Texas Tech's remote sensing technology spreads to peanuts

From Texas Tech:

The economic wallop of Texas peanut products is getting an aerial boost this season from Texas Tech University. Researchers are using a special airborne multispectral remote sensing system on an experimental peanut crop in nearby Brownfield, a small farming community.

The hi-tech gear is used to estimate the plant’s biophysical characteristics, including ground cover, leaf area, biomass and yield.

“Improved monitoring of peanut crops could one day help growers have a healthier crop through improved irrigation practices and pinpoint application of fungicides,” said Stephan Maas, a Texas Tech professor of agricultural microclimatology with joint appointment with Texas AgriLife Research. Maas is a participant in the project, along with Texas Tech Postdoctoral Research Associate Nithya Rajan.

Remote sensing describes the science of identifying, observing and measuring an object without making direct contact with it. The process involves the detection and measurement of light in different wavelengths reflected by the object.
In this instance, the remote sensing system contains high-resolution digital cameras fitted with narrow band-pass filters that allow the cameras to acquire imagery in specific wavelengths of light related to plant growth. The cameras are carried by a single-engine Cessna 172 aircraft operated by Plainview-based South Plains Precision Ag, Inc.

It’s the first year Texas Tech remote sensing experts and peanut breeding specialists from New Mexico State University have used the method on peanuts and, so far, both are excited about the results.

“Development of relationships between biophysical characteristics and remote sensing data could allow routine monitoring of peanut crop growth and yield potential in producers’ fields,” said Naveen Puppala, a peanut breeder with New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Science Center at Clovis. “With more research on remote sensing, it will help the growers to identify the correct time to irrigate their crops.”

Digital data taken from Tech’s remote sensing imagery has already been used to calculate vegetation values – including what’s technically called the normalized difference vegetation index and the perpendicular vegetation index – for the peanut canopies growing in test plots. The two indicators are used to measure the peanut plant’s growth and leaf canopy density.

“Growing the most cost efficient peanut possible is vital to the survival of Texas peanut production,” said Shelly Nutt, executive director at the Texas Peanut Producers Board. “Maximizing irrigation efficiency is key to peanut production profitability.”

Georgia leads the nation in peanut production, followed by the next-largest grower, Texas. Last year’s peanut production was record breaking with the largest crop on record along with the highest average yield on record. Total U.S. peanut production for 2008 was estimated at 5.1 billion pounds.
Written by Norman Martin

Agriculture Commissioner Awards Texas Food Banks $2 Million

LUBBOCK, Texas - Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples today awarded a grant of $2 million to the Texas Food Bank Network to purchase and distribute surplus produce, such as peanut butter, that was the result of overproduction on Texas farms. The funds are available through the Texas Department of Agriculture's Texans Feeding Texans: Surplus Agricultural Products Grant Program.

"In the last year, Texas food banks have experienced a 30 percent increase in demand," Commissioner Staples said. "As the leader of the largest food bank system in the state, the Texas Food Bank Network can better meet the demand and feed hungry Texans with these funds. The Texans Feeding Texans grant is a win for farmers who have excess products, and a win for hungry Texans in need of nutritious food."

Representative Joe Heflin of Crosbyton, Texas praised the state's peanut farmers for continuing to produce a safe, healthy and quality food product.

"Peanut butter is healthy, it tastes great and it's a great product to provide our state's food banks," Rep. Heflin said. "Peanuts are a product that are grown in this state and on the South Plains, and our farmers work hard to produce a safe, quality food product that is healthy to eat. Our food banks need products like peanut butter now more than ever."

During the last two years, the Texas Food Bank Network was able to acquire and distribute 24 million pounds of food to Texas families through the Texans Feeding Texans: Surplus Agricultural Products Grant Program.

From 2005 to 2007, 14.8 percent of Texas households, or 1.2 million people, did not have access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times. During this same time perioud, 23 percent of Texas children were also food insecure.

