Changes to the Peanut Grading Standards – Implications to Georgia Peanut Farmers

摘要

Starting with the 2018 peanut crop, the peanut grading standards were modified for determining Segregation 1 peanuts. Prior to the 2018 peanut crop, peanut damage greater than 2.49% required the load of peanuts to be classified as Segregation 2 with a loan support of approximately $125/ton instead of a Segregation 1 loan support of $355/ton. For the 2018 peanut crop, damage less than or equal to 3.49% was classified as a Segregation 1 peanut and anything over 3.49% was classified as a Segregation 2 peanut. The question was whether this redefinition would significantly impact the grading of peanuts. Data was collected from the Georgia Federal State Inspection Service on 2018 Georgia graded peanuts. Preliminary results indicate that volume becoming Segregation 1 versus Segregation 2 as a percent of the total crop was small. However, from a farmer’s point of view, it provided an additional approximately $15 million dollars of additional revenue to Georgia peanut farmers. A second component of the analysis was whether Hurricane Michael had a significant impact on peanut grade between Segregation 1 and Segregation 2 peanuts. Preliminary analysis indicate that there was not a major impact.