The Peanut Commodity in the Southeast United States
September is Peanut Season: So Have a Look at the Country’s Peanut Commodity.
Peanuts are in season, and there’s a lot going on concerning the country’s all-important peanut commodity in the month of September. September 13th is National Peanut Day, and the Georgia Peanut Tour is September 19th through the 21s t in Albany, Georgia, and the surrounding area; AgAmerica Correspondent Lender, Ethan Cooper, will be in attendance. Take a look at this important commodity, the peanut, below.
Peanut Commodity Across the Nation
Peanuts are primarily grown in the Southeast and Southwest because the warm weather in these areas offers optimum growing conditions. You could consider the states from Virginia south to Florida and west through New Mexico as the “peanut belt.” According to the National Peanut board, six states grow nearly all of the peanuts in the country.
Georgia grows nearly 50 percent of the nation’s peanuts; they grew 46 percent of the nation’s peanuts in 2014. Florida grew 13 percent, Alabama grew 11 percent, Texas grew 9 percent, South Carolina grew 8 percent, and North Carolina produced 7 percent. The rest of the states in the Southeast and Southwest—Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Virginia—together produced 6 percent of the nation’s peanuts.
Peanut Harvests
In Florida, peanuts are harvested in every month but December, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), meaning peanuts are fresh nearly year-round if bought locally in The Sunshine State. In Georgia, the peanut-growing king, the legumes are harvested from August through November, according to Georgia Grown. Similarly, as per Certified South Carolina, peanuts are available in South Carolina in the Fall.
AgAmerica Lending supports the nation’s peanut farmers with custom peanut farm loans. Read how one of our loans packages helped a family-run peanut farm to pay off debt and take out a $1.27 million line of credit to expand their operation. If you’d like to discuss options for your ag operation, contact us to speak with a team member today.