RELEASE DATE: January 15, 2020
Contact: Ken Barton
Florida Peanut Producers Association
850-526-2590

FLORIDA PEANUT PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION seeks National Peanut Board Nominees

MARIANNA, FL – The FLORIDA PEANUT PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION seeks eligible peanut producers who are interested in serving on the National Peanut Board. FLORIDA PEANUT PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION will hold a nominations election to select two nominees each for member and alternate to the National Peanut Board during a meeting on Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 6:30 pm cst at the Jackson County Agricultural Complex and Conference Center on Penn Avenue in Marianna, FL, 32448. All eligible peanut producers are encouraged to participate. Eligible producers are those who are engaged in the production and sale of peanuts and who own or share the ownership and risk of loss of the crop.

William Carte of Live Oak is the current Florida National Peanut Board member and Jeremy Rolling of Westville serves as the alternate. The term for the current Florida board member and alternate expires Dec. 31, 2020.

USDA requires two nominees from each state for each position of member and alternate. The National Peanut Board will submit Florida’s slate of nominees to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who makes the appointments.

The National Peanut Board encourages inclusion of persons of any race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation and marital or family status. NPB encourages all persons who qualify as peanut producers to attend the meeting and run for nomination.

It is USDA’s policy that membership on industry-government boards and committees accurately reflect the diversity of individuals served by the programs.
The Florida Peanut Producers Association is the state certified check-off organization for peanuts in Florida and represents Florida’s peanut producers in the areas of research, promotion and education.

The National Peanut Board represents all USA peanut farmers and their families. The mission of the Board is to improve the economic condition of USA peanut farmers and their families through compelling promotion and groundbreaking research.

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This week’s Farmer Spotlight is Lucas Killam from Jay, Florida! ??

We had a blast visiting with Lucas at his barn a few weeks ago! Jay has a bountiful amount of ideal farm land for peanuts: flat, fertile and due to its proximity to the coast, fields does not require much irrigation and can easily achieve a bumper crop.

Lucas has been farming peanuts his whole life, but he started farming his own peanuts in 1996, nearly 22 years ago. His favorite part about farming peanuts is digging peanuts. Lucas adds “it’s just in my blood and I can’t get away from it”, in regards to what he loves most about peanut farming. Like other farmers, Lucas does not only grow peanuts, but also cotton.

When asked his favorite way to eat peanuts, Lucas said he favored boiled peanuts. We also like to ask farmers if they prefer creamy or crunchy peanut butter, and Lucas replied with “creamy”.

One difficult question we asked Lucas was to tell us what has been the most challenging part of farming for him, and he explained it has been the “financing side of farming, managing everything…especially being young.” This is very relatable for all farmers, simply because a major part of farming is the business side. Lucas’ prediction for this year’s peanut crop is that “It’s looking pretty good now I’m shooting for making a good crop.” Lucas informed us that one thing farming has taught him is to “be patient”…we couldn’t agree more!

To see pictures and view story on Facebook, click here https://www.facebook.com/floridapeanutproducersassociation/posts/214184055882730?comment_id=214341609200308&notif_id=1532969849954524&notif_t=feed_comment

Visiting our peanut farmers in their fields has became something we truly enjoy! It gives us a chance to get to know them better and provide an insight to their farming journey to the public! Today’s Peanut Farmer Spotlight is Mickey Diamond from Jay, Florida ?

“I put the crop in the ground and let God do the rest.” – Mickey Diamond

Mickey has been farming peanuts for 35 years and also farms cotton. His favorite part of peanut farming is digging the peanuts, and boiled is his preferred way of eating peanuts. Mickey prefers creamy over crunchy peanut butter as well!

The most challenging part of peanut farming to Mickey has been the market side of peanut farming, “you don’t know really what the end of the year is gonna bring…but it’s also knowing how to plan next year with what the acres are going to be.” Mickey also explained that he plants the same acres of peanuts, he just changes rotation from year to year.

Mickey’s prediction for this year’s peanut crop is that as of right now, it looks like an average crop… “I don’t see a bumper crop because we had a rough start but maybe we can come out with an average crop…that’s what I’m praying for.”

With Mickey farming peanuts for 35 years, we asked him when he knew he wanted to be a peanut farmer. Mickey explained, “When I started farming, I loved the dirt too much and that’s all I’ve ever done all my life and I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else; if I had to do something else, I would be flying an airplane over the crop.”