TIFTON, Ga.– The Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) board of directors recently approved $1.25 million for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1. This budget provides funding in the areas of promotion, education, communication and research. Georgia peanut growers invest $2 per ton for commission activities. A decrease in acreage and estimated production due to drought prompted the board to decrease the budget by $380,000 from last year.

“The board and advisory board members reviewed the budget and approved several cuts throughout all areas of the commission activities,” says Armond Morris, GPC chairman. “It is going to be a slim year but we are focused on doing what we can to obtain the most for every dollar spent on our programs of work and maximizing our exposure through partnerships with other organizations and businesses.”

The budget was set based on an estimated 625,000 tons of production for the 2011 crop. This was a decrease from the $1.63 million approved in the fiscal year 2010-2011.

Hard decisions were made by the GPC board in regards to the promotional, educational and communication programs of the commission. One long-time project of the commission, Peanut Circus, was eliminated after nearly 30 years of reaching millions of children across the U.S. Another relatively new promotion targeting other major markets in the mid-west was also eliminated. One national promotional effort coordinated by the state check-off organizations in the Southeast, the Southern Peanut Growers, was also cut by $20,000 in its program of work.

Throughout the budget, cuts were made in all areas of promotion, education and communication. The research portion of the budget, approved earlier this year in March, did not suffer any cuts at this time. However, if adverse weather continues then researchers will be asked to reduce expenditures.

For more information on activities of the Georgia Peanut Commission, visit www.gapeanuts.com.