Donate peanut butter to your local food bank today! Be a part of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and Texas Peanut Producers Board peanut butter drive, by clicking here! Donate a case of peanut butter for just $20 and help feed a hungry family on the South Plains.

Peanut butter drive highlighted on FOX34

The peanut butter drive benefiting the South Plains Food Bank in Lubbock is now in full swing. The drive is a joint effort by the Texas Peanut Producers Board and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce.

This is the only pallet of peanut butter remaining at the South Plains Food Bank (center).

FOX34's Lindsey Ashcraft featured the peanut butter drive last night on FOX34's 9pm news. Click here to watch it!

TPPB Executive Director Shelly Nutt is interviewed by FOX34 yesterday at the South Plains Food Bank.

TPPB and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce are asking area businesses and individuals alike to donate a case of peanut butter for just $20. Our goal is to raise a full pallet (136 cases) to donate to the South Plains Food Bank.

The current economic situation has placed many challenges for families in West Texas this holiday season. Be a part of the peanut butter drive and help a hungry family in your area. Peanut butter is an excellent source of protien, is easy to serve, and has a long shelf life. The food bank can not keep enough of it on their shelves.

To learn more about the peanut butter drive, click here. To make a donation right now, CLICK HERE.

Also, this Thursday is PEANUT BUTTER DAY at the U-Can Food Drive in Lubbock. Look for Tex P. Nut at your local Lubbock United Supermarket!

TPPB and Lubbock Chamber of Commerce Host Peanut Butter Food Drive

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Peanut Producers Board and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce have teamed up this holiday season to host a peanut butter food drive benefiting the South Plains Food Bank.

Peanut butter makes the perfect food bank donation item because it’s high in protein, it can be served in many different ways, and it tastes great. It also has been proven to reduce the risk of diabetes.

“Peanut Butter is one of the basic staple items we want to provide to those who come to the food bank,” said David Weaver, South Plains Food Bank general manager. “We are having a difficult time keeping our staple items, including peanut butter, on our shelves. The effort by our community to support the Peanut Butter Drive are vital to our ability to respond to the needs of the hungry.”

Weaver said as the current recession unfolds across the South Plains, there has been a 25 percent increase in the number of people being served by the South Plains Food Bank and their agencies.

TPPB and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce are encouraging businesses and individuals to donate peanut butter for this cause by the case. For just $20, businesses and individuals can donate a case (or more than one case!) of peanut butter, which will be donated to the South Plains Food Bank. To make it easy, those interested can go to the Chamber’s website at www.lubbockchamber.com to make a donation using a credit card. Contributions will be tax-deductible.

“One case of peanut butter donated to the food bank can really make a difference in the lives of many families this holiday season,” said Shelly Nutt, executive director for the Texas Peanut Producers Board.

The goal is to raise enough to purchase one pallet of peanut butter, which is 136 cases. If you are interested in matching this or any donation, or would like more information on the drive, please contact Mary Jane Buerkle at the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce at (806) 761-7008 or Lindsay Kennedy at the Texas Peanut Producers Board at (806) 687- 6363.

Businesses and individuals can also be a part of the U-Can-Share Food Drive December 7-12. Thursday, December 10 has been designated as Peanut Butter Day!

TPPB has a new Web site!

The Texas Peanut Producers Board Web site now has a new look.

Launched today, the new site has information about peanut and peanut butter nutrition, news and media, as well as useful links within the peanut industry. Coming soon on the site will be video of peanut production in Texas, as well as educational materials.

Take a look!

National Peanut Butter Lovers' Month

Each year, peanut butter fans have one month designated to celebrate the great taste and nutritional benefits of America’s favorite snack.
 
Packed with energy and over 30 essential vitamins and nutrients, peanut butter is just what your body needs to keep your muscles, skin, bones and organs functioning well.
 
Shelly Nutt, executive director of the Texas Peanut Producers Board (TPPB) said more peanuts are used to make peanut butter than any other use.
 
“There is a jar of peanut butter in nearly 89 percent of American households,” Nutt said. “Our goal is to get a jar of peanut butter in every household. It’s a great tasting, healthy snack that’s convenient and easy to serve.”

