After the 2015 growing season, depressed prices, areas of no rain for 8 weeks and yields ranging from zero to dancing around the 6,000 pound per acre mark, Santa Rosa County producers are looking toward the 2016 season with a heightened degree of concern.

There are many decisions facing growers:
Rotation. This practice is a vital component of any cropping system strategy for long term peanut yield goals and keeping pest incidence under control.

Variety Selection. This is one of the most important decisions a producer will make for 2016. Growers now have more choices of high yielding and disease resistant cultivars, including high oleic cultivars from which to select.

Disease Management. Scouting, planning, and implementing disease management tools maximizes the peanut crop and is essential to peanut production. The best management program may not be the least expensive one, but rather is the program that gives the best return on investment.

Price Received. The 2016 outlook faces a large surplus of peanuts and low prices for peanuts and other crops. Growers can expect prices below $400 per ton.

Where can you go to get additional information on these and other topics? The University of Georgia Extension Peanut Team annually publishes a comprehensive peanut production guide. It is not meant to cover every aspect of peanut production, but it is a document that builds upon and talks about what information is out there that is new and available. In the coming season, this information will, hopefully, assist growers in making a profit and staying in business.

Download the 68 page PDF file here: 2016 UGA Peanut Update

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