State Conservationist Terrance O. Rudolph of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Marty McLendon, chairman of the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) recently announced that a sign up for the Climate Resiliency in Georgia, Florida and Alabama project is under way. The deadline for eligible producers in Georgia to apply is April 20, 2018.

This multi-state project covering Alabama, Florida and Georgia is one of 88 projects across the country that was selected for funding through last fiscal year’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The project area is the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, Flint and Ochlocknee river basins in each respective state. The 62 Georgia counties include Banks, Calhoun, Carroll, Chattahoochee, Cherokee, Clay, Clayton, Cobb, Colquitt, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, Dawson, Decatur, Dekalb, Dooly, Dougherty, Douglas, Early, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Grady, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Harris, Heard, Henry, Houston, Lamar, Lee, Lumpkin, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Muscogee, Paulding, Peach, Pike, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Terrell, Towns, Troup, Turner, Webster, White, Worth, Union and Upson counties.

Producers in these Georgia counties looking to improve on-farm climate change resiliency through water use efficiency, energy efficiency, and soil health on cropland; mitigate wildfire risk, increase carbon sequestration, and enhance wildlife habitat on forestland; enhance soil health, manage nutrients and improve water quality on grazing land as well as animal feeding operations, should visit their local USDA Service Center and submit their Conservation Program Application (NRCS-CPA-1200) before the April 20 deadline. Sign up in Alabama and Florida were announced by their respective NRCS State Conservationists.

“We are proud to once again work with the Flint River SWCD and its partners to help address some of their region’s most important challenges,” Rudolph says. “Their commitment to these river basins is inspiring and we are glad to be a part of it.”
The Flint River SWCD is based in southwest Georgia, but will lead this multi-state project that begins in the  headwaters of northeast Georgia, heading southwestern to the Gulf of Mexico.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with the NRCS and our many partners on another vitally important project to our region,” McLendon says. “It’s through partnerships on the local level all the way up to Washington D.C. that we make some of the longest lasting and positive impacts.”

Created by the 2014 Farm Bill, the RCPP is a partner driven, locally-led approach to conservation. It offers new opportunities for NRCS to harness innovation, welcome new partners to the conservation mission, and demonstrates the value and efficacy of voluntary, private lands conservation.

More information on NRCS conservation programs can be found at http://www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov under the Programs tab.

The Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) board of directors has approved $581,896 in research    project funding for the 2018-19 research budget year. This action was taken during the commission’s March board meeting. The research projects approved include 34 project proposals submitted from the University of Georgia and USDA Agricultural Research Service.

“As a peanut grower, I’m proud to invest in the Georgia Peanut Commission and in the future of the peanut industry by supporting research that continues to demonstrate a return on our investment. The peanut industry continues to grow in Georgia and from that growth we are able to increase research funding again for the 2018 year,” says Donald Chase, GPC Research Committee chairman. “We are proud of our partnership with research institutions in the state and are excited about the potential benefits of these   projects for farmers in the state and the entire peanut industry.”

Georgia’s peanut growers invest $2 per ton annually toward GPC programs which includes research, promotion and education. The research programs primarily focus on peanut breeding, conservation methods, irrigation and water management, as well as, pests, weed and disease management.

Additionally, GPC manages funding for the Southeastern Peanut Research Initiative which includes research funding of $1,238,996 for projects in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. These projects are funded through the National Peanut Board checkoff dollars from farmers.

For additional information and a complete list of the research projects funded by the Georgia Peanut Commission visit www.gapeanuts.com.

Mark Abney, University of Georgia Extension peanut entomologist, discusses the results of his research projects funded by GPC in 2017.

The Georgia Peanut Commission held the annual Research Report Day, Feb. 7, 2018, at the National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory (NESPAL), located on the University of Georgia Tifton Campus. The event provided growers and industry representatives an opportunity to hear the latest reports and newest information available on peanut research projects funded by GPC in 2017.

“The commission works to wisely invest peanut farmers’ dollars into research projects across Georgia in an effort to reduce production input costs and improve agronomic techniques,” says Donald Chase, GPC Research Committee chairman. “Although some of the findings are preliminary, the projects are exciting and many times new recommendations or observations are announced.”

The GPC, on behalf of Georgia’s 3,400 peanut farmers, awarded $523,496 to peanut research facilities in the state during 2017. This effort funds 32 research projects from the University of Georgia and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

The Georgia Peanut Commission’s research programs primarily focus on peanut breeding for higher yield and improved quality; economics; conservation methods; irrigation and water management; pests, weed and disease management; and peanut allergy research.
Research reports are available online at www.gapeanuts.com.

Armond Morris

Armond Morris, peanut farmer from Tifton, Georgia, was elected chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission during the monthly board meeting in February.

“I look forward to serving Georgia’s peanut growers as chairman in 2018. It is a pleasure to serve peanut producers in the state of Georgia and the commission is continually working to serve all peanut farmers in the state through research, promotion and education,” Morris says. “This is a critical time for Georgia agriculture and peanut producers. As farm income has declined, the next farm bill will be even more important to our peanut producers and family farmers.”

Other officers elected during the board meeting include Joe Boddiford, Sylvania, Georgia, as vice chairman and Rodney Dawson, Hawkinsville, Georgia, as treasurer.

Board members Tim Burch, Newton, Georgia, and Donald Chase, Oglethorpe, Georgia, represent District 1 and District 5, respectively.

Burch and Boddiford were both renominated without opposition to the Georgia Peanut Commission board of  directors at nomination meetings held on Dec. 14, 2017. The Georgia Farm Bureau Federation conducted the nomination meetings for the commission’s district one and three. Now, after renomination, they will serve Georgia peanut farmers on the board for the next three years.

The peanut producing counties of Georgia are divided into five districts in which peanut farmers elect a representative to serve on the Georgia Peanut Commission board.