Each year to promote the month, TPPB sends out baskets packed with peanut butter products to TV station weathermen across the state of Texas. The baskets also include fact cards about peanut butter to provide the weathermen with information to use on the air. This effort has helped raise awareness in Texas about peanut butter's health benefits.
 
Texas ranks No. 2 in the U.S. in peanut production. Last year, Texas farmers produced nearly 835 million pounds of peanuts. Although drought and a surplus from last year’s crop reduced peanut acreage in 2009, farmers are still expected to harvest around 528 million pounds of peanuts in Texas.

TPPB visits Japan to strengthen export opportunities

Otis Lee Johnson and Shelly Nutt in Japan.

 Members from the Texas Peanut Producers Board (TPPB) and the American Peanut Council (APC) traveled oversees last week to meet with the Japan Nut Association and U.S. Embassy trade officials to look for ways to promote and increase imports of American peanuts into Japan. 

For many years, Japan imported Chinese peanuts until the pesticide residue levels became unacceptable. Over the past two years Japan has been looking for more stable and reliable markets. Shelly Nutt, TPPB executive director, said the trip was very successful and there are hopes to fill the potential market. “In order to increase our exports we need to build our relationship with the Japanese,” Nutt said. “This trip opened dialogue and built trust in our peanut crop and with us as individuals.”

 

Seminole, Texas peanut farmers Otis Lee Johnson (TPPB chairman) and Roger Neitch (National Peanut Board President) examine a peanut plant in Japan.

America has built a strong relationship with Canada over the years, exporting peanuts valued at over $60 million annually. The APC hopes to build relations with Japan to continue the rise in market exports America already has with Japan. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, peanut exports to Japan from the U.S. are currently at $12.2 million, up 148 percent from 2007.

 

 

American peanut representatives were given a tour of some of Japan's peanut processing facilities.

Seminole, Texas peanut farmer Otis Lee Johnson, who is the chairman of both the APC Exports committee and TPPB, gave a presentation to members of the Japan Nut Association describing every aspect of America’s traditional peanut growing process, including peanut processing and shelling. Johnson also discussed the high quality of American peanuts with the Japanese representatives, promoting their value as an export product.

Stephanie Grunenfelder (APC) and Shelly Nutt (TPPB)

 

To help build a relationship with the Japanese, Nutt and Johnson, along with National Peanut Board Chairman Roger Neitsch of Seminole, APC Director of International Marketing Stephanie Grunenfelder, and Bob Coyle of Lawler Ballard Van Duran in Atlanta, Ga., spent their time touring manufacturing facilities and peanut farms.

The five American representatives toured the Tabata and Ikenobe factories where they roast, chop and manufacture a variety of peanut products, including whole, shelled and peanut powder. Nutt said the businesses were much smaller than American factories, but were just as efficient, using every amount of space available for stacking, storing and processing.

Although the Japanese peanut farms toured are smaller than typical American fields, the Japanese plants are higher yielding and produce great crops. Nutt said the farming techniques are also different from those used in America. The Japanese plant peanuts mechanically, but harvest by hand, whereas the entire production process in America is done mechanically and average around 3,500 pounds per acre.

Texas Peanut Harvest

Peanut harvest is in full swing in West Texas, and most peanut producers couldn't be happier to move on from 2009. The challenges of the year ranged anywhere from drought to a surplus in the market from last year's crop to a salmonella outbreak caused by one bad egg in the industry.

The 2008 harvest in Texas yielded over 860 million pounds of peanuts - the state's largest peanut harvest. The crop was valued at over $185 million, a reflection of the impact the Texas peanut industry has on the state's economy. According the the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Texas peanut farmers have produced 544 million pounds of peanuts to date in 2009. Fewer acres were planted this year to offset the surplus from last year's crop, and consequently, in response to the drop in demand from the salmonella scare at the beginning of the year.

