UGA-Tifton to host annual peanut farm show

By: Clint Thompson, UGA CAES

The University of Georgia Peanut Team will provide Georgia producers a glimpse into the upcoming growing season when it hosts the UGA peanut production seminar at the annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference on Thursday, Jan. 18.

The 42nd annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference will be held at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. The farm show opens at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. UGA’s production seminar is set for 9-10:30 a.m.

UGA scientists will emphasize the importance of disease, insect and weed management in peanuts. They will also discuss how to properly rotate peanut crops with other commodities like cotton, corn and soybeans.

“This is a chance to discuss some things about the season that we just came out of and also give our farmers a heads up on what to look forward to,” said UGA Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort. “This will give growers a start on what they need to be thinking about and where they need to be putting their efforts.”

Last season, Georgia produced more peanuts than it has in 20 years, exceeding 828,000 acres. Monfort said that, based on early estimates, Georgia’s crop averaged approximately 4,400 pounds per acre in 2017.

Peanuts are one of Georgia’s top commodities with a farm gate value of $685 million in 2015.

For more information about the farm show, see http://bit.ly/2BLfws0.

(Clint Thompson is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences based in Tifton.)