmer, we send them to the shelling plant where
they prepare them for various things such as peanut butter, peanut candy,
salted nuts, and peanut oil. A lot of the products are distributed in Georgia but they also go
further than Georgia. They go internationally as well. What really makes me want to wake up in the
morning to come to work is just how much pride I take in what we do. We come to work and we're
literally responsible for a farmer's livelihood and it is our responsibility to take good care
of his crop and handle it so he makes the most money that he can make at the end of the year.
Obviously we all like to pay our bills at the end of the year, but
what makes it worthwhile for me is that this is a plant that's growing. You can see the top
but you really don't know what is underneath that plant until you turn it over.
And that is the most awesome thing is to turn that plant over to see what really years of preparation
and work and planning have have made. And you know, I think that's one of the unique blessings
about being a peanut farmer is to see that plant come up providing a healthy soil, ultimately
provides a healthy crop, and we try to maximize our efficiencies and to keep that soil healthy
for generations so that we can grow wonderful peanuts. We can provide food for all of us.