The good news is the good reputation of the nation's peanut industry and its peanut products has helped restore consumer confidence, and sales of peanut butter are up dramatically since February of this year. Like this little rattlesnake found in one West Texas peanut farmer's field, one company's careless mistakes can not destroy an industry built on quality, honesty and safety.

The resilience of our farmers, processors, shellers and manufacturers have helped restore the industry. Former TPPB director Ted Higginbottom said it best when he said, "It’s unfortunate peanut growers in Texas can do everything right to produce a healthy and safe product to feed both their families and the nation, and then have to carry the burden for something they could not control." To read more about TPPB's communications during the salmonella outbreak, click here.

 

 

 

 

Be sure to subscribe to this blog to keep following the Texas Peanut Producers Board. To sign up to receive TPPB's weekly emails, just subscribe at lindsay@texaspeanutboard.com .

Peanut Research in West Texas

Agriculture is full of great individuals who are sincerely passionate about what they do. Delwin Morrow is that kind of person.

Delwin is a peanut farmer from Brownfield, Texas who loves growing peanuts! Even greater than his love for growing a good peanut is his love for peanut research.

Over the past few years, Delwin has leased some of his peanut acreage for research purposes. Dr. Ernest Harvey, one of the world's leading peanut breeders from the USDA’s National Peanut Research Lab in Georgia, has led a team of researchers at Delwin's farm over the past several years as he attempts to develop a more drought tolerant, early maturing peanut.

Raising crops in West Texas has many unique challenges when compared to other parts of the country. Little rainfall, strong winds and cool evening temperatures are just a few of the issues West Texas farmers deal with every year. So, what better place than West Texas to test drought tolerant peanut varieties?

Dr. Harvey's research is aimed at developing a peanut that can mature quicker, which would help producers minimize their risks. An earlier harvest could mean fewer irrigations - saving thousands of dollars for producers. Early maturing peanuts could also reduce the risk of having peanuts in the ground when the first frost occurs.

This year's test plot, like most of peanut production on the South Plains, experienced little rainfall. Delwin said between the time this same plot was harvested last year and this year's harvest, the plot received just 5 inches of rain. 

While that meant hardships for producers, the lack of rain did allow researchers to put their tested varieties through the exact harsh conditions they are being designed to withstand. 

Over half of the TPPB's budget is allocated to research to help scientists develop better peanuts for better production effeciency. 

Check back later for more about Texas peanut research and updates on how the Texas peanut harvest is going. Don't forget to subscribe to the TPPB blog to keep up with what's going on with the Texas Peanut Producers Board.

Welcome

Thanks for stopping by the new blog of the Texas Peanut Producers Board (TPPB).

TPPB is a statewide board funded by a $2 per ton voluntary checkoff from Texas peanut producers. Checkoff dollars are used for peanut production research, to promote Texas peanuts, and to educate others about the high energy and nutrition value of peanuts.

Over half of TPPB's annual budget is used to fund research projects aimed at improving peanut production in Texas. Research is mostly focused on producing a more drought tolerant, disease resistant peanut that is better suited for the varying Texas growing conditions. Stayed tuned for future blog posts that will highlight different research projects and results given at peanut field days.

TPPB is also very involved in promoting peanut butter donations to the hungry. In 2008 following the devasting hurricane season on the Texas Gulf Coast, TPPB along with the Western Peanut Growers Association and the Seminole Chamber of Commerce, helped gather over 15,000 pounds of peanut butter to donate to the desperate food banks in South Texas. Since then, TPPB has been involved in several peanut butter food drives in an effort to promote the donation of peanut butter to the state's food banks. Peanut butter makes the perfect donation production because it is nutritious, packed with energy and has a long shelf life.

Building and maintaining relationships with foriegn manufacturers of Texas peanuts is also a focus for TPPB. The board, along with the American Peanut Council, hosts regular tours for manufactures from Mexico, Japan and Italy to allow them to see how peanuts are produced and processed in Texas.

Visit us again to learn more about Texas peanut production and the activities of the Texas Peanut Producers Board!