Peanut farmers' planning at critical stage

By Angie Thompson, Senior Reporter

TIFTON — “We will overcome this,” was the comment of the executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission Wednesday on how the peanut industry will recover from recent recalls of products tainted with salmonella from a Blakely plant.

“We’ve been meeting around the state,” said Don Koehler. “The concern we are hearing from the farmers is that it shouldn’t have happened and that they are very concerned for the families of those who have died or become ill from this.”

Local peanut farmers, scientists and other members of commissions and organizations who back the peanut industry and research that improves the crop listened to various reports on research projects and the peanut farming economy at the Annual Peanut Report conference held Wednesday at the University of Georgia’s Rural Development Center.

During breaks, groups of farmers and others gathered around a screen showing the live broadcast of the day’s Congressional hearings in which Peanut Corp. of America owner Stewart Parnell and one of his employees pleaded the Fifth and refused to answer questions.

Tim Burch farms 500 acres of peanuts in Baker County. He said that he has been farming his entire life and the 33 years since high school in peanuts. He said he was hearing questions from farmers who are asking, ‘Do we need to grow peanuts this year?” and “How many?”

“We don’t know what the impact of the salmonella will be,” Burch said. “I’m hearing a lot of frustration from farmers.”

Burch said peanuts are still a healthy, safe food source when they are processed correctly and he supports all the recalls and legislation coming forward that will prevent such catastrophes from happening in the future.

“We’ve got to have new regulations so the public will feel safe,” Burch said. “It’s one manufacturer who, at the very least, had bad habits.”

Burch said the peanut plant’s selling of tainted peanuts only compounded the peanut farmers' already existing problems.

“I believe over-production is the reason why we don’t have contract now,” Burch said.

Georgia peanut farmers produced a record crop in 2008 — 40 percent more peanuts than in 2007. Some of those nuts remain in warehouses unsold.

“This (salmonella) is a double whammy,” said Tyron Spearman, who is the marketing director of Peanut Growers Magazine and serves as the Peanut Buying Points Association’s executive director.

Optimal peanut planting time in the state begins the first of May with May 15 targeted as the ideal day to plant. Farmers are in a critical stage of planning. With so many unknowns concerning peanuts, some haven’t even made up their minds if they’ll plant the crop or turn to another.

“The real issue now is uncertainty,” Koehler said. “Farmers plant corn in March and they are having to decide whether to plant more corn to make up for peanuts. They have to have a plan and go to the bank with it.”

Koehler said studies indicate that the demand for peanuts has dropped 4 percent since the recall.

“It (the Blakely plant) is one bad actor in the industry that caused the problem, and they’re not that big of an actor in the peanut industry,” Koehler said.

The Peanut Corp. only processes 1 percent of the nation’s peanuts, Koehler said.

Spearman said he believes the peanut industry will be better because of the outbreak.

“I think the industry has been lax in checking quality,” Spearman said.

Koehler agreed. He said in a telephone interview late Wednesday that Gov. Sonny Perdue had asked the Georgia Bureau of investigations to look into the Blakely plant and it was discovered that it would take two months of investigation and, if the plant was found guilty of violations, those charged would face misdemeanor counts and a small fine. Koehler said he was pleased that legislation was already in the works to put teeth into laws that regulate food products.

Koehler said the Georgia Peanut Commission will work closely with the American Peanut Council to first “get past the outbreak and recall” and then “make sure it never happens again.”

Massive advertising campaigns by peanut butter and cracker companies and others who use peanut products is expected, but Koehler said those campaigns shouldn’t begin in full force until the Centers for Disease Control state that the outbreak is over.

“When that day comes, we will move forward to rebuild consumer confidence,” Koehler said.

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.

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