Cotton/Peanut Research Tour

Farmers visit with Dr. Tim Brenneman on a research plot looking at improving the effectiveness of fungicide application by spraying at night on the recent cotton/peanut research tour at the University of Georgia's Tifton Campus.

The tour was the first ever cotton/peanut research tour and was the result of a joint effort by the Georgia Cotton Commission and the Georgia Peanut Commission.

The Cotton Commission has done a research tour for years and invited the Peanut Commission to join the effort.

Farmers in attendance were complimentary of the effort and suggested that it should become an annual event.

I am very excited about this and other things we can do with the Cotton Commission. We have a lot of brainpower in both and working together will be good for our farmers.

Architectural Student Tour

Rodney Dawson, right, explains how a peanut combine works on a recent visit by a group of Architecture Students from Georgia Tech.

The students are participating in an architectural studio project at Georgia Tech to offer a number of design concepts for a new educational and promotion center being considered by the GPC board.

The tour of Agriculture in south Georgia was to give them a perspective of the breadth and scope of modern agriculture.

They were introduced to everything from a tractor with Auto-Steer to gnats. The tour also included a tour of the Agrirama to remind them of the heritage of agriculture in Georgia and the prospective site located along I-75 which is one of the busiest Interstate Highways in the US.

Rain

Tropical Storm Faye sent from 3 to 20 inches of rain across the Georgia peanut belt and about the same in Florida and Alabama.

I have looked at a lot of peanuts since the rain, even through he panhandle of Florida and Alabama all the way to the new production area near Mobile. As a rule peanuts look really good right now. I have been surprised that Spotted Wilt has been as light as it is and that White Mold hasn't just exploded.

I saw a few fields in Southwest Alabama that had been hammered pretty hard with Spotted Wilt but not much else that had severe infestations at this time.

Harvest is upon us and hopefully we get good harvest weather.

I think for a rule the rain benefited peanuts more than most other crops, especially crops more sensitive to the wind that accompanied the rain.