Agricultural News
Oklahoma Farmer Named 2012 Peanut Profitability Winner
Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:26:35 CDT
Tillman County peanut producer, Joe D. White of Frederick has been named the Farm Press Peanut Profitability Award winner for the Southwest Region (New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas). Marking the first time a producer from Oklahoma has been selected. White will join I.C. Terry of Lake City, Fl and Bud Bowers of Luray, S.C. as 2012 regional honorees during the 14th annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Panama City, Fl, July 19-21.
"The Peanut Profitability Award isn't simply a 'top yield' prize", stresses Greg Frey, publisher of Farm Press Publications; founders of the award. "The distinction of being named a Peanut Profitability winner is reserved only for those producers who balance production costs with excellent yields and quality, across their entire peanut production system.
"Our Southwest winner does an excellent job of managing fixed costs, which is an important component of the award criteria", says Marshall Lamb, research director for the National Peanut Research Lab in Dawson, Ga., and advisor for the Farm Press Peanut Profitability Awards. The Awards, according to Lamb, are based solely on production efficiency, honoring those growers who produce the highest yields at the lowest cost per acre over the entire farm, and not just on individual farms or small plots.
White, along with his wife Gayle have been growing peanuts since 1987. They diversify with cotton and grain, but "our peanuts always take precedence" says Gayle. Joe D. is quick to point out, "I love growing peanuts for our consumers". The Whites favor growing Jupiter, a variety of 'ball-park' peanut developed at Oklahoma State University, with research support from the Oklahoma Peanut Commission.
According to Joe D., farming is all about timing, especially for peanuts. "We have to plant them at the right time, we need rain or irrigation at just the right time. Missing a critical disease treatment by just a few days can be devastating. Then we have to dig and combine at the right time to avoid production losses as well".
Southwest Farm Press editor, Ron Smith acknowledged, "Their attention to detail, even through one of the worst production years they've ever faced, earned White this year's Peanut Profitability Award for the Southwest Region."
The Whites are active in numerous farm organizations. Joe D. is chairman of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission and serves with the Tillman County Farm Bureau, the Oklahoma Pesticide Advisory Board and is a delegate to the National Cotton Council. Gayle serves as Oklahoma's delegate to the National Peanut Board.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...