Albany, Ga. – The new peanut program has allowed expansion in new production areas and encouraged peanut product manufacturers to develop new products and spend more money on marketing these products while domestic demand has increased, testified Armond Morris, peanut farmer from Ocilla, Ga., representing the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation. Morris testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee in Albany, Ga., on July 23, 2006, during a regional hearing to discuss the 2007 Farm Bill.

Peanut production has expanded from 15 counties in 2002 to 32 counties in 2005 in Alabama, while in Georgia production has expanded to counties that traditionally have been limited in the number of commodity options for producers. The 2005 Georgia peanut crop was valued at approximately $370 million pushing 50,000 jobs into Georgia’s economy, Morris says. Seventy Georgia counties are directly impacted by peanut production.

During the hearing, Morris expressed concern about energy prices. “When the 2002 Farm Bill was drafted, peanut producers did not envision record high energy prices that impact our major crop inputs including fuel, fertilizer and chemicals,” Morris says. “The 2006 peanut crop will feel the full impact of these increased costs. It is important that the next Farm Bill not rest on the backs of declining farm equity.

Morris expressed concerns regarding the U.S. peanut export market and informed the senators that farmers have met with USDA to work towards correcting the problem.

The Southern Peanut Farmers Federation is comprised of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, the Florida Peanut Producers Association, the Georgia Peanut Commission and the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association.

Click here to download a copy of Morris's testimony.