Tyler started farming on his own in 2005, beginning with watermelons but moved to growing peanuts in 2012 on 70 acres and plans to expand.  He also maintains a small commercial herd (50) of cattle.  He has been working in peanuts all his life.  He began working full-time in 2007 with a local peanut and cotton farmer where they farm more than 1000 acres.

He enjoys experiencing the crop progression, from planting a seed in May to the harvest in September.  He has always wanted to be a farmer, even though people encouraged him to pursue other options.  Growing up surrounded by agriculture in Santa Rosa County has given him a lifelong appreciation for farming.

Tyler is dedicated to serving his community any way he can.

• FFA Alumni Association—working on fundraising and increasing opportunities for local FFA youth
• Jay Volunteer Fire Department Captain
• 2014-2016 Florida Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Team
• EscaRosa Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Team
• Farm Credit Nominating Committee

Tyler says farming keeps him busy, but giving back to the community that has helped him is important.

Farming has changed dramatically since he started.  Technology, in terms of seed and equipment has become more complicated.  He says that environmental concerns have greatly increased, and farmers are actively doing more with less.  He says that tightening up pesticide and fertilization application rates have a positive impact for the environment and for the farmer’s bottom line.  He is impressed by the accuracy of precision agriculture, and how the planting of peanuts has become more fine-tuned, and how swath control on sprayers saves money, time, and overspray.  He readily has adopted Best Management Practices and has signed up through the FDACS BMP program.

He has implemented research-based practices, including nighttime spraying, utilizing recommended varieties, and the Peanut Rx program for disease control.  Tyler says the “Most important thing you put in your field is your own shadow.”  He scouts his own fields and makes decisions based on what he sees.

With the ever-changing issues facing agriculture, Tyler says that taking advantage of every educational opportunity available is crucial.  He attends meetings and conferences, reads trade articles, visits with other producers, and goes online to see the most updated information.

Congratulations to Tyler Brown of Jay, FL as the Farm Credit/FPPA 2018 Young Peanut Farmer of the Year Award winner.

Florida Peanut Produces Association recently held their 43rd Annual Membership Meeting.  Many farmers from across the state attended and heard presentations on Association activities, Farm Bill update and a peanut supply and demand update.  The highlight of the evening was a presentation given by Bob Parker, President and CEO of the National Peanut Board.  Mr. Parker also introduced a new peanut product, Elmhurst Milked Peanuts.  While Mr. Parker gave some information on the new product FPPA members served the Milked Peanuts and Milked Peanuts Chocolate to all who wanted to sample it.  The majority of the attendees said they like the product and hope to be able to purchase it in local markets soon.

During the meeting Joe Tillman of Altha and Michael Davis of Graceville were elected to serve another three year term on the FPPA Board of Directors.  David DeFelix of Campbellton had reached term limits and was recognized for his dedicated service to the Board.  Larry Ford of Greenwood was elected to fill the Board seat.

Thanks to the many sponsors, associate members and door prize contributors for helping to make this year’s Annual Meeting a success.

Budget Agreement Eliminates Generic Base

NCPC releases tool to aid farmers in planning.  Download 2018 Seed Cotton Generic Base and Payment Yield Updating Calculator

  Congress cleared a budget agreement and disaster-aid package that has a significant impact on farmers for the 2018 crop year. The budget agreement passed the House by a vote of 240 to 186 and passed the Senate by a vote of 71 to 28. The President has also signed the legislation.

The legislation includes $90 billion in disaster assistance for communities impacted by storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires and flooding. The legislation also includes provisions for cotton farmers by making seed cotton eligible for Title 1 Agriculture Risk Coverage and the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.

Due to the new provisions for seed cotton, the generic base acres for farmers are eliminated for the 2018 crop. Growers will have to choose whether or not to move generic base acres to seed cotton base only or using the 2009-2012 crop year history and moving generic base acres to other covered commodities such as peanuts and seed cotton. Additional details will be forthcoming as the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency publishes details on how this will function for the 2018 crop.

To assist farmers in planning, the NCPC developed the  2018 Seed Cotton Generic Base and Payment Yield Updating Calculator

The calculator was developed by the NCPC after reviewing the text of the seed cotton provision in the recently passed budget agreement and disaster aid package. The contents followed the procedures outlined in the 2014 Farm Bill for the other covered commodities payment yield updating and base reallocation provisions. Thus, the NCPC was able to utilize their previous decision aid built in 2014 that was based on the 2014 Farm Bill.

“The decision calculator program is easy to complete as it uses the software program Microsoft Excel,” says Dr. Stanley Fletcher, NCPC’s director and professor emeritus at the University of Georgia. “Farmers can follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the program in order to complete the calculator and determine their base acreages and payment yields. It is important for farmers to review all instructions before proceeding with the decision calculator.”

Peanut grower checkoff funds helped with the development of the decision calculator. Funds were derived from the members of the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation (SPFF). The SPFF is comprised of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, the Florida Peanut Producers Association, Mississippi Peanut Growers Association and the Georgia Peanut Commission. Funding also came through the Southeastern Peanut Research Initiative of the National Peanut Board and farmer checkoff dollars from Texas.

“It is imperative for producers to begin the process of collecting the necessary data now rather than later, given the 90-day deadline in the law,” Fletcher says. “Documents needed by the producer for this process will include the 2018 FSA-156EZ and the 2008-2012 FSA-578 forms for each farm serial number and the associated tracts for that farm serial number.”

The NCPC developed the calculator to assist producers in developing farm strategies and decisions based on their individual needs. The calculator is available for download on the Florida Peanut Producers Association website, www.flpeanuts.com.  2018 Seed Cotton Generic Base and Payment Yield Updating Calculator   For additional questions, contact Dr. Stanley Fletcher, NCPC director, at 404-277-2319 or email at smf@uga.edu.

2018 Seed Cotton Generic Base and Payment Yield Updating Calculator